The teachers who graduated with me left teaching right after the first year. They complained of a lack of new teacher support and difficult teaching conditions. I believe that if they had the right teacher mentorship, guidance and proper support, they might have reconsidered their teaching posts and might have stayed on in their teaching careers.
Teacher mentorship is one way to foster a feeling of support. It does not cost the school any money to implement, but it does take awareness and sensitivity from all the teachers on staff to be empathetic to the “sink or swim” plight facing many new teachers. I have seen too many times teachers walking out of classrooms feeling iolated and alone because they feel they need to show the system that they can manage a class. While this is true on one hand, it does not mean that you are not allowed to receive support and guidance
This is where teacher mentorship comes in. Teacher mentorship is an active approach. The rationale is that through observing a teacher, a teacher acts as a shadow, observes and sees what works and what doesn't for his/her lessons and can take good and helpful things from the way a teacher works to his/her classroom. It is preferable to write down what works and what doesn’t. Take what you can from the teacher and share your own classroom situations in light of your lessons and interactions with a student, a bunch of students or an entire class framework.
You will see that over a period of time, you won't feel alone, you will have already acquired another set of teacher eyes for difficult classroom situations that you will unexpectedly find yourself in and you will be prepared! There is nothing better than feeling you can handle a class all on your own.
Teachers are empathetic listeners, so choose your teachers wisely!
I had to “swim or swim” in my first year of teaching as I wrote in the blog My First Year. But I refused to give in to the isolation and loneliness I felt as a new teacher. It is hard to ask for help especially for a new teacher who is expected to take charge of his/her class in a relatively short period of time, but it can and should be done.
Ideally, school policies should take into account the needs of a first year teacher. But in most cases, this is not the case .
The teacher’s room is obviously the first place to start. Look around. What teacher grabs you? With who do you most comfortable feel talking to? Approach him or her and ask if you can observe his or her lessons. Share your intentions for beginning a long term support plan.
After running a few searches I found a few forums on teacher mentorship that might serve the new teacher in you. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me.
The teacher corner.(a forum for new teachers, lots of active topics, looks helpful)
Teacher net. Teachers net. (a good overview of topics and issues for all teachers)
Teachers a-z. (has plenty of topics for the new teacher and the seasoned one. You can chew on this one!)
Special interest forums
Behavior management (looks comprehensive, lots of ideas and help)
Tips (easy to navigate, lots of categories and subcategories, interesting information)
