First-year teaching is a survival of the fittest contest. National statistics are not changing and 40% of classroom teachers leave teaching in their first five years in the profession. Stop and consider that fact for a moment. A teacher pays $80,000 or more for a baccalaureate degree and teaching license. Their move to a new town and investment in renting or buying a home is a huge emotional as well as financial commitment. Then they walk away from that effort and expense. The reasons must be ginormous. Continue reading
Improve How We Treat Our Rookies to Resolve Teacher Attrition
Would I want me to be my teacher?
If the perception we have of our teaching is not the perception have of our teaching, what are we prepared to do about it?
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Career Prep Pathways Need Prioritizing
School boards need to re-evaluate their priorities, acknowledge the 40% of graduates who do not enroll in a college or university, and start paving a CTE curriculum where students’ footprints already exist. Continue reading
Change Cell Phones from Distractions to Learning Tools
Every generation of teacher and student has a issue they fight over. Today it is cell phones. Make these into learning tools not distractors and get on with teaching learning. Continue reading
Rules Should Serve Kids Not Adults
Today it’s cell phones and backpacks. Depending upon your generation, it was chewing gum, the length of girls’ skirts, boys’ low-slung jeans and exposed boxers, high school boys with face hair, or checking that every child showered after PE class. … Continue reading
Do I Teach Subjects to Children or Children to Understand Subjects? Huh?
“I am a teacher. I am a licensed social studies teacher. My teaching assignment is middle school social studies; 7th and 8th grade, to be exact. These are statements about my profession, my licensure, and my teaching assignment. They are … Continue reading
Disaggregated, There Is a Vast Difference in Teachers
Teachers are a vast hodgepodge of people. They come in all colors, shapes and sizes, and from the wide spectrum of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. At one point, each decided to be a teacher. Some early in life, the majority … Continue reading
When Trust Is Reciprocal, Great Things Happen
“In my last visits to your classroom, I was not certain I was in a math class. You and your students were talking about current events on three consecutive days”, her principal told her. “It’s my classroom and I will … Continue reading
Inspired Principal + Teacher Cadre = Change Agency
Effective school leadership is a lonely voyage without collaborating partners. When a leader understands distributed leadership and emboldens a cadre of like-minded colleagues to use their knowledge and skills to advance a school mission, loneliness turns into camaraderie. A cadre … Continue reading
To Stop Teacher Shortages and Attrition Pay More and Support Better
“Is the grass really greener elsewhere?”. Many teachers consider this question at several times in their careers. Actually, the question is not worded correctly. “Is the grass where I stand green enough for me now and for my future” is … Continue reading