Reply to Anyone worried about inexperienced teachers at MV, YY, CM and other HRCS?

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Reply to "Anyone worried about inexperienced teachers at MV, YY, CM and other HRCS?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]it is true that many charters have less experienced teachers however their academic credentials are typically superior.  Given enough time, many of these teachers will far outclass the typical DCPS teacher.[/quote]

This is particularly true with respect to evaluations.  Older teachers are highly resistant to results-based evaluations, data-driven metrics, and general standards.  Good young teachers expect that and take to it as part of the improvement process.[/quote]

I think this fails to distinguish between teachers with 0-2 years of experience and those with, say, 3-15+ years of experience. I have been teaching for 13 years, graduated from college in 1997, and I understand the importance of standards and metrics (as well as the way in which data can be inadequate reflections of important learning.) I wouldn't assume that just because a teacher isn't brand! new!, she is clutching her chalk and cursing computers. I wouldn't even assume that teachers in their 60s are resistant to standards, either.

I will also say that, with 13 years of teaching under my belt, I am a much better teacher than I was in my first 1-4 years, and I continue to get excited about new ways to teach. I am still dedicated. I still love teaching and have good and bad days with classroom management. At the end of the day, I would prefer to send my child to a school with more experienced teachers than teachers in years 0-2. However, if the school had an exciting mission, a solid principal, and ongoing training for their teachers, that would probably trump experience for me, unless I had the chance to find out otherwise.

Final thought - I think all but about 15% of new teachers can handle well-behaved kids who are more or less on track academically. It's very hard, though, to deal with challengers even in a largely calm environment, and hard to identify and address what a kid isn't getting until late in year 2 (at least, it was for me.) If you feel like your child will present these kinds of challenges to a teacher, you might think seriously about veering toward a school with a more experienced staff. I think I really nailed some misbehavers in my earlier years that now I would know how to diffuse with a laugh. I also think I handled things so ineffectively at times that even the kids who were well-behaved realized it would be fun to get out of hand and joined in the merriment. So if you have a choice, think about the child you're sending -- and know that your kid will have good years and bad years, good teachers and okay teachers and bad teachers, wherever she or he goes. Just thought I'd share from the teacher's POV! [/quote]

Thank you and thank you for being a teacher!  [/quote]
+1 I so appreciate this response. The only thing I take issue with is the idea that it's inevitable that my child will have bad teachers. I know I'm being unrealistic but I just don't accept that cop out. If a teacher is bad he/she shouldn't be teaching or there should be significant supporting in place to minimize the badness. I expect administration to do their job--observe, intervene, support and if all else fails, remove. [/quote]

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