EQUIP

Interview
Embracing Your Practice
March 21, 2008

An author and 31-year educator says making connections with students and colleagues is the key to vitality in teaching.


Coleen Armstrong, a 1996 finalist for the National Teachers Hall of Fame, is the author of The Truth About Teaching: What I Wish the Veterans Had Told Me, and a sought-after commentator on the teaching profession. Armstrong taught at the secondary level for 31 years and says she never found the job dull. “Teaching exists in two separate planets,” she says, “The education planet where it’s about teaching math or science or writing, and the relationship planet where kids can feel safe and secure enough to bring you anything that comes to mind.” She believes it was her ability “to live easily and comfortably on both of those planets” that kept her practice fresh. Armstrong spoke to us about how teachers and administrators can work together and independently to create the best possible environment for a rewarding practice in an increasingly demanding field.
—Ryan Kurtz for Teacher Magazine

How would you describe the life cycles of a teacher’s career?

As more random than you might assume, since regardless of your level of experience, many weeks feel like three steps forward and one (or perhaps four) back! Also, every school year is different, depending on your assignment, your mix of students, and even what’s happening in current events. The Columbine shootings, for example, in April of 1999, turned what might have been a buoyant spring into a very dark one, with many classroom discussions about bullying and random violence— instead of what students were planning for the upcoming summer.

Of course teachers pass through various career levels, ranging from shy neophyte to dedicated soldier to incendiary boat rocker to master/sage. But what’s odd is that a teacher often drifts in and out, back and forth among all of the above. And unfortunately, some sink into a depressed slump— and then stay lonely and isolated indefinitely. More often, though, as a seasoned teacher, you just learn to bide your time until the “climate” changes.


Drs. Mark and Pam Littleton of Tarleton State University have created a fascinating graph which traces a single school year’s stages from a beginning teacher’s viewpoint. Anticipation and survival take place in the fall, disillusionment in the winter, rejuvenation and reflection in the spring. So it’s tempting to apply that same graph to one’s entire career—except that even a veteran teacher can experience several mini-stages during a single weekend, and mapping 30 years can look less like ebbs and flows, and more like the zigs and zags of some hyperactive brain scan.

When I was a teacher, I was continually astonished at how often I see-sawed in my views, or else needed to relearn the same lessons in tolerance, understanding, and acceptance year after year. Similar challenges, like the need to question my own assumptions about my students, kept appearing in different forms, and I didn’t always recognize the pattern until after an episode was over. In the end, I reached the same solid, powerful conclusion that had inspired my career in the first place: Warm teacher interactions with individual students were what truly fueled my vitality and propelled lasting changes—and therefore, transformations.

What are some of the greatest dissatisfactions that teachers express and why?

You might expect me to mention salary first—but frankly, I don’t think that even ranks within the top five. What does? Being held accountable for things that we don’t control, like attendance and student dropout rates.

"The realization that we can't solve all problems can come as a crushing blow ... The trick is to look at the big picture and [see] what you do have control over. Find your strength there."

The biggest frustration, however, is the unrealistic workload, which involves one person’s becoming an executive manager in charge of a hundred or so others, while also serving as his or her own secretary, scribe, accountant, researcher, career motivator, and gofer. It’s no longer enough to keep mere records of grades, attendance, and completed assignments. Now you need to log in excruciating detail every intervention (and there had better be plenty) for every student who’s in academic jeopardy, file and store all papers in case a student claims you “lost” his essays, write up every disciplinary altercation in case there’s a question later (and there usually is), and chart your own professional goals and to what extent you’re reaching them under the watchful eye of your building administrator.

Then, rest assured, you’ll still hear newspaper columnists and armchair quarterbacks huffing that schools aren’t doing nearly enough to help children. They don’t realize that we’d embrace the luxury of concentrating solely on the kids.

There is a lot of discussion in the profession about a perceived mid-career slump. Why is this, since teachers tend to hit their stride around the same time?

