Talk It Over: Education
Ready to Go? What New Teachers Really Need
By Scott Bittle on July 12, 2008
Our series of Lessons Learned surveys have shown time and time again that new teachers don't feel they're getting the support they need to do a good job -- or to stick with teaching. Clearly we can't have good schools without good teachers, but how do we get them the backing they need?
Comments
I think teachers need to interact more with parents... As a Parent, I would like to know more of what is going on in the classroom day-to-day... Then I can give more support to the teachers... Parent of 6-year-old J T
As a sudent of the usa, i belive that when parents and teacher form an alliance, it creates a household problem. The parent will belive that the teacher is always right, with the student left with no say. This will promote arguments that cause stress to all the inhabitants of the house. It is different different when your student is young, but from my past experience, I have faced injustices with a teacher that my parents believed the teachers were right. What happened to the good old days when a child could have a little fun with no worries?
white Shadow
I agree with the previous poster, JT. If teachers make contact with the parents and involve them in the daily grind of schooling, the parents are far more likely to feel a responsibility to help teachers get the resources they need and also to support the teachers directly. I can add that the complaints of teachers are not unlike those of many other public servants - firefighters who want better equipment, police who want to be free to do their job -- and all of them want better wages. One way to get communicty backing is from from block -- political clubs, neighborhood associations, PTA and so on. Union-based measures that seem designed to stop competition from other school models or to protect the jobs of incompetent teachers don't help create support.
MH
As a teacher it would be wonderful to have parents who want to be involved. Not all parents are willing to come to school.
Often the best approaches to improve involvement are bottom-up endeavors. Does anyone know of local initiatives started by teachers that have improved parental involvement. Capturing and sharing these ideas or practices could be helpful
I concur that the best schools/students appear to be the ones with parent involvement, but it's also hard to transform a model of parental involvement that was set up for two parent families with one working parent, to the current world of single parent/blended parent two-career/job families. And, I must confess, when I was a student, I dreaded having my parnets tell my teachers they needed to give more homework.
Thanks for the comments! Our research on first year teachers show that secondary (middle and high school) teachers are more likely to say that they do not get excellent or good advice from their more experienced colleagues on working and communicating with parents than new elementary teachers (a 10 point gap).
I'm curious if this is your experience as well-- do elementary school teachers do a better job of keeping parents informed? How about newer teachers overall; do they know when and how to contact you about your cihild's performance?
--
Thanks,
Jon Rochkind
Research Director, Education Insights
Public Agenda
Web: www.publicagenda.org
Yes. Elementary teachers do a better job at keeping the parents of their students involved...or at least they try. I am a parent, a teacher, and just left my position as a local employee association President. I have seen it from all sides.
The cars of elementary teachers are often seen in the school parking lots long after dark. It is the nature of elementary teachers ...they are generally more nurturing.
Elementary teachers send home weekly papers to be signed, usually contact parents by phone or email, participate more in school/student/parent activities, and are expected at the drop of a hat to meet with parents. When taking field trips, parents chaperone.
Secondary teachers do not make time for parents...they expect you to come to see them on their time. They are accountable for more students, and my guess is that by the time the parents of most children have reached high school age, many parents have become cynical about public schools and teachers. Secondary school teachers generally leave the school building as soon as they can.
The only time most parents hear from the secondary teachers/schools is when their kid has done something wrong or is a star student or athlete. The average kid/late bloomer is disenfranchised by the public school and if the child is feeling left out, my guess is the parent is also feeling that the public schools have somehow left them behind.
Middle school is where the problems begin...maybe it is because it is such a difficult age, but middle school teachers and administrators are so negative, and are so quick to make rules, and assume everyone is a problem student. The classes are usually too large and there is not much middle schools have to offer students in the way of extra-curricular activities....as a matter of fact, most communities don't have much to offer that age group.
If new teachers feel that they are not getting adequate or helpful advice from their more experienced peers now, what will happen if merit pay is instituted? Again, this is only a guess, but the more experienced teachers are probably feeling the same level of frustration from their school district that the new teachers are feeling from their colleagues. That is a morale issue...and not enough is being said about morale among teachers. Sure they love their job...they wouldn't do it if they didn't. But how many of them feel they are appreciated by their fellow teachers, their administrators, or their school division. It is all about holding people accountable and accountability is all about...."your not doing a good enough job. Your training and experience as a teacher are sub-standard and don't count."
This question has many levels...it is not a quick fix.
I am a middle school teacher and when you group all middle school teachers/admistrators into one group saying that we are negative, really isn't fair. Teaching is a second career for me. After 28 years in retail managements I went back to college and obtained my degree in education. I know at my school we have a wonderful, engaged faculty. Every teacher is willing to work with each other AND the parents and students. Many of us spend long hours after school offering free tutoring and meeting students on Saturdays at the local library.
