Supporting New Teachers: What Can We Do?

This one came to my inbox the other day: an article from Education Week entitled "In U.S. Schools, New Teachers Are Hardly a Novelty." If you are involved in education in some way, whether as a teacher, an administrator, or even as a parent, I think it's worth reading.

One quote that jumped out and bit me:

Nationally, 12 percent of all public school teachers are in their first or second year, according to an Education Week analysis of new data from the U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights. And in some states, that figure may be higher than 15 percent.

Doing What Is Best, and Not What Is Easy

Saw this gem on Twitter today...

Don't be afraid to be the elephant in the room. Stand up for best practices & what is best for kids. #teachergoals pic.twitter.com/3bDIBSxg8E

— Teacher Goals (@teachergoals) May 9, 2016

I am thinking about the teachers that just graduated from our program last week. I am grateful for the chance to work with them, to have deep conversations about what good teaching is all about, to mentor them. But I am also worried for them.

Why I Will Never Be a Great Teacher

I.

It's Christmas break. I'm halfway through my 16th year of teaching.

I thought I would be better at this by now.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I know I'm a good teacher. I accepted that after the first decade or so. (But even that was hard for me...as a Dutch Calvinist, it's in my cultural DNA to not think too highly of myself--total depravity and all that.)

The thing is, I'd love to be a GREAT teacher!

How do you become great? I read a lot. I try new things. I refine things that are working well. I stop doing things that are clearly ineffective. I talk to colleagues and find out what they are doing that engages their students. I reflect on my own teaching practice.

Am I better at this than I used to be?

Yes.

But am I "great?"

Nope.

And while I keep working on it, striving to improve, I'm not sure I'll ever be a great teacher.