This is actually an easy question. Just about the time you’ve gained a good grasp of your subject matter and your assignment’s vast scope, and your little webbed feet are kicking up a storm underwater where nobody else can see them, you’re also hit by the disturbing awareness that your job has not gotten any easier. The sheen of the new has worn off but the pressures and mandates only grow.

For a mid-career teacher the realization that we can’t solve all problems can come as a crushing blow or worse, a career death knell. And yet, we’ve all come to realize that universal education is our only level playing field, perhaps our only hope of remaining a civilized, equal-opportunity society. The trick is to look at the big picture and be realistic about what you do have control over. Find your strength there.

What practical advice can you give to teachers to help them get out of the mid-career doldrums?

You must establish a few permanent, reliable connections. Friendships—with fellow teachers and administrators, with supportive parents, and most particularly with former students now grown up— are essential. Surround yourself with people who respect and admire you, and whom you respect and admire in return. They can soothe and reassure you that the situation is far from hopeless.

Attitudes Towards Teaching During First Year




SOURCE: Mark Littleton and Pam Littleton, Tarleton State University

Cultivate a private passion. Perhaps it’s reading historical fiction. Maybe it’s sail boating. Do as much of it in your spare time as possible. Think of it as a mini-vacation. You owe yourself time away from work.

Get healthier. I know it’s such a cliché, but a brisk walk every evening will clear your head faster than endless bellyaching to your spouse. Eat more salad and less meat loaf. Go to bed super early on Wednesday nights. Putting yourself first in some fundamental way will make you far less defensive and angry.

And resist falling into the same-old, same-old morass. If you have the courage, request an abrupt change of assignment. Move from teaching sophomore biology to 7th grade science. You’ll be surprised to see how much of your material translates just fine; only the approach will be different. A fresh slant will nearly always reboot your enthusiasm.

What sort of professional development opportunities are most helpful to teachers to advance their careers or deepen their satisfaction?

No matter how outstanding you are as a teacher/juggler, you’re unlikely to find much spare time to research career growth options. Another example of putting ourselves last! We’re all more likely to attend workshops scheduled by our administrators. So take a couple of shortcuts. Scan resources like this Sourcebook; you’ll stumble across offerings you never knew existed. Talk to fellow teachers. Ask about postgraduate courses they’ve particularly enjoyed.

A superb one that I heartily recommend is sponsored by The National Writing Project, a nonprofit that promotes K-16 teacher-training programs in the effective teaching of writing. The emphasis is on teacher growth, and then it’s up to him or her to pay it forward. Even if you aren’t a writer (let alone a writing teacher), you will become one after four weeks of journaling, discussing, and reading aloud your own work. Don’t object, “But I teach Social Studies, not English.” The insights and the camaraderie gained, not to mention the validation of having peers shouting “Yes!!!” to what you’ve put on paper, can jump-start the soul and leave you walking on air for months. Some universities also offer two-week advanced seminars, which you can take again and again for additional credit hours. Move outside your own comfort zone. You could grow to love it.

What can you suggest for teachers whose districts or school administrators can’t or don’t send them for professional development?

Your district’s grant writer may be able to alert you to funding and scholarship opportunities that are otherwise overlooked. Universal rule: If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Ditto, local universities’ education departments. You can’t count on school officials to apprise you of such offerings; they may not know about them.

Call on civic groups. Every community has a quiet philanthropist who might be delighted to establish a teacher development fund. Write a heart-tugging letter. Some PTA/PTO groups fundraise for teachers’ trips. An art teacher, for example, might request one to New York’s Metropolitan Museum. A history teacher might visit the Tower of London.

Read, read, read absolutely everything published about teaching and education, including Web blogs like those at inspiringteachers.com or edweek.org. You won’t agree with everything that’s said; that’s okay. It will still keep you in touch and up to date—and also give you something cool to bring to that next faculty meeting discussion group.

The Truth About Teaching

In her book The Truth About Teaching: What I Wish the Veterans Had Told Me, Coleen Armstrong offers these suggestions for keeping your practice on an even keel:

• Bring your principal a solution rather than a problem.

• Be careful what you say; someone may still be repeating it 50 years later.

• Never pass up an opportunity to convey a compliment to a colleague.

