The BTSA

Rabbit says, "Dude, why are you putting yourself through all that trouble and stress when you can just relax and munch greens?"

Now you've officially graduated with a teaching credential, you're on your way to becoming the best that schools have ever seen!

Sure. Only after you've finished another two years of being monitored by a master teacher, your colleagues, your principal, your district, and the All-Powerful CCTC. Because all you've got in your green little teacher hands is a Preliminary California Credential To Teach Whatever Subject(s) Your Degree And Your CSET(s) Say You Can And Nothing Else.

Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment is what awaits once you leave the protective gates of the Ivory Tower. It involves meetings, observations, writing papers and lesson plans, critiquing yourself/others, reading, case studies....basically your entire credential program packed into any spare time you have outside of your normal teaching responsibilities, instead of it actually BEING your normal teaching responsibilities as in your student teaching days. Some people call it an extended PACT, which makes sense: The Formative Assessment for California Teachers is done during the BTSA as well. FACT and PACT. Yep, only a teacher could have made up an acronym like that.

It typically takes two years to accomplish, although I've heard it can be done in one.

Well, that is assuming you've got a full-time teaching job. Subbing does not count. Apparently, you have to sign a contract with the district before they'll sponsor you into the local BSTA cluster. And you can't get into a local BTSA cluster without the sponsor ship of your workplace.

Thinking about the BTSA makes me question why I got into teaching in the first place. It can't be all that bad, right? RIGHT??