As a teacher right out of college, a big concern that I had
when entering the classroom was my age.
Would other teachers, parents, or even my students view me as being too
young? It was something that I
definitely could not get out of my head at first, but after stepping into the
classroom on the first day, all I could think about is that old saying, “age is
just a number”. It shouldn’t make
a difference of how old I am, as long as I am trained properly, educated
sufficiently, and prepared to teach in Baltimore county.
There are many to quickly link youth and inexperience; the
younger you are the less experienced you are. Is this true? I
for one disagree, and believe that age cannot define experience. However, the age and years of
experience were the first two facts discussed about Baltimore County’s new
superintendant S. Dallas Dance. In
the first Baltimore Sun article announcing Mr. Dance as the new superintendant,
the article states, “Dallas, 30, had only two years of teaching experience in
public schools”.
Regardless of how many years Mr. Dance has had in the
classroom, his years of experience in the education system have been
impressive, and I for one, am excited to see what he is able to do in the Baltimore
County schools. With experience as
a principal and assistant superintendant in one of the largest school districts
in the county, Mr. Dance may lack teaching experience, but truly understands
the education system and has the ability to make some drastic changes that are
need in Baltimore county schools.
Mr. Dance was also a finalist to become Howard County’s
superintendant but decided Baltimore County, “the larger and more urban
district.”
See the rest of the Baltimore Sun Article here:
And to see more about Mr. S. Dallas Dance and his experience,
see his résumé here:
5 comments:
The issue of age in education is very interesting. I also agree that it is too easy to equate youth with inexperience. But even more dangerous is when people equate youth with incompetence. The fact of the matter is that, once you take a closer look at the resume of Mr. Dance, you can see that while, yes, he may be inexperienced in a classroom, but he is far from incompetent. To me it highlights an interesting question of what we expect our superintendents to be able to do and where we want their expertise to lie. Before discussing the many responsibilities of the superintendent, I would have without a doubt said that educational experience should be a significant prerequisite. However, less than I realized of what the superintendent does has to do with classroom management or lesson planning. Instead, I realized it is far more important for a superintendent to have the management capabilities comparable to a CEO or president of a company. As long as there are extremely experienced and competent educators working directly with the superintendent, experience as a classroom educator becomes less important. Now I don't necessarily think that a person who has never been in a classroom should be running a school district, but I don't think it is appropriate to dismiss a candidate and the many other qualities and skills that make them a qualified district leader simply because they may not have taught for very long.
I think this is a very interesting discussion, especially as the number of programs designed to specifically bring in recent college graduates into eduction increases. Age may equate to the lack of experience simply because one has no been around for as long as someone that is older, but it should not equate to ability. Many young people are very capable in complex jobs while many older folks would not be quality candidates for more intense jobs. I think one needs to only look at track records of accomplishments to truly judge if someone is a good candidate for a job.
Additionally, the field of education is changing rapidly. It is no longer the norm to be a lead teacher, then an assistant principal for many years, finally becoming a principal then cabinet level administrator then superintendent. Now, people are being selected for potential and previous accomplishments, regardless of their perceived youthfulness. Mr. Dance appears to be a quality figure to be the face of the evolving education system where longevity is not the prerequisite but ability is the driving factor.
I see age as an interesting topic as well. In the whole one year of experience I've had in the classroom, I've seen that age doesn't have much bearing on a teacher's effectiveness with his or her students. Obviously some might say that youth, inexperience and ineffectiveness all go together, but some of the best teachers at my school are some of the youngest.
In terms of a superintendent, I feel that the same idea applies, albeit slightly different. Just as a teacher's age doesn't define their effectiveness, a superintendent's experience in the classroom (or lack thereof) doesn't necessarily translate to a more or less effective leader. The superintendent's duty is to lead the entire school system to success, much like the CEO of a company. Therefore, a superintendent must not only have an understanding of the happenings of the classroom, but more importantly, he or she must be a strong leader and able to guide the system.
As a Baltimore County teacher, I am extremely excited to see Mr. Dance take over as Superintendent. He seems to be a very capable leader that has high expectations for students and instructors and is sure to breathe fresh air into Baltimore County Schools.
I agree with what most everyone here has said but would also like to add that there is something to be said about experience with regards to connections and the ability to leverage these connections to get the job done. Often, the reason that younger individuals are not selected for top tier positions is because of this fear that they will be unable to make things happen and will be bogged down in idealism and lack practicality. I think especially after this year, it would be difficult for me to listen to new first years without thinking about how many of my ideas were just farfetched and impractical. I am very interested to see how BC runs under the new SI lead and hope that despite his age, he will be able to achieve the things he speaks of.
I believe there are two sides to the age debate. One argument that could be made is younger teachers have more energy than older teachers, and are willing to take risks and be creative when implementing strategies in their classrooms and their schools. The counter-argument is that young teachers, due to lack of experience, are I'll equipt to make dramatic gains for their students and their school.
At a school with primarily young teachers, I can see the latter argument. While many of us are hardworking and full of energy, we do not have mentors to guide us and share what they have learned from their successes and failures. I am frightened to be the most experienced English teacher in the high school next year, but I know I will be the one to step up to the plate and lead the best I can.
I don't think age matters. You could have a second-year or a thirty-year teacher and they might have the same effect on their students. However, having confidence, learning from others and one's own mistakes, and reflecting and constantly striving to improve one's practice are all elements of a good teacher, regardless of age.
We must recruit teachers who are ready to learn and keep teachers who are ready to lead. A balance of this will be successful no matter how old they are.
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