fair enough, MP. you're a good a guy and i have no beef with you.
in our private system, our masters programs are done (at almost zero cost to us teachers) at two adventist colleges. i pay only for books and transportation to get there, but tuition is covered by my employing organization.
we have our choice of a masters in administration, counseling, or curriculum. i chose administration because that's where i see myself some day. i didn't have to take the GRE but i did have to do a project that included 160 hours of working with other administrators. i also had to pass a final comprehensive exam. the classes i took on finance, evaluation, and administrative theories prepared me well for when the opportunity comes along. chasing an administrative position because of money isn't an issue in our system because administrators don't get paid six-figure salaries. they dod get a limited administrative budget, but that's based on enrollment numbers in their school. as for me, i'm at the top of the pay scale our system allows, and i've been there since the end of my third year of teaching. i get whatever the standard raise is each year but i can go no higher.
our system encourages teachers to pursue a masters or higher. there is minimal financial reward associated with it, nor does it guarantee tenure. our system has been going through a bit of a change in teacher evaluation in the last few years. there aren't really any automatic rehires as there once was. teachers have to be evaluated every two-three years.
because we're a private school, we don't face very many special needs kids. we've had a few over the years, most recently being this past year with a student who had more problems genetically than you could imagine. never even heard of most of the things she has, but we made accommodations for her and will again this coming year. her parents know that she'll have to be in special ed for high school because we will not be able to help her at that point. when we get students like this, we help however we're able. if we can't help because their problems are too severe, we make that known, too.
public schools and unions have problems we don't have. it sounds like your mom has been witness to often to a lot of that. has she ever looked into going to a private school?