Response to MCTE: Part One

The first session I attended, “Hanging on by your Fingernails until you gain a Toehold: Advice for Future Teachers from New Teachers,” presented by GVSU’s very own Dr. Jill Van Antwerp, dealt with the relatively high incidence of teachers leaving the profession. statistics were a little surprising to me; 40-50% of teachers leave the profession within the first five years. While I knew that the turnover rate for new teachers was relatively high, I would not have guessed this high. At first I thought we would be in for a “Shock & Awe” session, where all the pitfalls, bad experiences, and general anxiety about being a new teacher would be expounded upon in detail. What actually happened, however, was a pleasant surprise. The most commonly cited reason for educators to leave the profession was related to Administration. Not surprising. Administrators are the people that set the “tone” of the place where we work and are largely responsible for the type of work environment that’s created. It’s gotta be difficult to work in an environment where you feel threatened, micro managed or tied down by administrative red-tape — things I’ve noticed even though I have yet to work long term in a school setting.

The majority of Dr. Van Antwerp’s presentation focused on the positive things that kept teachers teaching. The most common response was ‘the kids,’ which definitely implies that we have to remember why we’re doing what we’re doing. Essentially, if you don’t love working with kids, you’re going into the wrong profession— duh. (At least for me this is a ‘duh’ point, where it seems blatantly obvious, but Dr. Van Antwerp did give a few examples of people who wanted to teach because it was a ‘steady income’…hmmm) At any rate, she also gave some advice to new teachers for those first five years.

Look for an advocate

Dr. Van Antwerp pointed out that many schools don’t have mentoring programs for new teachers – or if you find yourself with a deadbeat mentor, look for another teacher who is willing to help, but be tactful in your approach.  It’s definitely a bad idea to offend your current mentor or alienate fellow teachers in your first year

Be strong

She also explained that it’s important to give yourself time to relieve stress, get enough sleep, and realize that you’ll be developing an immune system – it’s not uncommon to be sick when you first stop as the kids bring their colds to school. 

Don’t pick sides (at first)

Dr. Van Antwerp cautioned against siding with faculty members early on in your first year teaching – being careful to whom you align yourself with, until you have a good idea of what everyone is about and how they relate to the administration.