I, like most veteran teachers, remember my first year of teaching with a mix of astonishing joy and a cringe of something best described as regret. The source of the joy is easy to pinpoint. My excitement at finally being able to accomplish my calling was palpable. My students were wonderful and everything I thought they would be and more. I was a "real teacher," instead of a student teacher, and, my last name was right there, dymo'd on my mailbox in the office along with my colleagues.
The cringe I feel comes from recollecting all the stumbles I made along the way! It was all new. A new school, I was new to the profession, and, for me, the United States was a new country. Having received my teacher education at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, I was truly a "fish out of water!" Thankfully, I had a great mentor, Mrs Janet Carter, who was there for me no matter what seemingly inane question I might ask. Sometimes, though, I did not know enough to know what question I should be asking. Her classroom was away on the other side of the school and all too often by the time I thought I could articulate my question and had navigated my way to her room, my question would have vanished. I became very tired of learning by making mistakes.
Navigating school policy and procedures are only one part of the new teacher adventure. I needed someone to share the experience with me. It was great to get together with the other new teachers (there were eleven of us that year), and just talk and share our experiences with others who were living it too. We sought one another out. We shared resources. We laughed together at our mistakes and, as corny as it may sound, we cried together on those bad, lonely days when we stood at the front of our classrooms, teaching our hearts out, but still, nothing worked and to our students we were totally, utterly and inexorably invisible.
Experts tell us that new teachers leave the profession within the first three to five years after entering the profession. To me, the "learning-via-your-mistakes" paradigm has a lot to do with that sad statistic. Like our students, new teachers want to flourish, they need to achieve in a positive way that leaves them feeling them confident and eager for the next challenge. One step toward achieving this confidence is providing new teachers with a venue where they can be together, in a safe (that is a nonjudgmental, non-evaluative) place, where they can feel free to share their concerns, assist one another with difficulties they may be facing and most important, just listens to one another.
After discussing the possibility of establishing a new teacher network at O'Banion, I approached our Principal, Mr Gary Rehm, about setting up a new teacher early in the academic year. He was very encouraging and enthusiastic about it. Mr Loyed Jones, our Assistant Principal, provided me a list of first year teachers and second year teachers who were new to our building. He also helped me to clarify several of the important factors that needed to be considered when establishing the network. Together, he and I came to the understanding that our New Teacher Network would:
BE "owned" by the members of the network themselves. That is, they would decide what the topics of each meeting would be, how often we would meet.
PROVIDE a non-evaluative, nonjudgmental atmosphere for new teachers. Administrators would only attend when invited to discuss specific school-policy issues (for example - parent/family contact). Of course, if the new teachers were experiencing difficulties that required administrative intervention, I would facilitate it.
NOT simply become a "gripe" session. This is where I as moderator would step in. I structured the meetings into two sections - beefs and bouquets. During the beef sessions - new teachers could outline concerns they were having or describe defeats they may have encountered in their classrooms. At bouquet time, new teachers could speak about and share triumphs they had experienced. Conscientious facilitation would be important so that when one participant shared an issue, not everyone would censure that person with enthusiastic solutions. No matter how well intentioned these solutions might be, it was critical that the new teacher feel able to express her/his concern completely and without interruption. It is amazing how often just articulating a problem or concern enables those experiencing that issue to see it from a solvable or more positive perspective.
BE voluntary. Teachers are busy people. For new teachers, many of whom are still in school actively seeking certification, time is of the utmost value. The best we could do as a school is offer the New Teacher Network as a resource for those who wished to attend. If it was found to be of value, new teachers would find a way to attend. If it wasn't valuable, their absence would speak volumes. Attendance would be strongly encouraged, but, participation was strictly voluntary.
BE practical. If the New Teacher Network was to be truly useful to new teachers, it must offer them practical ways and tangible means of navigating their novice years in the teaching profession. Discussions of educational abstractions and pedagogical theories, no matter how interesting and worthwhile, would have to be held to a minimum.
With these ideas in mind, I called the first New Teacher Network meeting for the first Monday of the month. It was scheduled to be one hour in length and held in my classroom. All of O'Banion's new and novice teachers attended.
The O'Banion New Teacher Network has met monthly since August. Almost all of those who attended that first meeting (about eight new/novice teachers) continue to participate. The group itself decided how often they wished to meet - and they let me know if they have a particular item they would like to see on the agenda. O'Banion's administration has embraced the New Teacher Network, in fact Assistant Principal Jones has arranged for new teachers to observe veteran teachers to see other teachers in action. I have gladly arranged guest speakers on occasion. Here are some useful guest speaker topics:
One of O'Banion's counselors, Mrs Mary Hatch, came and discussed student confidentiality.
Our ESL Department Head, Mrs Teresa Lyles, discussed the particular needs of the English as a Second Language student.
Our school nurse, Mrs Deborah Fast discussed student health with the New Teacher Network.
Mr. Loyed Jones (Assistant Principal) provided detailed instruction on the importance and implications of parent contact.
At one meeting I showed the outstanding video, The First Year (available through PBS - Online) which follows four new teachers in Los Angeles as they go through their first year's teaching. The video promoted much follow-up discussion within our group.
Videos and guest speakers have proven to be wonderful resources, but, I believe the most valuable part of our New Teacher Network has been the positive camaraderie formed between the new teachers at O'Banion Middle School. While the Network is informal, it still has enough structure to not simply dissolve into negative complaint sessions. It gives new teachers a caring, safe forum to share experiences and voice their questions and concerns. It is a place to celebrate their classroom accomplishments. They know that no one is going to evaluate or judge them based on their participation or non-participation at Network meetings. It is strictly a resource for new teachers to be used as they see fit. At O'Banion this year our new teachers have used it often.
Hopefully, the eight new teachers at O'Banion Middle School in the 2003-2004 academic year will still be teaching in three to five years. Not only that but, they will also be able to look back on their first year with more joy and fewer cringes of regret - recalling it fondly and reliving it with joy and triumph. If the New Teacher Network enables new teachers to do it right the first time, its mission will have been accomplished.
Do you think that your school could benefit from a new teacher network? If you have any questions about establishing a network at your school, feel free to contact Jean Greenidge at (972)279-6103 or via e-mail at jfgreeni@garlandisd.net.
Jean Greenidge is a Theatre Arts Teacher and Fine Arts Department Head at O'Banion Middle School in Garland, Texas. She has been teaching for seven years and loves it!
