Teacher Profile Series: Washtucna teacher Joel Boutelle

Growing up, Joel Boutelle didn’t want to be a teacher; he wanted to be a marine biologist. After 38 years as a teacher though, Boutelle will tell you things worked out pretty well.

Boutelle, who is starting his first year as a teacher at Washtucna, spent 36 years teaching in Arizona before spending last year at Moses Lake.

In Arizona, he taught in schools with over 2,000 students and always had at least 30 students in his class room. In Washtucna, his smallest class size is four.

Family brought Boutelle to Washington from Arizona.

“My wife has a daughter in Tacoma,” Boutelle said. “I had been teaching in [Arizona] for so long and I have two daughters down there. My wife and I are a blended family. My daughters are now 28 and 30. Hers is 44 with two little girls. So we kind of said it was her turn, my wife’s turn.”

Boutelle said the change from large Arizona schools to Washtucna has been a big adjustment.

“This is a culture shock to me,” Boutelle said. “I have had classes of up to 45 kids in a chemistry class. I came up to Washington and they have a law that you can’t have more than a certain number of kids. So I had a little bit smaller classes (in Moses Lake). But still upward of 25 kids. In Washtucna, I have one class of three. I have another of 10.”

Boutelle sees the positives of smaller class sizes.

“It gives me the chance to be with these kids a little bit more,” Boutelle said. “It’s only been two weeks so I have to get used to it. I am a little more used to dealing with kids in a more general nature. It’s a new environment for me. I just have to get used to it. And I don’t mind getting used to it because this is kind of a nice little deal.”

Boutelle said that is only one of the differences between education in Arizona and Washington.

“Washington has different philosophy of education,” Boutelle said. “They are a lot more geared on technology. Their focus is more toward one computer per one kid. Some districts aren’t going there yet but Washtucna is and Moses Lake is. And so I have had to develop lesson plans less centered around me, and more centered on the kids. Which means I’m spending a lot more time being quiet waiting for kids to work through their projects. And then I’m just asking them questions.”

Boutelle says he sees value in that class structure.

“They say the more effective teachers are geared toward the classrooms that are kind of self-run,” Boutelle said. “And the research is backing that up. And so I’m looking at this and saying, ‘OK, so that’s a lot of work in preparation, but it’s a lot less effort in the classroom. And most importantly, the kids are learning more I think … Again, it’s a culture shock, but I have to say, I kind of like doing this.’”

Boutelle attended college at Arizona State University. Teaching was not his focus in college.

“Both of my parents were teachers,” Boutelle said. “Dad was science teacher and mom was college English teacher. I didn’t want to be a teacher.”

Boutelle said that when his parents were teaching, the teacher unions in Arizona were weaker and the pay was lower.

“I watched my dad come home really stressed out sometimes,” Boutelle said.

Boutelle said he wanted to do something in the sciences.

“I wanted to be a marine biologist,” Boutelle said. “I didn’t have enough math ground so I had to move in a different direction.”

He did take several science classes and, after graduating, found himself teaching science.

He then got his master’s at Northern Arizona University and continued his teaching career. At one point, he decided he wanted to move into administration.

“I finished a doctorate in 2009 in education leadership thinking I wanted to be an administrator,” Boutelle said. “Then I realized the truth: I didn’t want to be an administrator. It takes a special breed. I hand it to anyone who can handle that.”

Boutelle then got back into teaching. When asked what he likes most about teaching, Boutelle was very quick to answer.

“The kids,” Boutelle said. “It comes down to the kids. I think we forget sometimes. We like talking about all these other things, but it really comes down to the kids. They keep us young.”