I think the answer is better teacher preparation. I think colleges pump into you all the knowledge you need to know. I think they stress upon you how important those tests are and how important those content standards are. When it comes to classroom management…they fail to discuss how important that is. NCTAF talks about how one third of the new teachers leave within three years. I think it is not only because they feel this is not something they were well equipped for, but because they feel underappreciated.
By the time we start student teaching and get settled, its time for us to leave. Adelle talks about how 19% of teachers said they had been formally mentored by another teacher.
That’s awful. I’ve heard of the many horror stories about poor mentor teachers. I was lucky enough to have an amazing co-teacher. But I’m one out of that 19 percent? That’s ridiculous. A lot of our new teachers are getting off to a bad start, and it is effecting the way they teach. They finally just get fed up and give up.
Adelle talks about how the requirements for teaching in a Colonial America is a small amount of learning and a willingness to work in what was then an ill-paid, low-prestige occupation. The learning aspect of the job has changed. You spend years learning all the content of the area you would like to teach. However, teaching is still considered a low-prestige occupation. I remember when I finally told my counselor I wanted to switch from criminal justice into teaching, she looked at me funny. Then she asked me if I was sure, because teachers don’t really make that much and there is more opportunities out there for criminal justice. How discouraging.
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I feel so strongly about mentoring because nursing is exactly the same. Of course you have your book knowledge and powerpoint presentations committed to memory but the "reality" of what you prepared for is much different. Any professional needs that "hands on" training to develop the confidence needed for their practice. In nursing school I had the opportunity to participate in a co-op program that gave us the chance to work with a RN side by side in the hospital. We were selected for the program by the coordinator and it was a worth while experience. The program started the summer after our junior year and ended at graduation. By the time I began working as new grad RN I felt more than prepared and ready to work. Teachers are no different and deserve the same, outside of student teaching.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartdely Ria! How can parents send their children to school, entrust their children's future to new educator's who do not have a sense of being supported or have someone who is there as a resource? As we have all heard Gov. Strickland say that he wants to make " Ohio a premier school", then we have to prepare our teachers to be "premier" teachers by giving them a solid foundation to build on to building up confidence and as well as a sense of sense
ReplyDeleteI agree with all three of you in that there is a need for better teacher preparation. When I took the majority of my education preparation courses it was my freshman and sophomore year. By the time it came for me to student teach, I had forgot quite a bit of the information that had been taught to me as a freshman. However, If I had been offered the chance to practice some of the techniques taught to us in class I would have been better prepared and retained a great deal of the knowledge. For most of us, it can be anywhere from 3 to 4 years between our education courses and our student teaching experience. I felt that my 18 week courses would have been better suited for us if we spent 14 weeks learning the techniques and then 4 weeks applying them in a classroom environment.
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