• Beg for chances to observe the most talented veterans.

• Don't feel the need to resolve every problem.

• Get enough rest.

What role can administrators play in improving teacher satisfaction?

Listen. Teachers are rarely asked their opinions on educational issues, perhaps because they already offer them so freely! But if your staff has a genuine concern, it’s wise on many levels to hear them out. I witnessed a number of changes in procedures based solely on faculty input.

I’m also a huge fan of staff meetings that focus on small group discussions about educational issues, rather than listening to announcements read aloud. Caution: Don’t assume that only administrators can be group leaders.

In addition, mentoring programs not only offer plenty of help to beginners; they also make veterans feel valued. Getting opportunities to coach (not just football, but also debate teams and chess clubs) has long been cited by teachers as extremely rewarding. And organizing parent volunteers to assist with tasks like duplicating materials is appreciated by teachers more than many administrators (who generally have secretaries) realize. An entire prep period can be forfeited just by standing in line at the copier.

As far as teacher retention goes, just asking why someone is leaving can be illuminating. Something that sounds innocuous, like traveling between classes (I know from dismal experience), can pretty much annihilate a young teacher’s zeal.

It all falls under the same heading— creating an atmosphere which encourages open dialogue. For a teacher, being heard is just as important as witnessing change.

Teachers often feel they face a glass ceiling unless they go into administration. What kind of career-advancement opportunities should a teacher take advantage of to prepare for a leadership position?

That glass ceiling is an ongoing teacher irritant. Not only must you leave the classroom in order to earn more; there’s added professional status in telling outsiders that you’re now an administrator. So the prospect of moving up that ladder can be compelling. But you owe it to your school and your district to become a leader with both vision and compassion.

First, give yourself enough time to become a truly excellent teacher. That probably means seven to 10 years. We’ve all known administrators who deliberately put themselves on a three-year fast track in order to abandon the classroom ASAP. These folks do the profession— and themselves— a terrible disservice. They will neither learn from or remember their teaching experience, and therefore fall prey to the ivory tower syndrome, where they view every complaint as a situation where the teacher just isn’t working hard enough.

Second, don’t just watch effective administrators; study them. Who gains the respect of students, teachers and parents—and why? What, exactly, do they do right? Tweak the best approaches to suit your own personality and make note of the little things. An outstanding administrator sees his primary job as being a teacher facilitator, even when his time is largely sapped by tasks which seem to have little to do with the classroom.

Third, always remember that you began your career as a motivator, so make sure that’s the driving force behind your climb. Educational leadership should be precisely that. Your university course work will focus on building management, but you’ll also need to think about effective ways to inspire teachers to strive harder and become better.

Many in education say we need a teacher “ladder” of success, so that accomplished teachers don’t have to go into administration. I think efforts in that direction have so far been incomplete and based too heavily on quantifiable data. It would be nice if we had an advancement program that recognized uplifting teacher-student relationships. But that sort of magic is not measurable.
By Elizabeth Rich


Vol. 01, Issue 02, Pages 12,14-16

http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2008/03/01/02armstrong.h01.html?print=1

posted by AcrosticGuy @ 7:00 PM 0 comments

Supporting Teachers' Success
March 21, 2008

Through intensive mentoring and staff development for everyone from novice instructors to top district leaders, a long-troubled California system is giving educators a chance to succeed.
By Lynn Olson
Photographs by Jessica Brandi Lifland

East Palo Alto, Calif.

When Erik G. Brown launched his teaching career at the Cesar Chavez Academy here five years ago, he wasn’t alone: 75 percent of the teachers in the 400-student middle school were new to the district, and two-thirds of those were new to the field.

The school had gone through six principals in six years, and its largely Hispanic, low-income student population was struggling. That year, only 1 percent of 8th graders scored at the “proficient” level on the state algebra test.

“We had one other 7th grade math teacher at the school site,” Brown recalled, “and she was brand new as well. There wasn’t too much we could do to help each other.”