Every teacher has his/her own webpage where not only do we post homework assignments, but we also post class notes, Power Point presentations, study guides, web links and anything else that we can to help our students. We also make phone calls home that are positive as well as informative to areas that their child is lagging in WITH suggestions to improve their performance and behavior.
We have high expectations for all of our students and we don't lower our expectations. We do understand what may be a high expectation for one students may not be for another, so our expectations are different for each of our students. We have a very active parent organization that supports our school because they see that we truly care and want the best of our students.
Many of our teachers go to conventions and or meetings to give presentations to other schools on topics such as classroom management and best practices. We are a public school and we are located in Louisiana.
Our administrator said something on the day before I began working as a teacher that changed my perception of education. She said that our students and parents are our clients. Coming from a retail background, this made sense to me. I knew from my pass experiences in the workfield that the most important part of a client relationship is customer service. If you have great customer service you have a happy customer and with happy customers you have return business. Word of mouth is the best and worst advertising you can get.
Having an engaged and caring administration and faculty is the best way to get the word out that your school is the best for the children.
I know we aren't the norm for some middle schools, but all middle schools shouldn't be lumped together.
I'm a father with three children (9th grade step-daughter, two sons 3rd & 4th grade) and I also substitute teach in the Fairfax County, Virginia school system, which is generally recognized as one of the best in the country, and I agree with that assessment.
That said, the level of communication from at the elementary school level to the middle school (7th and 8th grade in our case) and high school, dropped like a rock. In Fairfax, school system wide there is an envelope that goes home weekly with information about school events, PTA events, after school organizations( e.g. Cub Scouts, Sports leagues, Girl Scouts, etc) at all elementary schools. Given the diversity of Fairfax County some schools have their information going out in about ten different languages, so making sure that the student gets the information in the language that the parents understand is itself a large task.
At the middle school level this communication essentially ceases, it's "the student's responsiblity now", and while at one level I would like to agree with that, the reality is that today's 7th grader is a heck of lot more like a 6th grader than a high school student. Since I was in the middle school as a substitute, I would see some of the flyers that were on the bulletin board and my daugther had never mentioned anything about it, likewise with the P.A. announcementss.
The short answer to your question is yes, elementary teachers do a better job of keeping the parents informed, but this is also a systemic issue. Your children are at elementary school for 7 years (K-6) and because of this span, parents are much more likely to have multiple children in one school, and each teacher has just the 22-30 in their class, depending upon the school system.
I was on the middle school PTA and with just two years there, it was very hard to get parents involved, even the ones that had been very active at the elementary level. At this particular middle school, they had a team approach, and in her 8th grade year, the team did a fairly good job of communicating via e-mail (one per week). I know that a number of parents would like to see the weekly envelope method continued at least through middle school, because I know we felt like the only reason we even knew about any of the PTA / school events was because I was on the PTA board.
Not specifically about communication, but two areas where I would like to see Fairfax schools do a better job, is in emphasizing the fact that in math, you simply have to memorize the multiplication tables. I've seen 6th graders take 3-4 minutes to come up with the fact that 6x7 is 42, so that they can then start to work on the word problem on a test. If it takes you 3-4 minutes to come up with the first step, you don't have any time left to work on the actual problem and you will not finish the test in time. There are simply some things that need to memorized, period, and they will use it for the rest of their lives.
The second area where I'm not sure what happened is book reports, because I sure did not see many required of my daughter in her elementary and middle school years. I think most adults will agree that almost all jobs require taking in a large amount of material, and then coming up with a short summary of what's most important, e.g. a book report. It also helps develop the habit of reading, which is a good habit to have.
Regards,
Bill Huddleston
Fairfax, Virginia
BillHuddleston@verizon.net
I am a middle school teacher. I teach 6th grade Social Studies and 6th-8th grade Pre Law. I have to offer a mild protest when someone groups all middle school teachers and administrators as negative or “Secondary teachers do not make time for parents...they expect you to come to see them on their time.”
Yes, middle school teachers have up to 150 or more students to teach compared to 20-25 elementary students. That in a of itself changes the comparison between the two. We all know that generalizations aren’t a good way to hold a discussion. Yes, there are middle schools where they may take a ‘if you want to know what’s going on then come see us, but successful middle schools don’t fall into this category.
I am lucky enough to be part of a dynamic, engaging, challenging, and accountable middle school. No, we aren’t a charter, private, or parochial school. We are a public school, funded with public dollars serving the public.
Teaching is a second career for me. I had previously spent 29 years in retail, mostly in management. I left the retail business world, reentered college and earned my degree in education.
