From Bill Gates to Arnie Duncan to Michelle Rhee, there's a lot of talk these days about what to do with our nation's teachers: Evaluate effectiveness. Raise salaries. Get rid of tenure.
What we hear less about is keeping teachers in the classroom long enough to make a difference for their students. Teaching is at serious risk of becoming nothing more than a short-term, public service opportunity.
If we want to build an education system built to last, we need to prepare teachers for the long haul and support them in staying in the classroom. By treating teaching as a revolving door occupation, we shortchange both our students and our society.
At a time when we know it takes roughly 10,000 hours to develop expertise, close to 50 percent of teachers are leaving the classroom within the first five years of teaching, well short of those 10,000 hours. And in high poverty schools, where students benefit even more from high quality teaching, teachers are even more likely to exit quickly.
In fact, in the decade between 1997 and 2007, the typical number of years of experience for teachers in the United States dropped from 15 years to just one year. In Washington D.C., following the reforms implemented by Rhee, the proportion of new teachers rose sharply, to nearly a quarter of the teaching force in several of the wards, according to a report in the Washington Post. These are stunning statistics, especially since studies have shown that first year teachers are less effective than their counterparts.
In some ways, this cultural shift in teaching is a return to our past.
In the previous two centuries, teaching was often seen as a temporary occupation. Becoming a teacher served as a vehicle for social mobility for the individual, opening up higher education for women and African-Americans at a time when few other occupations were open to them. No attention was paid to how temporary teachers affected students. This perspective held through the 19th century, and teaching continued to be a short-term job for most. Since teachers were not allowed to be married in many places, women would leave to raise families and men would leave for better paying jobs.
Today, though, we know that high teacher turnover is bad for students.
A new study produced jointly by researchers at the University of Michigan, Stanford, and the University of Virginia indicates that student achievement is negatively impacted by high teacher turnover. The study looked at students in New York City schools and found that student achievement in math and English in grades 4 - 6 was negatively impacted by high teacher turnover. This effect was particularly strong in schools with more low-performing and African American students. Even when a student's own teacher did not leave, the churn of teacher
turnover negatively impacted overall achievement across the school.
Some might argue that keeping teachers in the classroom is not a priority. In fact, programs like Teach for America focus on attracting the most talented college graduates into the classroom in order to prepare leaders who understand the challenges of public education not to prepare career teachers. Yet the high attrition from programs like Teach for America hurts their overall effectiveness, according to our research on pathways into teaching in New York City.
The current research on the effect of teacher turnover on students makes it even more imperative that we focus on ways to keep teachers in the classroom longer, especially in high poverty schools. In fact, Teach for America recently launched a new program called Teach Beyond 2 to encourage their corps members to consider staying in the classroom beyond their initial two-year commitment.
The crossroad is clearly marked. We can invest in the development of highly skilled and well-prepared teachers and create incentives and working conditions to keep them in the profession. Or we can continue to fill schools, particularly high poverty schools with students most in need of high quality teaching, with short-term teachers. To pursue the latter path would only increase the disparities in educational opportunity and achievement that are growing in our society.
So in all the talk about teachers, let's talk more about supporting teachers to help them stay in the profession and improve their craft. As one bumper sticker reads: You can't put children first if you put teachers last.
Unfortunately, teachers who have "been around for a while" can see the writing on the wall.
-Teachers are devalued. Teaching staffs are being fired whole sale.
-With all of the "test-mania" going on, veteran teachers are seeking out positions in "comfortble" shools with principals who are more than happy to have them to maintain the high standard that already exist in those schools.
-Veteran teachers are sick and tired of the disrespect dumped on them by parents, Arne Duncan, and school boards that blame them for everything from low test scores to the wind knocking out their cable T.V.
Good luck to the new generation of young altruistic teachers who will probably fill those positions in those "schools-in-most-need."
There is something to be said for the energy and enthusiasm of the younger teachers and the rejuvenating effect they can have on a staff, but without the wisdom and experience of the older teachers - there would be a lack of stability and direction.
The equation should have been A + B =10
Here's advice from an experienced educator, who never, ever considered pursuing any other career, who loved helping children discover themselves and their world, and who has watched the teaching profession become absolutely loathsome: no matter how much you think you want to teach, to give back to the community, to work with children, to share your excitement about learning, find some other line of work. Going into teaching will only make you miserable and sad, very sad.
F & F from a 16 year veteran teacher from Hawaii.
I do struggle with pressures and desires to leave teaching, but always remember the high standards STEP set for us to excel. I don't believe I've reached all those standards of excellence, and I want to continue in this field as long as I feel I'm growing.
Many young teachers may see teaching as a stepping stone, but I've found fulfillment in schools that push me to take actions that have wider impacts beyond my own classroom. The settings in which I've taught have helped me see myself as a leader while still allowing me to develop my own practice, and I think that's helped me stay.
I'm grateful that my training embedded in me such a high level of respect for the career I've selected. I'm happy to say that because of that, I've avoided becoming another teacher who leaves.
If you enjoy teaching, and the students are learning, that is very excellent. It makes me feel good for your students.
It's funny, I am not a math person, took no math in college, but two of the courses that I enjoyed most in high school were Advanced Algebra (third semester) and Trigonometry.
Especially the Algebra teacher. She appeared to enjoy teaching, and seemed to actually like her students.
A few months ago, I wrote a Reply suggesting a very pro-teacher Reply suggesting ways the educational industry could avoid teacher burn out.
One would cost nothing. As a reward for the best teachers, once every couple of years, they could teach a "Senior Seminar" of no more than 12 students on a subject of their choice,.
Got no positive feedback.
I agree whole heartedly with you.
There is a solution. One that would bear great benifits, and over ten years would pay for itself with a reduction of social services, law enforcement costs, and prison costs.
1. Close FUBAR ( Google the term) one month early in the school year. Its like ending a boxing match with a TKO.
2. Immediately level the school, and immediately begin work on a full service, full time boarding school. Yes the inital cost is very high.
3. The model for the school would be the best European, Third World and American boarding schools.
4. Parents would have the option of sending their children to the next nearest day school, or to the new boarding school.
I have written a great deal about this on this site, only to be flamed or told it is impossible.
I have tried to refine the details to get criticism, but I never hear any interests from the teachers who go to this site.
If you are interested, I will re-post some of my ideas.
The idea of this is "what is in the best intersests of the children". Not in the best interests of the parents, the educational industry, and except as positive side effect, the teachers.
Part I
I too have serious problems with this whole ""Teach for America" thing.
Since you mentioned your personal situation, let me tell you where I am coming from.
Part of it is personal. These are people who consider themselves on the way to extremely high paying jobs, and this will put a little diversity into their resume, at no great expense to themselves.
I went to Northwestern University, eons ago. My first experience with teaching was being bussed to a inner city (Chicago) community center to tutor kids. It was a fraternity project to burnish the image of the fraternity.
At the time Northwestern was all white, and and I was a student on the lower end of the affluence scale,. My father was a 7th grade teacher, who taught citenship classes four nights a week.
But, like Head Start, it is an excellent idea, but you have to continue it, and make it a regular part of the system.
I too, wanted something after my B.A. So I applied and was accepted to Makerere University College of the University of East Africa. Instruction was in English and tuition free. (Makerere has a web site).
As you may know, many indigenous people have 'rites of passage' for their late adolescents.
(Google: "Sun Dance of the Plains Indians) They can be very difficult.
Going to Graduate School in East Africa was mine.
It appears this rich Ivy Leaguers have found theirs.
At your expense.
Continued Above.