Chris Maza

Phoenix, Arizona

As a product of the Chicago parochial system, I was taught to dislike Public Schools. As a teacher in the parochial schools of Chicago, I was taught to dislike Public School Teachers. So what does one do? Become a Public School Teacher and Advocate. As a teacher in Arizona and, for that matter, a proponent for high-quality teaching and learning, I was taught to hate the Union. So what does one do? Become a leader in their Local, State, and National Union. As a Public School Teacher and Union activist, I was taught to dislike School Boards. So what does one do? I get elected to a School Board for the past 4 years.

There it is. If you see what I was “taught” above, I seek to counter the “bad teachers” who “taught” me by bringing forward the stories of positive deviance from high-quality Public School Educators, Union Activists, and School Board Members. Oh yeah….I have been a teacher for 20 years. Oh, I got a 32 on my ACT in 1986.