I knew from the retail world that the personality of a store location all depended upon the top management in that location. You all know it. You enter a store and it just feels right. You feel like they care and want you to be there. So it is also in education/schools. You know when you walk onto a campus and into the buildings that you are in a special place. A place where the teachers have a stake in the children’s success. The teachers genuinely care and want your child to succeed and are willing to do whatever it takes to get them there.
That is the type of campus I work at and it all comes from our administrator. She may ruffle a few feathers of those who think their child is better than another child, but that is what makes our school work. It is run fair. Everyone has an equal voice and each voice is just as important as the next.
What makes our school work and not a part of the generalization of negative middle schools is that the administration has worked hard in hiring qualified teachers who share the vision she has. When a hiring is to take place, our administrator brings in the entire content area to conduct a group interview of the person applying for the job. We all get to quiz and question that candidate because we are the ones who are going to have to work with this person and we want a team player.
Another thing that makes our school work is that the teachers are there for the parents and students. Every teacher has his or her own web page where they post homework assignments, class notes, Power Point presentations, study guides, blogs, and web links for the students to access. Some teachers also post websites to help parents deal with the adolescent that they are raising so that they can better understand how this ‘strange creature’ who has emerged from somewhere works.
Our teachers come to school early and stay after school offering FREE tutoring for those students who may need the help. Some teachers will offer to meet with the student on Saturdays at the public library. Our teachers attend workshop and conventions giving presentations on classroom management and best practices. We make a practice of calling home to offer positive as well as constructive advice to parents about their child. We do this not because we have to, but because we want to.
We also have an active parent organization because our parents SEE the effort we are putting in and they know that we only want the best for their children.
And it does pay off. In our state assessment scores we rank in the top 1% in the state with students attaining the top two levels (Advanced and Mastery) in all four major content areas. In Social Studies, the sixth and seventh grades are ranked 2nd in the state in meeting these goals.
I attribute this success to many things, but the most is the support that the parents give to their children AND to the teachers. Schools aren’t babysitting services. Parents still need to be not only parents, but active parents. It just comes with the territory.
If you care to visit our school webpage you can find it at http://sherwood.ebrschools.org
Alan Berthelot
one more time
In defense of the secondary teacher who seems not to communicate with parents as well, I think you have to consider a couple of things before you decide they aren't doing a good job. Our kindergarten teachers have no more than 20 students while our ninth grade teachers average 150 students. That adds up to a lot more parents. If the ninth grade teacher contacts 20 parents during a week, that leaves 130 that didn't get contacted. Also, while the 1st grader comes home anxious to tell his parents all about his day, the 14 year old may not get off the cell phone long enough to tell his parents anything. Our school has an advisory program. Each teacher is the adviser to 17 or 18 students. That gives the parents and students a contact person who can get more involved with the smaller group of students.
But that doesn't answer the original question about what new teachers need. They need to ask a lot of questions. They need a mentor. They need to spot the successful veteran teacher, and ask to observe their class. They need to get to know the librarian, the counselor, the custodian and the school secretary. These people can give you a lot of valuable information.
As a mentor for new teachers in the State of New Jersey, I see a few essential needs for new teachers. First of all, new teachers need to keep a log of issues they encounter during their first few weeks in the classroom. These issues can be of a burning nature, multiple incidents or just daily concerns about procedures or policies. Just today our first fire drill vciloated state mandates and the tone for this really clouds the minds of new teachers.
Teachers should be paid more, thats the bottom line.
The fundamental issue with education in the United States today is not systemic - it's social. Our society is more interested in entertainment than we are in education. Nowhere is this more evident than in our schools where sports coaches are paid more than teachers, where sports facilities and extra curricular activities get more funding than libraries, classrooms and computer labs and where students are taught through mass media, through peer pressure and through the actions of their parents and educators that being successful in sports or the performing arts is more important than learning.
From the moment a child is old enough to read or watch TV they are bombarded with the message that entertainers, whether they are singers, movie stars or athletes, are the role models that they should aspire to emulate. Concerned parents who attempt to insulate their children from this all pervasive social brainwashing face a daunting task. How to explain to a child that mastery of writing, reading and arithmetic is essential when the children who embrace these pursuits as predominant to sports and the arts are routinely ostracized by their classmates, ignored by their community and rarely if ever openly applauded by their teachers, who fear inviting the ridicule of their classmates on the hapless student?
To fix education we need to embrace a fundamental change in the way our society values intelligence and learning. Our children's role models should be Nobel Peace Prize winners, not people who's only contribution to society is their ability to dunk a basketball. To pay professional baseball players from $400,000 to $25,000,000 per season while entry level teachers in some states make $18,000 a year is not only incomprehensible but it sends a message to our children that their education is truly the least of this country's' concerns.
