Nancy Larimer, Coordinator ♦ 6997 Keene Street ♦ Kennesaw, Georgia ♦ 30144 ♦ 770.514.3867

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Matching Mentors and Beginning Teachers


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for a list of:
Intern Mentors in each school who are currently enrolled in the 2008-2009 TSS Endorsement Program

 
How Can Schools Support
New Teachers?

The support needs of new teachers are quite diverse from those of veteran teachers in your school. Some thoughts to keep in mind when working with new teachers at your school: 

·     The mission of induction is to train, retain, and create a culture of effective teachers (Wong).  

·     Much worse than training teachers and losing them is not training them and keeping them (Wong).  

·     What teachers know and can do is the most important influence on what students learn (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 1996). 

·     Several areas that are obstacles to beginning teachers include: difficult work assignments, unclear expectations, lack of colleague support, isolation, inadequate resources, and the discrepancy of the beginning teacher’s real vision of teaching and the real world of teaching (Gordon 1991) 

·     Being thrust into working conditions with the same responsibilities that 20-year veterans have on the first day of employment can lead to poor coping strategies that, if continued throughout the teacher’s career, may lower the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom (Papagiotas). 

·     New teachers move through several phases: from anticipation, to survival, to disillusionment, to rejuvenation, to reflection, then back to anticipation.  The survival stage begins about a month after the school year begins. The disillusionment stage begins six to eight weeks into the year (Moir 1995).

Copyright 2005.  Last Update: August 15, 2008
Cobb County Public Schools
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