QUICK... Think back to your first year teaching. What was one of your biggest struggles that made you feel like you took a wrong turn on the college career path? Did you ever feel like quitting that first year? Yea, me too. What got you through?
For me, it was a group of veteran teachers I could turn to for help. It was a very stressful time and all of my idealistic thinking was not going to make it better, but that group of teachers did. I lesaned quickly to use them to bounce ideas off of almost on a daily basis. Sometimes I did not like what they were telling me, but I listened and tried to do what it was they were telling me in my classroom. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. It was a long, hard, and sometimes painful year that I finally got through and can look back on to help me empathize with todays new teacher. I made it through and now it is my job as a veteran in the education field to throw a lifeline to my fellow new teacher.
So what is my point? My point is that education can sometimes be hard. No amount of college courses can prepare a new teacher for that first day when the door closes and they are the person in charge of their classroom. They are going to struggle and get it wrong. They are going to get frustrated and want to give up... especially if we do not throw them a lifeline. Yes, it is still early in this school year but I bet if you think back long and hard you will remember that it was about this time that you too were fantasizing about what else you could be doing as you "just looked" at the help wanted ads. So now is the time, if you haven't done so already to go talk to the new teachers in your building and see how you can help.
If you are doing so already that is awesome! I would love to hear from you to see what or how you are helping. I would also love to hear how your were given a lifeline to help you through your first years as an educator. By sharing and learning form each other we help insure the continued success in our profession.
For me, it was a group of veteran teachers I could turn to for help. It was a very stressful time and all of my idealistic thinking was not going to make it better, but that group of teachers did. I lesaned quickly to use them to bounce ideas off of almost on a daily basis. Sometimes I did not like what they were telling me, but I listened and tried to do what it was they were telling me in my classroom. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. It was a long, hard, and sometimes painful year that I finally got through and can look back on to help me empathize with todays new teacher. I made it through and now it is my job as a veteran in the education field to throw a lifeline to my fellow new teacher.
So what is my point? My point is that education can sometimes be hard. No amount of college courses can prepare a new teacher for that first day when the door closes and they are the person in charge of their classroom. They are going to struggle and get it wrong. They are going to get frustrated and want to give up... especially if we do not throw them a lifeline. Yes, it is still early in this school year but I bet if you think back long and hard you will remember that it was about this time that you too were fantasizing about what else you could be doing as you "just looked" at the help wanted ads. So now is the time, if you haven't done so already to go talk to the new teachers in your building and see how you can help.
If you are doing so already that is awesome! I would love to hear from you to see what or how you are helping. I would also love to hear how your were given a lifeline to help you through your first years as an educator. By sharing and learning form each other we help insure the continued success in our profession.
3 comments:
I will be a student teacher this coming spring and I was speaking to a veteran teacher last night. He was giving me advice and telling me that the guidance and support that I will most likely need will develop around me. I laughed when I reached the part on how all my college courses will not prepare me for the first day because that is exactly what I said to him. I feel that I have learn a great deal, but won't know what to expect until I am thrown into the mix.
I often wondered about the students who had me during my first year of teaching. It was a year of firsts: my team mate was a first year teacher and it was the first year the magnet middle school was open. On Saturday, I guest lectured a graduate education course for people who want to be administrators - a student from my first year of teaching (15 years ago) was in the class. She is committed to education. While we know that our students make it through our first year and go on to the next grade, I liked hearing "the rest of the story."
@ Ed
Intriguing post. I'd argue some of the best schools in our country have achieved their status by redefining the role of teacher primarily in how they relate to other teachers. Too often teaching consists of being given the grade book and curriculum in August and then spending nine months isolated in a classroom. This isolation if sometimes the worst part of teaching. Schools that really excel transform this teaching experience into a true community of learners.
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