Services
Spiral Notebook Blogs
Advertisement
Fresh Start: A Novice Teacher Tries Again After a Tough First Year
By Mark Nichol
11/19/07In my last entry, I recounted my challenging first year as a teacher. Here, I’ll describe my second-year misfortunes, and my decision to call it quits after my third strike.
As my second year of teaching began, I felt a renewed sense of hope that I had chosen the right career. One week into the new calendar, however, the school district announced that, because of budget cuts, each school’s most recently hired teacher -- me! -- would be laid off. Other district educators had been hired even more recently than I had, however, and the higher-ups told me I would be reassigned to another school to fill the position one of these people would vacate as a result of being sacked.
Parents throughout the district rallied in their opposition to this absurd plan -- after all, it would require many class rosters to be reshuffled -- and the administration somehow found another way to trim the budget. My position at my school was secure, but it was another awkward start to a school year.
I volunteered for the district’s New Teacher Task Force and chaired a committee charged with preparing a model support program for newcomers to the classroom. After a round of after-school meetings, I proudly typed up the final draft of our report and handed it to the district administrator who facilitated the task force. Though he was a sympathetic and universally beloved fellow, he rewrote it drastically to ease bureaucratic digestion (basically gutting it), and nothing ever seemed to come of all our time and effort. I was crushed.
Again, I had many wonderful kids that year as well as a few who were great sometimes and difficult at other times and a few I grew to dislike but tried to treat fairly. Again, my classroom-management skills left something to be desired, and again I was buried under mounds of homework and class-preparation materials, and again I fell behind and despaired of ever mastering the art of teaching.
Still, at the end of my second frustrating, exhausting year, I was granted tenure. I accepted. But as I began my third year, I contemplated it being my last, and as the months passed, my resolve deepened. By spring break, I had all but decided to give it up. Regrettably, I told no one at school about my decision, and I didn’t officially resign until midsummer, but when I did, I felt a sense of relief that surprised and saddened me. What of my bloodline? What of my youthful enthusiasm, my determination to be a vigorous, creative, progressive educator? I was a failure.
Not quite. Despite my poor classroom-management and organizational abilities, despite being overwhelmed by my responsibilities and flustered by my more troublesome students, I was popular with not only most of my own students but also many in other classrooms, and for every parent who complained to my face -- or, more commonly, behind my back -- about my class, another effusively thanked me for making his or her child’s school year so rewarding and memorably enjoyable.
As every teacher must, I learned a great many things. Among them was that I might have succeeded in a less traditional educational environment, or with older students, or with a better system -- hell, any system -- established to support me and others in the first few years of our teaching careers. The significance of this last point cannot be overstated: It behooves every school and every district to establish and maintain a carefully considered and faithfully implemented program for recruiting, orienting, supporting, and retaining teachers.
Even now, more than fifteen years after the end of my crash-and-burn teaching career, many new educators fall through the cracks and decide that, despite their passionate desire to make a difference in children’s lives, the systemic pressures, the degrading bureaucracy, the long hours, and the low pay are just not worth it. What a shame.
Have things improved since my short-lived public school career? If you’re a relatively new educator, please share your experiences with us. If you’re a veteran, describe the changes, if any, you’ve observed in new-teacher induction and mentoring over the years.
First Year Blues
Submitted by Patrick (not verified) on May 24, 2008 - 11:00.
As I recalled the events that lead me through the course of my first year of teaching, I was forced to admit that much of the year was a blur for me. Even before beginning the first day of class, I felt as though I were all alone in the educational world. As I entered my classroom for the first time, I found a mountain of papers and files all atop of a desk in the middle of a bare room. I thought to myself, "O.K., this is it. This is where all teachers begin." I was a newlywed, in a new city, with a new job. Needless to say, the stress level was mounting. I also found out from my teaching partner that I needed to take the state's ESL endorsement test in order to be qualified to teach in the district. I was now thinking that I had jumped in way over my head. I had just graduated from college and had only my student teaching experience behind me.
However, while the district I worked at was slow to integrate a novice teacher support plan, they did prepare me somewhat for the road ahead. I was issued a mentor, who was my lifeblood. I also worked with angels for teaching partners. Without these caring individuals at my side, I would probably not be in the profession today.
Like many of the other teachers that have posted on this blog, I must also state the importance that each school district must place on teacher development and growth. I think half of the battle resides in the first five years of teaching. If a district can provide a truly supportive framework for new teachers, they will be, in fact, helping themselves by creating a path for novice teachers to become expert teachers.
