Great Article in the Washington Post

Dr. Morrison stumbled upon an article in the Washington Post this weekend that we have shared with her EDU 200 students. I'd like to share it here, also. I'm including the link to the post as well as the text of the article for your benefit (and in case the link expires). We'd love to hear your comments on the topic of alternate routes to teacher licensure.

Did you know that JSRCC participates in a Career Switcher Program? Check it out HERE!

Teacher Has to Learn by Listening
By Mary Ellen Slayter
Sunday, March 16, 2008; Page K01

Q: I have not taken the traditional route to teaching -- I started after a few unsatisfying years in another career. Because I am teaching in a high-needs area, I was hired "conditionally" and have not finished my master's in education or my teaching certification. I recently had an observation meeting with my principal. She unfairly dumped on me, calling my teaching unmotivating, not fun, and saying it was obvious the student I was working with didn't like me. While I agree the lesson she observed had some flaws, I believe that a lot of these criticisms (and other things she has said) come from her belief that, as someone who does not have an undergraduate degree in education and has never done any student teaching, I am unfit to teach, period.
In my former job in the business world, I would have addressed this with the superior giving the evaluation. Here, I feel like that would be fruitless and would further alienate me, as everyone else in the school thinks this principal is great.

A: You're not the first new teacher to experience this problem -- except the problem isn't what you think it is.
"When you enter a school, you have to be humble," said Tara Williams, site manager for D.C. Teaching Fellows, an alternative teacher certification program geared toward career-changers. It takes time and a lot of work to become an effective teacher, she said, something that high-achievers coming from other fields often have a particularly hard time accepting.
And you do want to be good at this, right?
If so, you need to schedule a follow-up meeting with your principal (a.k.a. your boss), and this time really listen to her thoughts about what you are doing wrong. As you acknowledge, most of the people who work for her think she is great. That probably means she knows a thing or two about teaching.
"Your principal is your employer," Williams said. "Instead of saying 'I don't agree,' ask what you need to do to improve."
Perhaps your principal can pair you up with a mentor, or you can find one on your own. You want an experienced teacher you trust, and who will share honest feedback with you. Oh, and you have to actually listen to that person, too.
Williams said your assumption that your credentials (or lack thereof) are the problem might have been true five to 10 years ago, but it's an attitude that's rapidly disappearing. Principals care less about the route that people take to enter the profession, she said. "They just want people that make effective teachers."