If we truly wish to improve education in America, we must figure out a way to clearly and continually express, in thought, word and deed, that we as a country value educators more than entertainers.
What is at the root of new teachers not feeling that they're not "getting the support they need to do a good job -- or to stick with teaching," starts at the State level, in that of decentilization of the information provided to newly recuited teacher, and to the general public, any of who may hold a Bachelor's Degree, and by word of month, finds out that they may qualify to teach, through the Alternate Route method, that so many States now allow in becoming Standarized teachers. Most State Departments of Education now have, up and running, websites that provide links to just about every facet of the profession in teaching. However, the State also rely on the Counties' Offices of the Superintendent of Schools, Certification Departments to provide information on the process of certification. On the district level, a teacher will have to dig deep to find personnel with the information needed, to advance in the teaching profession and in pay. The problem is that the staff at the county level certification office may or may not provide the information (depending on how they wake up that day), and that because, the Office of Licensing and Credentials, within the Department of Education is not providing rules or a standard in what information should be provided at the county level. It is left to the descreption of the clerk.
I know first hand; at the Hudson County Office of the Superintendent, Certification Department, the principal clerk, a real sicko acktually puts intakes through a litmus test unbeknown to the applicant, because in her mind, people with degrees, should be able to discern through the maze of information that she provides. The way she provides information is as, well; let me give you an example: Pick up completed gigsaw puzzle that it's pieces have not been glued together, but hold together as you pick it up, ever so slowly with both of your hands, as if you where to show it to someone else. Then, once they see the picture, drop it on the table and watch all the pieces fall apart, in such a way that now the other person, has to figure out which piece goes with what piece to get the clear picture, again. That is how she provides the information. Since applicants for teaching certifications are a dignified bunch, fearing a bad impression would effect a future hiring, they pretend to understand, apply for a certificate of eligibility, of which ever endorsement seems right for them at the moment. Then after paying the fees, taking the appropiate test; (which may not even be the right test for the endorsement) if taken at all, and after waiting up to more than 6 months (that's how long, NJDOE is now taking to complete evaluations) come to find out that they do not meet the requirements. I know, because, I was force to watch, and when I brought it up to the Superintendent, the county personnel office and who ever else would (I thought) listen and hopefully act upon it to correct the behavior, instead I got gotton the back hand. Till this day, the county is retailiating against me. Not one undercover investigator and no supervisor in the department. "I shall fight no more".
On the District level don't expect anyone to help you, not even in the administrative level (unless they've taken a liking to you.) In New Jersey, any person with a Master's Degree in education with Leadership courses and three years of teaching working experiance can apply for what is called the Principa; Administrator or any of the other Administrative Certificates of Eligibility, and would receive it if they meet additional requirement. Why would anyone, from the kindness of their hearts, assist the compatition? Get real, you're a big fish now, you need to swim on your own.
The best a teacher can do is explore the State's website, and the usa.gove (feds) website, link to "The No Child Left Behind"web page, there you will learn about the federal standards, and requirements for certifcation on the Federal level. Most States will accept that certification and you may be able to convert it to any particular state' Standard Certification. There may be additional requirements to do that. In addition to that see what endorsements (grade/specialization) you may qualify for in certification. Most Middle School specialization endorsement first require an Elementary K-5th grade certification and as little as 15 credits in the Specialization, plus passing the middle school content knowledge test, in the specialiation will allow you to hold as many as she/he qualifies for. The more endorsements in certification one holds, the more opportunities available. Right now Middle School Math and Science endorsements are needed and the pay the most.
One last thing: If you are already a teacher and struggling with your students meeting standarize state test, and lesson plans to meet those standards, you should look for what is known as the "Model Content Standards" for the grade or subject (specialization) level, on your State DOE website, or in the usa.gov website. With the usa.gov you'll have to probably link to the No Child Left Behind" web page to locate it. I think by law every State must have it available. Also, there are so many websites that offer free materials and lessons plans and print outs, on just about every subject and grade level. Just goggle what you are looking for: for example google: English Sentance Structure See how many links to websites are made available, then explore each one.
Come on, teachers can be the best! You really can make a big difference in the out come of another human being. Put your heart into it. The student that you least think you have not reached is the one that will never forget you. Perhaps, that child as an adult will not amount to anything great, but I can attest, that child, when a parent will instill every value you taught to his or her child, and that second generation. Wow, my daughter at 22 years old graduated a mechanical engineer. Why, because a math teacher, way back travelled into the ghetto known at East New York, in Brooklyn New York, every day, struggled with a problematic 14 year old female student, who carried unknown issues beyond, a normal person (teacher's) imagination, but made an impression that will never be lost. A teacher did that. You too, can be that person.
Seek and you shall find what that child needs, teach and you shall reach; the gates of Heaven.
gadnynj@yahoo.com
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