The New York Times recently published an education article that asks, “Do teachers need to have experience?” They asked this question of five different educators who each inhabit different realms of the education field, and as might be expected, they received five unique answers to their question. We have picked out some relevant snippets from each and provided the link to the full article at the bottom of the page.
Here is the intro to the five opinion pieces:
The conventional wisdom has always been that schools and students need experienced teachers committed to a career in education. But many charter networks are depending on young, inexperienced teachers who quit after only two to five years. Officials of the schools believe the young teachers remain motivated and energetic, unlike more experienced teachers at many public schools who might stay on even after they’ve burned out. Are they onto something?
And here are the snippets from the opinion pieces:
Years on the Job Make You Better by Patrick Welsh, retired high school English Teacher
Ask teachers who have been at it for a decade or more if they were better in their first year or their tenth. The resounding answer — at least from those who love teaching — will be that their years of experience made them so much better that they often feel sorry for the kids who were in their class that first year.
I am all for schools’ circumventing the stultifying state certification requirements and hiring young people with a deep knowledge of their subject and a passion for communicating that knowledge to the next generation. These prize candidates can be mentored on the job by the schools’ experienced teachers. But to be indifferent to their leaving after two to five years when they have gotten better and better at reaching their students, and then repeat the cycle and start over again and again with a new, inexperienced batch of rookies is self-defeating.
Give It Five Years by Marilyn Anderson Rhames, a middle school teacher in Chicago
I don’t want to be a “lifer,” a teacher who stays in the classroom for 37-and-a-half years to retire on her public pension. There’s nothing wrong with that career path; it’s just not for me. I’ve been teaching for 10 years—my sixth year at a charter school — and it’s hard to imagine spending my senior years in such a demanding job.
Charter schools have earned a reputation for hiring inexperienced teachers, burning them out with longer hours, underpaying them and holding them to much higher standards than their district school colleagues. To some, the revolving door of teacher turnover is simply the collateral damage of education reform. After all, the urgency for self-sacrificing teachers who can provide quality urban educations has never been higher.
I support the charter school movement — both as a teacher and as a charter school parent of two — but teacher turnover at the rate of every two years or so is too high and it’s counterproductive.
Focus Simply on Finding the Best by C. Kent McGuire, former dean of the Temple University College of Education
Traditional schools and charter schools alike need to get better at figuring out which teachers to keep and which ones to let go.
So how do they make it work? I’ve seen the summer training materials used with new corp members just starting out with Teach for America. I’ve seen the videos developed by Uncommon Schools. I’ve seen really solid coaching and been impressed by the real-time feedback these new teachers receive. The rich scripts and carefully designed routines are helpful when you are working 10 hour days with children who present significant challenges.
But the best of what I’ve seen comes from teachers young and old, experienced and relatively inexperienced, who have the courage or freedom to depart from the cold war curriculum that remains pervasive in our schools. These teachers, working in diverse classrooms with kids who live near or below the poverty line, recast the subject matter into themes that resonate with their students. What these teachers have in common is an abiding respect for the children they teach, a sense of purpose about the power of education in elevating lives and a thorough understanding of their subject. These skillful teachers are too uncommon in the work force. When we spot them, we need them to stick around.
Create Stability for Communities, With Unions’ Help by Carol Burris, principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, N.Y.
The charter school practice of teacher ‘churn and burn’ leads to instability and shallow teacher development. You can push short-term teachers into working grueling hours because their focus is not on developing and perfecting a craft, but rather on putting in their time until they begin their real career. It leads to programmatic, mechanical teaching and constant teacher turnover.
In contrast, good community schools are an integral part of neighborhoods. Families develop long-term relationships that build confidence. When difficult messages need to be delivered about a student, that trusting relationship is critical. When teachers stay in a school for decades, they are saying, “We are vested in your children and your values. We believe in your hopes and dreams”. At a time when so many families are under stress, that stability is more important than ever.
Even Charters Must Value Experience by Mark Isero, instructional coach at Envision Education
It’s possible to be a good teacher after just a couple years on the job, but it’s not possible to be a great one. Teaching is more than a set of discrete skills acquired by reading books like Doug Lemov’s popular “Teach Like a Champion.”
Excellent teaching takes time, practice, and support. Most of all, it takes a deep emotional commitment.
I was lucky, then, to spend the beginning years of my career at a charter school in San Francisco that valued teaching. Otherwise, I may have left too early. Like many charter schools, mine had a young, energetic staff that worked insane hours and at times resembled a “youth cult.” But the school’s leaders also built a strong adult learning community. Rather than accepting that teachers would leave after a few years, my school offered professional support and adopted policies to promote sustainability. I stayed for 12 years.
For more information, please visit: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/08/28/do-teachers-need-to-have-experience