Support in the first years
Submitted by JR (not verified) on May 25, 2008 - 17:40.
California requires new teachers to go through a two year induction program called BTSA, Beginning Teachers Support and Assessment. At first, I tried to find a way out of the program but after being in the program I realized the value of it. I have heard that many teachers quit in the first five years of teaching and that is why the BTSA program was started. I ended up enjoying the experience: meeting teachers from other schools, the monthly trainings, having a support provider to help me along the way, and setting goals for improving my teaching. It was very beneficial for me. In order to receive a clear credential, a new teacher must complete the two year BTSA program. This year I was employed in a new district that really believes in providing support to new teachers or new to the district. Although I had already completed the BTSA program, I was given a support provider who met with me once a week to discuss whatever I needed help in. This has been a highlight of my week. The person has been there to support me in anyway I needed. I believe it was instrumental in helping me through all the challenges this past year. I will miss that contact next year!
This is my first year teaching
Submitted by T. Busherd (not verified) on May 4, 2008 - 20:04.
This is currently my first year of teaching. I graduated from college last year, so when I say first year, I mean first year. I drive 75 miles round trip and 40 minutes one way to drive to my classroom. I teach 7th grade Language Arts in the mornings. Although the students are in seventh grade most of them are at a 3-5 grade level. I hear on a daily basis from other teachers at this school that they cannot believe the situation i have been put into. One of my clssrooms has students whose reading level is a 2-3 level. Many of these students are also on behavioral contracts. I have to sign 4 contract sheets a day, as to what the students' behavior was for the day.I do have a mentor teacher at this school who does help me along the way. However, there is not a new teacher handbook. Items that people assume I should know, I don't. I feel as though my college experience left me unpreparred for the real world. After I teach in the mornings, I complete my lunch and planning. I then leave this school and drive to the next one. In the afternoon I teach K-1 sciecne enrichment. When I first entered this setting there was not a curriculum. I had to design the curriculum for the science enrichment. Not only has this been very demanding on me, but I also have two children of my own. Needless to say, i can see why teachers burn out......
Novice Teacher Burnout
Submitted by N. Phillips, Selmer TN (not verified) on May 28, 2008 - 16:52.
I completely sympathize with you. I was hired on the second day of school into a special education kindergarten to fourth grade class with eighteen students (diagnosed with autism, mental retardation, emotional disorders, cerebral palsy, ADHD – and several had a mix of these combined with speech and language disorders) and no curriculum. To say I experienced panic would be a severe understatement. I had the help of two paraprofessionals, and an experienced teacher that mentored me throughout the hardest year of my nine years in teaching. A good mentor can make a huge difference in the success or failure of a novice teacher.
I had to create individualized curriculums for each student that covered all core academic subject areas. (I actually asked if I could have the same curriculums as Kindergarten and first grade had and was told that my students did not need a curriculum.) As time has passed, I have won desperately needed reading and math curriculums to use in my classroom. No curriculum is perfect, but it does give me a base to work from.
Things are much better now. Do not give up on your class or your students. Have faith in yourself. It is very hard when you first start with nothing, but as the years go by you gather and create a solid base of materials to pull from. Do you have a mentor? Is there anyone that can help you? If you do not have a mentor assigned by your school district, then find an experienced teacher and ask for help. He or she could be flattered by your request, and be more than willing to help you. I have found that most professionals enjoy sharing what they know.
Burning out is really easy to do during your first year of teaching. All I can say to encourage you is to hang on, build what you need for your classroom a piece at a time, and find a mentor. Someone to talk to and collaborate with can make your job much easier.
Novice and Expert Teachers
Submitted by Victor (not verified) on March 25, 2008 - 20:35.
I am a fifth year teacher and still consider myself as a novice teacher with a little more experience. I think that school districts like mine do a good job with their mentoring program for those beginning, first year teachers. However, with this being my fifth year I am experiencing something that I have never felt. The overwhelming feeling, I know that a lot of what our staff is feeling is because for some reason our administration this year is not addressing the issues being caused by the students that need counseling, gang problems, and behavior issues. Teachers are feeling as if there is no support and therefore the teacher moral is down. I think that schools not only need to support new teachers in their first years but through out their career in order to keep and give novice teachers a chance to become more and more experienced and better professionals at what we do!
Novice teacher support
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 25, 2008 - 12:58.
As another poster mentioned, I am also a graduate student at Walden University. We have spent the past week discussing the spectrum of the novice to expert teacher. We have read many articles and I myself have learned a huge amount. I have only been teaching for four years, but feel I have come so far from my first year experiences.
