Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Friday, December 11, 2015
Help! My file cabinet is empty - Looking at the first year
My first year of teaching was...a trip. I was hired two days before the school year started (and had to move to a new state). The department chair handed me keys, teacher's edition books for both physical science and biology, and a cart - since I would have no room of my own. Then she showed me a walk-in closet with a few desks - one of them was mine.
That was the last time I ever met with my department chair. I did see her a few times throughout that year, and perhaps she asked how I was doing. I probably lied. All I really remember was feeling completely lost.
Back when I began teaching, the internet was still in diapers, so we couldn't just "Google it." I'm not sure how many boring worksheets my students endured as I struggled to make lessons exciting and meaningful - and often failed. How would it have been different if I had been handed the whole curriculum - lesson plans, activities, guiding questions, all of it?
Sure, that might have been overwhelming, but so are the 274,500 results from a Google search. We've been teaching the same basic content for decades (Yes, of course there have been changes, but...), and yet new teachers still often enter the classroom with an empty file cabinet. Luckily, for many new teacher, and for their students, collaborative efforts within departments and teams are creating digital file cabinets with easy access for all. But we still need more teacher-leaders willing to step up and fill those empty file drawers.
How about you, did you have the support you needed that first year you taught? Have you been involved in helping a new teacher? Give us an idea of what you did.
That was the last time I ever met with my department chair. I did see her a few times throughout that year, and perhaps she asked how I was doing. I probably lied. All I really remember was feeling completely lost.
Back when I began teaching, the internet was still in diapers, so we couldn't just "Google it." I'm not sure how many boring worksheets my students endured as I struggled to make lessons exciting and meaningful - and often failed. How would it have been different if I had been handed the whole curriculum - lesson plans, activities, guiding questions, all of it?Sure, that might have been overwhelming, but so are the 274,500 results from a Google search. We've been teaching the same basic content for decades (Yes, of course there have been changes, but...), and yet new teachers still often enter the classroom with an empty file cabinet. Luckily, for many new teacher, and for their students, collaborative efforts within departments and teams are creating digital file cabinets with easy access for all. But we still need more teacher-leaders willing to step up and fill those empty file drawers.
How about you, did you have the support you needed that first year you taught? Have you been involved in helping a new teacher? Give us an idea of what you did.
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