"Survival Mode"

This article about the challenges that new teachers or preservice teachers may face is one that needs to be presented in every faculty meeting that will include veteran teachers. From experi... See More

This article about the challenges that new teachers or preservice teachers may face is one that needs to be presented in every faculty meeting that will include veteran teachers. From experience, I've found that even in myself I was acting in "survival mode". For the first couple of weeks in my first year of teaching, I found myself just wanting to make it through the day. So many times I was asked what did I need to be successful, but as a first year teacher, you often don't know where to start asking for resources. I was given a great mentor, and she basically started me with what she would have wanted to know when it was her in my shoes. This was a tremendous help. The article mentions how important it is for preservice teachers to have some type of mentor, but how costly it also is. I feel like if school district really wanted to make a difference, and not have such a high turnover rate, they would take notice to this article and find that the benefits of spending the extra money out weigh the consequences. The article also points out knowing where most teacher's concerns fall, and if we know that, why don't we try to put possible solutions in place before the problem arises. Overall, this article is very beneficial to all educators, especially those that are in positions that can help others.

How can we help?

This article is written to a broad audience of experienced teachers and administrators and provides research on new teacher concerns and how to address them. I think the most informative par... See More

This article is written to a broad audience of experienced teachers and administrators and provides research on new teacher concerns and how to address them. I think the most informative part is the list of what it takes to be a good mentor - how little things as well as big ones all help new teachers to become master teachers.