Last year, however, the once-troubled school retained more than eight in 10 of its teachers. It enjoyed the highest student-attendance rate in the district for three consecutive years. And 22 percent of its 8th graders scored at the proficient level on the state algebra exam—a huge improvement from where the school started.

The transformation is part of a major push to turn around the 3,000-student Ravenswood City School District, which serves East Palo Alto and part of adjoining Menlo Park.

The effort involves intensive mentoring, staff development, and leadership training up and down the K-8 district—from novice teachers to principals to the superintendent herself.

While a national debate has focused on recruiting teachers to hard-to-staff schools and districts by offering financial incentives, Ravenswood and its partner, the New Teacher Center, based at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are taking another tack.

They are gambling that the key to improving student achievement, teaching, and teacher retention is to build human capital and create environments in which educators want to work.

As Miakje Kamstra, a former project director with the New Teacher Center, put it: “We’re mentoring the system one conversation, one relationship, at a time.”

Turning To Mentors

For a district of only 2.5 square miles, Ravenswood has had its share of problems. Separated from its more affluent neighbors by a major thoroughfare, East Palo Alto is overwhelmingly poor and minority.

In 1992, it was dubbed the “murder capital” of the United States, notorious for its high rates of gang violence and gun assaults. A court-ordered desegregation plan, now in its 20th year, permits students to transfer out of the school system to neighboring jurisdictions, starting in kindergarten.
The teachers now "feel a strong part of where we are going," says Superintendent Maria Meza-De La Vega.

And since 2000, the school system has been under a court-ordered consent decree because of deficiencies in its special education program that nearly led to a state takeover of the district in 2001. Meanwhile, five area charter schools compete with the school system for students.

“Ravenswood has historically been involved in a lot of controversy and conflict and lawsuits, and turmoil at the top,” said Maria Meza-De La Vega, who was named the superintendent of the district in December 2006, after serving in an interim capacity for 1½ years. “The high turnover of teachers,” she added, “was a huge impediment to us moving forward.”

In 2003, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, based in neighboring Menlo Park, Calif., provided a $350,000 grant for the nonprofit New Teacher Center to provide intensive mentoring support to novice teachers in two Ravenswood schools: Cesar Chavez and Green Oaks Academy, a K-4 school that also had a teacher-turnover rate of about 75 percent.

In 2005-06, a third school, Willow Oaks Elementary School, asked to join the project. And last school year, the New Teacher Center scaled up its work to provide mentoring and professional development to all seven schools in the system.

"Full-Court Press"

The New Teacher Center specializes in providing systematic support to new teachers, and more recently principals, through the work of highly trained, full-time mentors.

Under the more intensive model being used in Ravenswood, the typical ratio of one mentor for every 13 to 15 novices is reduced to one mentor for every nine new teachers, all of whom work in the same school. By working closely with a small number of teachers in one site, said mentor Michael Russo, mentors are able to develop deep, trusting relationships and to tap into the “heartbeat” of the school.

The project also provides a coach for every principal and for the superintendent. And it has made available ongoing professional development, focused primarily on literacy instruction, to teachers and administrators throughout the school system.

New Teacher Center staffers also serve as liaisons between schools and the district office. “As we are on the ground, supporting teachers, we really have a good sense of what is working and what’s not working, and what level of support is needed,” Kitty Dixon, director of school/district support and innovation for the center, explained. “Although our individual work with teachers is confidential, my job is to listen to my mentors and my administrative coaches and think about the patterns and trends.”

Those messages are then fed back to district leaders, she said, to focus on what needs to happen for teachers and students to move achievement forward.

Ellen Moir, the director of the New Teacher Center, said the kind of “full-court press” being applied in Ravenswood is needed, because the nation’s hardest-to-staff schools are often in districts that themselves face so many challenges and complexities that they can’t pave a path for success for new teachers.

