FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. What are the stages of teacher development?
2. What resources do school districts provide for a teacher’s first year in the classroom?
3. How are effective teachers recognized?
4. What are the differences between the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers?

CHAPTER PREVIEW

It looks so small: the distance between the students’ chairs and the teacher’s desk. But traveling from a student’s desk to a teacher’s desk represents an enormous journey. This chapter is intended to prepare you for that transformation, from student to teacher.

As you enter your first classroom, chances are that you will focus on lesson planning, classroom management, and preparing for those visits by your supervisor. In short, you will be all about classroom survival. With time and experience, you will begin to refine your teaching strategies and focus less on survival skills and more on ways to enhance student learning. Although we would love to serve up some ready-to-use answers to help you meet these first-year classroom challenges, truth is, there are many questions that only you will be able to answer. Here are just a few for you to consider: Where should I teach? How can I win that ideal (at least satisfying) teaching position? What will my first year be like? Should I join a teachers’ association? Should I stay in teaching long term? If so, what are the routes to advancement? And with all the negative press I read about schools, is this something that I want to do? This chapter provides you with some insights and practical advice about making that first year of teaching a successful one, and perhaps the beginning of many rewarding years.