CAROLYN
BEITZEL
Diary #13
Second-Year
Teachers Need Mentors, Too
In my second year of teaching I am finding it more difficult to reflect upon my practice. Why? Because there is no one person that I can hook up with and talk.
In graduate school we had mentors galore. In your first year of teaching you have someone to guide you along the way (or you should). But it's rare to get that level of support after Year One. I don't have it.
I feel more alone than ever. I think back on a paper I wrote about the relationship between John Dewey and Ella Flagg Young. Dewey acknowledged the significant influence that Young had on his thinking about education. While he admitted that the suggestions he received from her were too numerous to count, he said that the most important thing he learned from her was the "translation of philosophic conceptions into their empirical equivalents" (McManis, 1916). I am sure that he had many opportunities to talk to her about what was happening in his classroom and to compare ideas and strategies.
That's what I am missing. Sure, I stop into a teacher's room and ask questions or give them a scenario and ask for help. That is a far cry from someone dedicated to me and my practice. I have tried to find a person in school who could fill this role, but everyone else is busy with their own issues. Nobody wants to take on anything more. Am I asking too much? In Japan a master teacher stays with a new teacher for several years, daily discussing the classroom and teaching styles. Move to Tokyo? Case In Point This week has been parent-teacher conferences. Remember, we are an all-rookie teaching team. It was hard. Parents were nasty, blaming us for all their children's academic failures, wanting to micro-manage our teaching styles. Some were outright belligerent and when told that the conference was over and could be rescheduled, they started to rant and rave about their rights, etc. In the last conference of the day, the parents dominated the discussion for 45 minutes (30 past their allotted 15). I tried to end the conference around 25 minutes, but the parents wouldn't have any of it. The school counselor was in attendance and at no time did she stand up for us as we were being blasted. It would have been nice to have a veteran teacher stick their head in every so often and see how we were doing. Or even an administrator. This was the perfect opportunity for help. Another example from our team: The math teacher marched his entire class (34 kids) down to the principal's office. The principal met him in the auditorium and addressed the kids' lack of respect and self-control. Has this class changed? No. Has the principal followed up to see if more help was needed? No. Has anyone given this teacher some sure-fire strategies for classroom management? No. Has this teacher been struggling on his own? Yes. Creating An Environment We are told time and time again to create a community within our classrooms where all voices can be heard. Well, somewhere along the line, education has turned a deaf ear to the teacher. I assume many roles, which take into account the ideas of my students and the processes by which they can construct their own learning. I am motivator, diagnostician, guide, innovator, experimenter and researcher. I need someone to take on those roles for me. I cannot become a more effective teacher without guidance. I can learn from my mistakes, but sometimes I may not know what they are.