“What we have found is that by really intensifying the support services for new teachers, we’re able to not only accelerate their development and retain them in the profession,” she said, “but we’re [also] trying to change the culture of the school.” In essence, Ravenswood and the center are trying to create a “community of practice” across the district, said Ms. Moir.
Principal David Herrera of Cesar Chavez Academy consults with Lorie Chamberland, his coach from the New Teacher Center.
—Jessica Brandi Lifland for Teacher Magazine

That has meant doing everything from writing grant proposals to paying for book corners and math manipulatives for classrooms, to working with teachers to supplement the Open Court reading program with strategies and materials to address individual students’ needs. It has also entailed helping the district revise its professional development policies and even draw up a strategic plan that will link its after-school programs to instruction.

Because the charge to be advocates for teachers and help them navigate the district bureaucracy is novel work for mentors, they also receive intensive, continuing training in addition to that regularly provided to mentors through the New Teacher Center.

In Ravenswood, the mentors get together three or four hours every other week to focus on systemic issues in the district. “It’s very powerful,” Russo said. “In tough-to-teach settings, you need that.”

Learning Teams

One of the biggest breakthroughs came in the school year before last, when the district formed a professional development committee to address teachers’ concerns about the lack of time for planning and collaboration. The committee—which included teachers, administrators, and providers of professional development—met once a month throughout the spring.

Now most Wednesday afternoons, which previously had been devoted to district workshops and activities, are reserved for novice and veteran teachers to meet in learning teams at their school, with mentors providing support. At the middle school level, 7th and 8th grade teachers meet in subject-specific teams across schools in the district.

The teams follow a standard “cycle of inquiry,” developed by the New Teacher Center, in which teachers analyze student data, plan an activity, and go back and implement it in their classrooms. They then meet the next time to reflect on what’s worked and what hasn’t, and either revise their plans or begin a new cycle.

Each of the meetings is led by a teacher facilitator who receives training once a month from the New Teacher Center in collaboration with a district team, helping prepare a corps of future leaders for the school system.

The format had an immediate impact on teachers.

“Each meeting, we had something tangible to work on,” said Brown, Cesar Chavez’s math teacher. “Sharing ideas definitely helps people teach certain concepts and avoid some of the mistakes. And building up the morale and teamwork and enthusiasm of teachers helps people get over rough spots.”

He also predicted that it will keep people like him in the Ravenswood district, “because when you feel isolated and frustrated and unsuccessful, I think that’s one of the big reasons for teachers quitting or moving to a different district.”
Scores on the Rise

Principals also meet once a month to do walk-throughs of one another’s schools and learn how to create and nurture professional learning communities, in addition to more frequent, one-on-one meetings with their coaches.

Joan E. Talbert, a senior research scholar at Stanford University who is conducting an evaluation of the New Teacher Center’s work in Ravenswood for the Hewlett Foundation, said that the center’s focus on improving teaching and learning at all levels of the system is starting to pay off.

In 2006, Green Oaks had a 101-point gain under California’s accountability system, known as the Academic Performance Index, or API, the largest for any elementary school in San Mateo County. In 2004, 84 percent of Green Oaks’ students scored “below basic” in language arts; in 2006, that figure dropped to 53 percent.

At Cesar Chavez Academy, the proportion of students reading “below basic” dropped from 62 percent to 48 percent from 2004 to 2006; at Willow Oaks, it declined from 61 percent to 46 percent. A similar pattern has occurred across the district in math, with the number of students reaching proficient status in algebra rising steadily, according to the New Teacher Center.

“So the schools the New Teacher Center was working in before this year are definitely showing a real bringing-up of the bottom,” said Talbert, who is a co-director of Stanford’s Center for Research on the Context of Teaching.
A Sense of Hope

Equally important, teachers and principals here say, the initiative has brought back a sense of hope, collaboration, and stability to the district.

Teachers no longer work in isolation and they “feel they are a strong part of where we are going,” said Superintendent Meza-De La Vega.

Not coincidentally, the retention rate in the district has jumped to over 80 percent for two years running, she said.

But sustaining such an intensive effort is a challenge, and the proof will come in whether Ravenswood can continue to hold onto teachers and improve student achievement over time. Two years ago, the Hewlett Foundation provided $2.46 million for the New Teacher Center to scale up its work in Ravenswood, or about $800 per student. In February of last year, its board approved another $3.8 million over the next two years. The plan is to reduce foundation support over the next five years as the district builds its own internal capacity. The center calls the approach a “gradual-release model,” in which leadership is increasingly assumed by the district.

