I find value in all that you say, but I have seen first hand schools in which the newbie gets the dump. In the original post, you will see the teacher admitted making a lot of mistakes that first year, so it was clearly not an attempt to play victim. I work across a number of schools and I can tell you, it does happen. Sometimes there is not an effort to balance gender, ability, behavior and need.
Lori On 7/29/07 12:55 PM, "Beverlee Paul" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I really hate that this is going to sound like a "blame the victim" > mentality, but it seems like it should be said. Few people ( including us > ourselves) really understand the "skills" teachers develop for all areas of > teaching, including management techniques. And usually we learn by trial > and error, which is probably the most common learning technique. It's > entirely possible that the "class from Hell" which one teacher has, was > indeed equivalent to classes other teachers at that grade level were > assigned, at least on paper. The difference could have been what an > experienced teacher did/did not do along the way, especially the first few > weeks. It could have to do with her/his room setup. Transitions. Time > management. Materials. Preventative guidance. Active curriculum. And a > host of minute-by-minute decisions that developed "a class." Are there > instances where a new teacher was assigned a class with too many challenges? > Possibly. But are there also instances where the Class from Hell never > developed into that? Certainly. And, unfortunately, the trial and error > approach to a new teacher learning those skills is often so painful that > they just give up. In my opinion, here's where the system breaks down. In > my opinion, it is is far more often that a new teacher is going it > alone--and that's the problem--than it is malicious teachers/administrators > deliberately assigning new teachers too challenging classes. If that's the > case, it doesn't get "fixed" by children assignment; it gets fixed by enough > support from literacy coaches, grade-alike teachers, curriculum > coordinators, principal, formal and informal mentors, etcetera. We do all > have to learn, but it doesn't have to be the hard way!! > > One of the clues early on as to what the problem was in this discussion was > inappropriate curriculum, and in my experience that's what the problem often > is to a huge degree. No mentor, lit coach, etc. can support teachers enough > when the foundation is all wrong. Developmentally inappropriate practices > cause children to find ways to survive, and they aren't necessarily > pleasant. It wouldn't matter who was at the helm of a classroom of ELL > kids, for instance, if teaching is abstract, rigidly controlled, and totally > inappropriate for them. > > Read Steven Krashen's work if you can. Read Ruby Payne's work on poverty. > Read and talk. All of which you have little time for if you are a beginning > teacher trying to survive Wednesday, October 3rd! > > While I would hate for you to simplify this post into blaming the victim, I > also hate that many of us are trying to share techniques for transitions in > classrooms with a solid 90-minute direct instruction period inappropriate > for most of a particular group of kids. It's a bit like rearranging the > deck chairs on the Titanic! > > Bev > > Why do schools give such challenging classes to new teachers? What can new >>> teachers do when they find themselves in this situation that won't get > them >>> fired or given poor evaluations? We can't afford to lose new teachers, > and I >>> fear this practice is what makes for such a high turnover in new > teachers, >>> and >>> keeps otherwise qualified people shy away from teaching. > > _________________________________________________________________ > http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_ > HM_mini_pcmag_0507 > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > -- Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach & Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 57555 http:www.tcsdk12.org ph. 605.856.2211 Literacies for All Summer Institute July 17-20. 2008 Tucson, Arizona _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
