Tag: Classroom Focus

By Priscilla Rahn, M.Ed, NBCT | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice For 32 years I poured my life into teaching, believing the teachers’ union stood for students and educators like me. But somewhere along the way, the mission shifted—from strengthening classrooms to fueling politics. That’s when I knew I had to walk away. I look back on a career that began in Texas in the early 1990s, where my starting salary was a meager $18,000 a year—barely enough to cover student loans, a car payment, gas, rent, food, and utilities after dividing it into 24 paychecks, leaving me with about $700 every two weeks. I was immediately pressured to join the teachers' union, but with no extra money for dues, I declined. It wasn't until I moved to Colorado that I joined, convinced I needed liabilit...