What does it take to teach at Laney?
A couple of years ago I was offered a job in the dance department at City College, but my teaching degree is limited service, Peralta College system only. So the friend who offered me the job talked me up to the Laney dance department which is close to my home and therefore a good place to work. I was offered a class, possibly two, to teach, but before the start of the term, the head of the dance department was replaced by someone who wanted all Laney teachers to have master’s degrees. I was fired before I even got started. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from Laney offering me a class again. New head of dance department, very nice guy, thought I’d be great for the job but maybe I don’t have the legal qualifications. He has to check. Probably I won’t get it because the guidelines are very clear for dance teachers: a teaching credential in dance or a college degree in dance. My degree is in fine arts and my credential is in Physical Education and special Ed, and therein lays a tale. Back in 1979 I was teaching self defense classes for people with physical disabilities and Vista College offered me a job. They really wanted a self defense class in their disabled student department and I was the only teacher in the field. I didn’t have the qualifications, so they pulled some strings and presented me with something called a limited service lifetime credential. Good for life, but only in the Peralta system. Everyone tells me how lucky I am to have it since lifetime credentials are no longer available. And I would be lucky to have it if I could use it for anything.