“People have seen a shift in working conditions,” said Amy R. Gerstein, an independent consultant who is helping the center evaluate its work in Ravenswood. “The schools are safer. It’s a lot calmer, and their systems are a lot smoother. The leadership opportunities for teachers are significantly different.”

But salaries still lag well behind those for teachers in neighboring school districts, she said, and the overall workload for teachers and administrators has not changed.

“Our pay scale is one of the lowest in the area,” acknowledged Meza-De La Vega, who has worked to increase teacher salaries and benefits and to improve practices within the human-resources department.

“How, then, do we try to hold on to teachers?” she said. “We believe that it’s through the support that we can give them, and the voice to participate in the learning and teaching process.”

Lynn Olson is a Managing Editor of Education Week. This article originally appeared, in a different version, in Education Week in March 2007.


Vol. 01, Issue 02, Pages 18,20-22

http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/articles/2008/03/01/02mentoring.h01.html

posted by AcrosticGuy @ 6:52 PM 0 comments

Career Intelligence
March 21, 2008

What career challenges and opportunities do teachers face? What should teachers look for in a school, and what should they expect? To get answers to questions like these, teachermagazine.org recently hosted a live Web chat in which three veteran educators, all members of the Teacher Leaders Network, addressed readers' concerns about careers in teaching. Excerpts follow.

I am a career changer currently getting a Master’s in elementary education. I often hear horror stories about teaching. Can you give some insight on the realities of the job?

Julie Dermody: One of the biggest insights is that some of the things that new teachers find the hardest aren’t covered in any college courses. These are generally issues related to classroom management, time management, integration of subjects, and differentiated instruction (including working with students who don’t speak any English and students who are gifted in certain subjects). There are several great books to help in these areas, including the classic The First Days of School by Harry and Rosemary Wong.

Another way to prepare yourself for real-life teaching is to visit classrooms in different kinds of schools. Get a sense of the sorts of challenges teachers face, and consider what sort of school environment feels most comfortable to you. Look for a school that values what you do. The better the fit you have with your school, the fewer horror stories you (or anyone else) will have. Remember that teaching shouldn’t be an isolating experience: There are lots of colleagues who can and want to help you. In the end, your happiness as a teacher will come down to relationships— relationships with your students, their parents, fellow teachers, and administration.

In my job search, how can I identify a school that values nontraditional teaching methods? (Think “Freedom Writers.”)

Deanna Harris: Whenever I have applied for a position at a different school, I’ve tried to remember that I’m not just being interviewed; I am interviewing the administrator or interview team as well. Well-crafted questions for the principal, administrator, or interview team can help you determine what instructional methods are valued at that school. Providing insight into teaching methods that you value and use in your classroom with the team can help you share your experiences and help you gauge their acceptance of the methods that you value.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before stepping into your own classroom for the first time?

Mary Tedrow: I remember being surprised by the varying levels of my students and by the very poor academic skills of many students. At first I thought, “Why hasn’t anyone taught these kids anything?” But then I realized that these learning-levels had always existed— and probably always will— but that I had not seen them in my life as a student.

Secondly, I was amazed by the amount of paperwork and non-classroom work teachers have to do on top of actually teaching. At this point, I’ve learned to streamline a lot of the multi-tasking work teachers have to do throughout the day. If you see a teacher with an efficient way of handling routine paperwork, steal it! As a waitress, I learned to make every step count, to do many things on one trip to the kitchen. Now I’ve learned to do that as a teacher.


What career paths are available in literacy that are outside the classroom and the realm of administration?

Julie Dermody: The job of literacy coach is definitely growing. I know it is in my district. These positions are more staff- development oriented than the traditional reading positions used to be.


What suggestions do you have for student-teacher supervisors and career-development directors regarding how we can best prepare our college students for the first year of teaching and beyond?

