Am I alone?

Overwhelming, hell, trial and error, lost, and alone are common words used by teachers describing their first year of teaching.  If we as leaders wish to retain talented teachers we must look at methods and strategies to provide mentors and support to our beginning teachers.  During the 2010-2011 school year North Carolina's public schools reported that the teacher turnover rate was 11.17%.

I believe that technology such as the Ipad, online conferencing tools and Skype can provide the tools needed to allow highly qualified teachers to view what is happening in the classroom of the beginning teacher.  Here are some limitations on the current method of assigning mentors to a beginning teacher from within the same grade level or from a different subject area:

• Mentor is unable to observe beginning teacher.
• Beginning teacher is unable to observe mentor.
• Mentor does not teach same subject area.
• Beginning teachers in specialty areas such as band, foreign language, and art are the only teachers in the school that teach that subject.

In the past teachers went through rigorous studies and eight weeks of student teaching often gaining experiences that do not relate to the school they start teaching at.  Many universities have started to require prospective teachers to complete fieldwork throughout their coursework to gain exposer.  There is a direct correlation between teaching experiences and teacher retention.  In short the more experiences a teacher has in various classroom settings will result in a teacher that is better prepared when they are the one in front of the students.

With the increased experiences the beginning teacher will have more past experiences to pull from and a larger network of teachers to contact for help.  But what if the beginning teacher would like for their mentor to view their classroom structure first hand but their mentor shares a common planning time or in some cases work at a different location?

This past August three North Carolina band directors started an online Professional Learning Network on Facebook, using the privacy restrictions to prohibit retailers to join in on the discussions.  The online network currently host a staggering 9,450 members who discuss issues of seating arrangements, handbooks, instrumentation, fundraising, method books, classroom management, and how to relieve the stress that builds up throughout the day.  The leaders of the PLN also created a space on Posterous Spaces for directors to upload documents, arrangements and letters that they have found to be successful and beneficial in their programs.

In as little as ten months the three band directors from the Central District Bandmasters Association had created a network that connects nearly ten thousand band directors to collaborate and support each other on their journey in education.  What if every subject area had this resource available?

It is my belief that if every beginning teacher had a network of teachers to go to when they felt overwhelmed or just needed a suggestions on how to teach a certain standard or topic that the beginning teacher who once felt alone would feel empowered and liberated.

Resources:

Band Directors Group Cover Photo. Facebook Band Directors Group. Web June-July 12. <https://www.facebook.com/groups/banddirectors>

Central District Bandmasters Association Logo. Central District Bandmasters Association. Web June-July 12. <http://www.nccdba.org>