Ten things I've learned...

In thinking about teacher quality and retention, I often think about the fact that I will enter my fourth year of teaching next year, a milestone that unfortunately, many urban teachers never make it to. According to the National Education Association, 20 percent of all teachers leave the classroom before they hit the fourth year mark. In urban districts, nearly 50 percent leave before making it to five years. These statistics sadden me in a deep way, as I know that most third and fourth year teachers are at least twice as effective as first year teachers. When I reflect on my effectiveness in my first year compared to my success now, as a third year teacher, I can see that my students are certainly learning much more from me now. It seems like it's only logical to link teacher quality with experience in this way.

Trends in our own city of Baltimore seem to show that many teachers who make it past the three year mark tend to stay with teaching, while most of the "dropouts" occur within those first two years. It seems that maybe teachers who make it past that three year mark begin to learn some things...or experience a certain amount of success...that motivate them to stay with it for longer. As I move toward this milestone, I reflect on the things I've learned that motivate me to stay in the game. While I realize that I have a limited amount of experience and am certainly no Rafe Esquith, if I could share ten things with a second year teacher thinking about leaving their career, it would be these ten:

1. The best advice I could give anyone about how to "manage" your classroom is to pretend that your life depends on whether or not you can get the children to behave in a way that they are able to learn each day. When thinking about this, I find it effective to visualize images from The Lord of the Flies in my head and pretend that I must, must, must get things under control. Understand that you have allies in this battle-other teachers, parents, siblings, and if you're really lucky, maybe even an administrator. However, don't expect anyone else to do the "dirty work" for you. Don't be surprised when you have to go it on your own at times. The most important thing is to keep searching for ways to get through to your students, from the beginning of the year until the very end. After looping with my students from 6th grade until 8th grade, I still have to call parents, give detentions, give rewards, and assign various punishments. There is not a "magic moment" where after two or three months of hard work the students all listen to you and you get to stop being a manager (despite what you may see in the movies). Yes, it gets better. I will admit that most of my students have achieved a level of behavior that I find acceptable for learning on most days, so the "dirty work" that I have to do is less often. However, you can't let your guard down just because things start going well, otherwise you'll lose it. Be consistent. Monday-Thursday isn't enough, Friday counts too. Sweat the small stuff. It's not fun, but if you truly care about student learning and achievement, you have to keep fighting the battle.

2. Don't be afraid to take chances. Sometimes I find myself being hesitant to implement a lesson for fear that the students won't be able to "handle it." I've taught myself to try these types of lessons regardless, and most of the time, I find myself pleasantly surprised. Student led projects, debates, field trips, role playing, and a number of other activities that I was once apprehensive about have proven to be amazing learning experiences for my students.

3. The beast is in the details. Just because a lesson didn't "work" right away doesn't mean that it was a bad idea. You may have missed one small step or minute detail that caused the lesson to crumble. Analyze what might have went wrong, correct it, and try the modified version again. Don't lose faith in you ability, or the ability of your students.

4. Be honest. When I ask my students to speak professionally in class, sans cussing, they often say, "You know that you cuss sometimes Ms. McGlynn." I answer, "Yes, but not in settings where I shouldn't. Personal vs. professional." This statement "personal vs. professional" has become a mantra in my room. Students correct each other by saying the phrase before I do. They respect the idea that nobody has to be on their best behavior all the time, and they'll respect you if you're real. I am not sure if this honesty is required in all populations of students, but I would certainly recommend it in Baltimore City.

5. Don't be too honest. While I encourage being "real" with your students on many levels, there is still a line that shouldn't be crossed. I think as adults, we should have the judgement to know where this line is.

6. Seek out resources. We all have issues with finding adequate capital (be it material, or human) for our classrooms. There are resources out there, and some of the best I've found when I began to "think outside the box." I have many friends that are successful adults and not teachers-I've asked them to come into my classroom and share their gifts with my students. Several of my friends have come in to be "guest speakers" on various topics we're working on in class. A group of students from Michigan State (the college I graduated from) came to work at my school for a week through the Alternative Spring Break program. My students enjoy and gain from these experiences in such a monumental way, it's difficult for me to adequately describe.

7. Get to know your students. I know we've all heard this one before, but I truly find it so important. Let your students get to know you as well. Tell them that you care about them even if it feels silly at first. After some time, they'll start to believe you, and start saying it back.

8. Don't let standardized tests consume you or your lesson planning. It's important that your students do well on them, but its also important that you remain sane in order to be a good teacher (or at least, somewhat sane).

9. Make sure that you're getting enough sleep. Your students will notice when you're tired, and they'll capitalize on it.

10. Laugh. Laugh at yourself, laugh at you kids, laugh at situations. Because if you can't find some humor in all this mess, you're just going to end up very, very depressed.