Dear Donald I really don't like people generalizing, especially when it comes to age.
Many of the baby boomers were stuck, economically speaking, taking care of parents and being squeezed by their children, to be left with no retirement funds to speak of. Not to worry, one day you will be there, trust me. So when you offer advise to give any service for free, all I can tell you is that is probably what got us to the state we are in now, giving our time and energy to others for years for free, besides working a day job. I truly am a firm believer in performance evaluations. If a teacher is able to give a class that is creative and effective, then that should be proof enough that they have what it takes.

Many people over the age of 60 are brilliant teachers. Many physicians still practice into their late 70s. After all, wouldn't it be a waste to let all that knowledge go down the bin? I have seen young teachers come in late with glazed eyes and no consideration of the quality of attention their students get the "day after" they partied till the wee hours the "night before". Even worse, I have seen some actually flirt with their students all class long, trying to pass it off as testing conversation skills just because they didn't put in the time to plan their class in advance.

So don't be so quick to judge, and if you can teach do so. If you are any good, you don't need to be intimidated by others with more experience. We are all in this together.

Tency Tupper