Deanna Harris: Real experience is key! Having as much time in front of classes and working with teachers in the trenches will provide college students with the real-world experience they need. Classroom observations by college students should begin as soon as they realize that teaching is their chosen profession. I also hope that your student-teacher supervisors and career-development directors spend time observing today’s classrooms and teachers. Sometimes it is easy to become removed from the very profession for which we are working to train our students.

Traditionally trained teachers tend to view new educators from alternative programs with suspicion. What advice would you give to these new teachers so that they go in with the best possible strategy to be accepted?


Mary Tedrow: I’ve seen a number of career-changing teachers come, do outstanding work, and stay in the profession. Others come and go rather quickly, sometimes within the year. So new alt-cert teachers should be aware in advance that your colleagues will have seen this pattern as well— and may have been on the receiving end of a newcomer who has an attitude that they are there to “save” public education because the current system (including the current teachers) is inadequate.

All of us need to be sensitive to each others’ perspectives. The quickest way to any teacher’s heart is to ask for help, and then listen to the answer! The best teachers love helping others succeed. That’s why they teach. It will be easy to find these teachers among your colleagues. Their attitude will tell it all. By asking for help, a novice is acknowledging that he or she is just starting down the path. Listening to advice from master teachers honors the giver.


Please discuss the potential for high-quality, school- and team-based professional learning to provide teachers the support they need to succeed and to stay in the profession. Why don’t schools use this kind of professional learning more?

Mary Tedrow: I’m happy to report that the message that teacher collaboration works best is starting to trickle down to the building level. At least we are starting to hear the words more often than in the past. Finding time for this worthwhile work is always the problem. And time is money of course. My district is struggling with the bottom line and juggling mandates from above— which makes finding time for collaborative work even harder. I think the emphasis on testing has definitely taken precedence over improving professional development programs. Fortunately, good mentors steered me to the National Writing Project, the gold standard for the teacher-collaborative approach to professional development, in my view. I credit the organization with keeping my teaching fresh and my attitude upbeat.

What are the top 2-3 sources of joy in teachers’ work and what are the top 2-3 sources of frustration? What suggestions do you have for alleviating the frustrations?

Deanna Harris:
From my experiences, the joys have always surrounded student learning, the teachable moments, and my work in providing professional development to my colleagues. The frustrations have been and will probably continue to be the bureaucracy and the politics that often squelch the spirit, innovations, and passion of many teachers. And the sometimes endless paperwork.

We need more teacher leaders, more openness to teacher voices, more school-based personnel making the decisions for the curriculum, instruction, facilities, and staff of their schools.

Please describe what you consider to be positive working conditions for teachers and how it affects student learning conditions.

Mary Tedrow: Here is my list for ideal teacher working conditions: conversations that include the teacher in the development of building-level decisions; support in obtaining classroom teaching materials; technology support; clean, bright classrooms; and availability of basic supplies. Another key is mutual respect between teachers and administrators. I want the same kind of community I try to provide for my students, where risk-taking is welcome and problems are solved rather than created.

And a window in the classroom is always nice. Seriously, little things can make a difference. They acknowledge that we may be in the same building for a career, not just a few years like the students.
"From my experience, the joys [of teaching] have always surrounded student learning, the teachable moments, and my work in providing professional development to my colleagues."
Deanna Harris


Do you have any advice for prospective elementary teachers who are having a hard time finding a job?

Julie Dermody: Come to North Carolina! Seriously, if you are flexible, there are jobs available in different spots all over the nation. In my area right now, we can’t find enough teachers, and we are opening new schools every year. If you can’t move, consider adding on to your license so you could work with elementary students in specialized areas— such as English language learners, gifted education, or special education. Often you can be more attractive to school districts if you have extra areas of expertise.

I’m a graduating senior and I’m trying to decide if I want to pursue a career in education. What are some of the most important things I should keep in mind when making this decision?

Mary Tedrow: Teaching is a great profession, if you like children. And though this seems obvious, it isn’t always. Some teach because they love their subject. Others are attracted to the hours, which do afford an earlier ending time and a summer break.