I had a similar experience in my first year of teaching. It was horrible in many ways. I taught at a grade level I had no previous experience in and felt very overwhelmed. At many times, I thought I was ready to quit and find something new to do, but I kept at it. I would wake up each day and start over. It was very hard. It was partially my fault; I had no classroom management skills to speak of. I was learning as I went. However, I also had very little support from administration and was given a classroom full of behavior problems sadly as many new teachers are. I did have a very supportive mentor teacher and attended an "Induction Teacher" class once a week for the first semester of school. This class was somewhat helpful, but really was just another time commitment when I seemed to have no time at all and was exhausted!
Luckily, I survived that year. I learned a tremendous amount. I also learned I definitely was not at the right place for me. I took a chance and moved to a different school and back to the grade level I loved. It was the best move I ever made. I have now been teaching for 4 years and the last three have had their difficulties but have been wonderful too!
I know that I am nowhere near an expert teacher but I do feel I am learning each year and gaining more knowledge daily. Tasks that used to take forever seem to go faster and easier. I do not have to spend as much time on classroom management and I am able to focus more on my students' learning. I do not have everything figured out by no means, but things are getting smoother as I gain experience and knowledge.
I also hope that this article will not discourage young and inexperienced teachers. If your first year is tough, keep trying. It may take you a few years to find the right grade level, subject, or area for you. Teaching is hard work, but for me it is all worth it. There is nothing else I would rather do.
Where is the support?
Submitted by Tonya R (not verified) on March 24, 2008 - 20:14.
Not to long ago a fellow colleague of mine who is a novice teacher received her final evaluation. Unfortunately, her contract was not renewed and she has not been recommended to teach in the district. She is a caring and hard working teacher who needs support. She received support from teachers but administration was unsupportive. It appears she was expected to go in as an expert in her first year. I believe if the administration took some time and gave her guidance she would be a more productive teacher.
Novice to Expert Teachers
Submitted by Caycee H. (not verified) on March 24, 2008 - 15:15.
I am also a student going through Walden University. We have discussed what we think novice and expert teachers are as well as where we feel we are at on the spectrum. I believe that I am still a novice teacher and have many things left to learn. I can understand the writer of this blog and how it is not usually the children that you are teaching that can sometimes make you wonder if you have choosed the right profession. I love teaching children but sometimes I think that the school system and the state are not always wanting the "best" for the students. I feel that sometimes it only comes down to money. I want every student in my classroom to learn and understand what I am teaching. I know to run a school and a system, you have to have money but money is not everything. I wish that sometimes the focus really could be more on the students rather than on the amount of money they could bring in. As the author said, I wish that some of the good teachers that leave our profession could be caught from "falling through the cracks."
Not every year is the same
Submitted by Susan (not verified) on March 3, 2008 - 15:45.
I hope this story doesn't discourage young teachers. There are many days when I come home feeling like I am ready to quit. Then, I get a good night's sleep and start again. I realize the challenges teachers have are sometimes enough to make you want to throw in the towel. But, if something doesn't work, that is where our education comes into play...try something else! Each year I get new students as well as some from the previous year (I teach preschool). There are some students that were stinkers last year who have matured and are model students this year. Not every year will be the same.
Schools, students and lack of jobs
Submitted by Susan L (not verified) on February 28, 2008 - 14:25.
How do you survive this career? I am 54, recently divorced, and received a post-professional graduate license in 2006 to teach social studies only to find out there are very few jobs available in this endorsement.
I was offered a long term substitute position with the promise of having a contract if the teacher I was replacing did not return. By the time I had walked into this rural middle school classroom the discipline was beyond belief. I could get four of the six classes under control but not two others.
Three different substitute teachers before me had left a pile of referrals on the desk for the same student which I gave to the principal who, in turn, dumped them in the waste paper basket. Wouldn't you know, the same student had me fired within three days for claiming I had called the classroom, 'a bunch of dumb blacks.' What I had actually said was: "Don't act as if you are all as dumb as a bunch of rocks." It never occurred to me that administration would side with the student, who was then allowed to call his parent that same day from the school. His father came and immediately demanded I be fired.
I am so traumatized by this event that I finally had to seek out out counseling. Thank god I have relatives that could take me in since I was not making enough to pay the mortgage on my house which I lost.
In any case, I love students and socials studies and could not wait to spread my knowledge in creative ways. You think at my age I should have known better. Now I am barely audible at job interviews.
For those of you who stuck it out, I don't know how you do it but honestly, you have my admiration for going in there and facing those uphill battles everyday.
Post new comment