The daughter of a teacher and a journalist, Grace Albritton arrived more than 40 years ago at Ballast Point Elementary School, where she taught children 9 to 11 years of age.
Working with students who struggled to read, she developed a lifelong interest in helping them master the needed life skill. She rose through the school district hierarchy, becoming supervisor of evaluation in 1989. Now retiring at age 67, she learned recently that a reading room will be named for her at West Tampa Elementary School. City Times talked with her this week.
In four decades as an educator, what changes have you seen?
In my first year teaching, I taught as many as 45 children in mathematics but a smaller number in reading. Now, of course, we have class size limits in place. Other than children, the classroom included a few sets of textbooks in woeful condition, a world map, a flag, a limited amount of paper, a few art supplies, a few educational games recently purchased and not much else. No air conditioning! Some days when the air was sweltering, I'd hold class outdoors under the stately old oak trees on the Ballast Point grounds. When the jets from MacDill Air Force Base practiced overhead, we gave students seat work assignments because no one could hear anything that was said. Teachers had to be creative under these conditions, and they were. One other difference worth noting: In 1966 my salary was $4,200, not for a month but for the year. That year, I remember I bought a new pocketbook, a real extravagance in the budget.
What brought you to assessment?
The appeal to me was not about testing but about the chance to evaluate instructional programs for the purpose of making improvements. This was a challenging assignment, and frequently, I was able to focus my attention in the area of reading instruction.
Many teachers cringe at the thought of standardized testing.
I share with teachers the concern that testing is excessive and sometimes crowds out activities that engender a love of learning, something of lasting value that we don't want to lose. Some of the most valuable tests are classroom tests. By asking probing questions, the teacher can determine exactly what it is that a student doesn't understand and why.
There's been progress in closing the gap between girls and boys when it comes to math scores, but there still seems to be a large lag between the boys and girls when it comes to reading. Why is that?
A key part of the explanation is that parts of the brain devoted to language develop much earlier in girls, on average, than in boys. Most parents of boys understand these differences based on their own observations. Girls have a much lower threshold than boys do, at the most basic level, in hearing the sounds of speech. That's why men turn the radio up, and women turn it back down. Girls know more words than boys do in early childhood and speak in more complex sentences. Girls are better suited to the routines of the classroom. Boys tend to benefit from more active ways of learning.
How do new teachers today compare with those of years gone by?
Across time, very capable individuals have chosen to teach as a calling. This is as true today as ever. On the other hand, many more options are available today, particularly to women. Renewed efforts are needed to recruit the best and brightest into teaching and to pay them enough to send their own children to college. After all, they value education.
How will you keep busy in retirement?
My husband of almost 20 years, Dal Albritton, a lawyer here in Tampa, would like to see me at his office to help out now and then. I'm considering writing a book about what we have learned about boys and their reading development. … Most importantly, I'll have more time for my husband and our many children and grandchildren, including the little ones learning to read.
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