But the truth is that to do the job well you must like the “messiness” of working with children. And though, on paper, the day ends early and there are summer breaks, the work during the school year is intense, extending beyond the day spent with the kids and often into the weekend. When summer rolls around, the break is well deserved.

I read this statement once, and it rang true to me: “Some love to teach English. Some love to teach children. Some love to teach English to children.” It is the third sentence that reveals the careful balance you need to be the kind of teacher who will actually enjoy the work. Even loving children too much won’t work out if the subject matter is neglected.

"Remember that teaching shouldn't be an isolating experience... In the end, your happiness as a teacher will come down to relationships."
Julie Dermody

After teaching middle school for 12 years, I’m feeling the effects of burnout. Are there concrete ways (strategies/techniques/career & life changes) teachers use to cope with all the demands placed on them?

Deanna Harris:
Well, for me, I took steps to make concrete change. I went from the language arts classroom to the library media center, though still in the middle school setting. Some of the challenges are the same, but there is a whole new set of challenges, too, ones that allow me to grow and stretch as a professional.

I also made a list of all the extra things I was doing— club sponsorships, committees, workshops, etc.,— and ranked them. After I determined what was most important, I gave notice that I would not be involved in the others the next school year. Guess what?! There were others that could serve on those committees! Perhaps you need a change of venue, subject, position, or a non-teaching activity to energize you.

In today’s standards-based atmosphere, how do teachers provide meaningful lessons and personal relationships?

Mary Tedrow: Good teaching generally encompasses the standards and more. And meeting the standards doesn’t necessarily mean eliminating the other items you mentioned. Confident teachers know that establishing relationships and routines with students will make the time spent on curriculum “stick” in the long run.

Though it varies from state to state, lists of objectives can be distracting if a classroom teacher looks at each one as a discrete goal, because well-crafted units should knit many objectives together. Teachers can make the mistake of trying to cover it all and doing none of it well, as opposed to doing most of it well and ensuring that basic objectives were met even as the students actually learned something they can carry to the next level.


I would rather have the equipment I need to teach and an extra conference period for planning than a raise. How do other teachers feel about this?

Julie Dermody:
Actually, most teachers would agree with you. Poor working conditions are what most teachers cite when they leave, not the lack of pay (although we all would like to have bigger pay checks!) Having adequate planning time is a huge problem, especially in elementary schools. Having equipment— that works— is also a problem in many schools.

A positive, nurturing, and supportive school climate would top most teachers’ list as well. It’s not all about the money. But it is about being treated as a professional.
Vol. 01, Issue 02, Pages 23-26

Guests for This Chat

Deanna Harris, library media coordinator at East Cary Year-Round Middle School in Cary, N.C.

Julie Dermody, literacy specialist at Mary Scroggs Elementary School, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Mary Tedrow, 12th grade English and Journalism teacher at Milbrook High School in Winchester, Va.

posted by AcrosticGuy @ 6:37 PM 0 comments

Making Online PD Work
March 21, 2008

Online professional development programs offer the obvious benefits of convenience, access, and progress-tracking. But experts warn that these programs can be ineffective if they are treated too casually. Instead, like other high-quality professional development options, they should be given strong oversight and integrated into a coherent plan for teacher learning.

Here are some tips for those involved in setting up online teacher-learning activities.

USE ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS that can be tailored to the needs of your district rather than a one-size-fits-all program. What might work well in one district may not apply in another because of different classroom approaches, curricula, data-gathering tools, and testing methods.

PROVIDE TEACHER INCENTIVES for course completion, including reimbursement for the cost of courses if an A or B grade is earned. With such incentives, a higher percentage of teachers will likely complete the courses and use what they have learned to improve their instruction.

GIVE TEACHERS THE SAME CREDITS, stipends, or time for participating in online courses as you would for traditional programs that require educators to attend in person. This policy sends the message that good online training is as important as other types of professional development.

BE WILLING TO INVEST in high-quality online professional development. Because resources on the Internet are often free, many administrators think that online coursework should be cheaper than traditional training. That is often not the case.

Vol. 01, Issue 02, Page 6

posted by AcrosticGuy @ 6:30 PM 0 comments