Remembering the First Days

Ch 1 & 3

"Nationwide, 30% of beginning teachers leave the profession within two years, another 10% leave after three years and more than half leave within five to seven years." p. 5

First off, it amazes me every time I hear statistics like this! It is almost amazing that I have made it this far and have not been too stressed out to quit yet. Teaching most definitely is a challenging career and out of my four years teaching I have gone to school for three. If we are able to create better work environments for our teachers in their first years, I would hope that this number would decrease, and my hope is that it will.

"Studies show that a other desirable qualities in a mentor include wisdom, caring, humor, nurturing and commitment to the profession." p. 11

I first entered into my program, Instructional Leadership, because I wanted first year teachers to never have to go through what I had to go through in my first year of teaching. It was just too difficult and I am relieved that I have these desired qualities in a mentor. I am not perfect in them and it will require effort and practice to make sure that this qualities only develop so that I will be more of a support for first year teachers.

In chapter 3, there was so much research that brought me back to my first year teaching and the one that struck me the most was focused on time management. 

"First-year teachers are often overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done in a day; om the beginning, they spend up to 70 hours per week on school work." p. 47

In my first year, I was so overwhelmed and I didn't know how to spend my time effectively. What to do first? Grade? Lesson Plan? Cry? Sleep? It truly was hard to know. Now that I am no longer a first year teacher, I find that these simple decisions come more naturally. In order to be a good mentor it will always be important for me to remember this time in my life, so that I will be able to relate to my mentee so that she will feel understood and not judged for having a hard time.