The teacher down the hall. Most schools have at least one. That experienced teacher whose classroom is interesting, fun, and surprisingly calm and orderly. The teacher you can always turn to with questions, the teacher whom kids confide in. These teachers earned their educational chops through years of trial and error and hard work, and they want to share what they've learned. These teachers offer the voice of experience.

Approximately 50 percent of our nation's public school teachers are baby boomers who are 50 years of age or older. Many are considering retirement; others want to stay in the classroom. The Experience Factor (from Teacher Magazine's free e-newsletter) includes anecdotes from a handful of teachers over 50 who talk about how much they love teaching and how their years of hard work are now reaping rewards. Susan writes, "I teach alongside colleagues who are younger than my own children and some of whom are my former students. . . . They have energy and technology skills that I don't, but I have pedagogical skill and experience that I can share and that they want."

Kathie shares that she started teaching special education students in her 60s. "When I gave up instructional coaching to teach again, I worried if the kids would still relate to me and vice versa. What I've found is that my years of experience (most of the time since 1970) and the patience I've learned on the job is just what these students need. Even my most hyperactive boys seem to wander in before class or hang around after class to share stories with me."

Certainly, school systems plan for some retirements and bringing in new teachers with new ideas and practices. But imagine the impact of a wide-scale retirement if the boomers left en masse. Imagine losing the teacher down the hall.