Phases+of+Teacher+Development

Attitudinal Phases
According to the work of Ellen Moir, the director of The New Teacher Center at the University of Santa Cruz, teachers who are new to the profession experience common shifts in perspective and attitude throughout their first year in the classroom. These phases present opportunities for professional growth, but they aren't easy to endure, especially for those among us who are accustomed to achieving at high levels. It helps to see your first year a bit like a forest fire: The remaining ashes serve to fertilize the ground, and after some time, new growth appears!


 * Anticipation**
 * This phase begins as early as your student teaching experience, and generally involves the formation of your idea of who you want to be as a teacher. All of the time spent in pre-service preparation was a time of anticipation and wonder. Perhaps you romantacized your role in the classroom, or maybe you began to experience some degree of anxiety about doing a good job. Regardless, this is a stage full of excitement.


 * Survival ﻿<- YOU ARE HERE! :) **
 * This phase begins on or very near to your first day on the job. There is so much to learn, and so very little time to fully process it. For everything you learned during college and student teaching (or perhaps in a previous profession), no one ever really prepared you for the amount of thinking and action required to get your first classroom ready, and all of those lessons planned and ready to implement. You many be barely able to keep your head about water during this phase, and you are probably putting in long hours beyond your contracted day. Have you seen your boyfriend, husband, mother, or children lately? They are probably under that pile of papers in the corner. You know... the pile that has the directions for how to procure a substitute and that emergency information card you meant to turn into the school nurse. Worry not, this phase only lasts 6-8 weeks. After all, who could keep up this pace for much longer?


 * Disillusionment**
 * I wish I could tell you that you had something to look forward to after the first three months on the job, but honesty is the best policy. You are going to wake up on the other side of Survival wondering exactly what you were thinking when you decided to become a teacher! We've all wondered that exact thing about ourselves at least once in our careers, so you aren't alone. The perk of the Disillusionment phase is that it is a dose of reality. This is when you come to see, and perhaps even accept, that you cannot do it ALL during your first year on the job. The length of time you spend in this phase is as unique as each of you are. For some, it is nearly an ah-ha moment and a sense of peace. For others, it is like raging against the dying of the light. For all, it is THE best time to access your mentor. Remember that, in addition to your experiences, the faculty around you is entering their own funk during this time of the year, and the most well-meaning colleagues are more likely to commiserate than to collaborate. By this time, you will have faced some criticism from students and parents, and maybe even from colleagues and evaluators. Need a dose of humor? Take a peek at this parody:

media type="custom" key="6856169" width="110" height="110" align="left"

>>


 * Rejuvenation**
 * Roughly around January you will start to rise again... like a phoenix from the ashes. After a long winter break, albeit not one as long as you are used to having, you will begin to feel a shift in your perspective. you will have begun to find balance between work and home. You will know when to say, "When!" You will have a better idea of which mountains you'll die on, and you'll feel a bit more practiced. Although the winter months will be long, you will do more than merely survive.


 * Reflection**
 * In May, perhaps a little sooner, you will begin to really think about this year. You'll think about what you learned, what you'll keep in your toolbelt, and what you'll reinvent for next year. You'll discard things that didn't work.


 * Anticipation**
 * And then it starts all over again! Next year, you may find yourself going through those phases again. After all, Moir refers to "new teachers", not only "first year" teachers in her studies. You may find that you go through these phases every year, to some extent. This is especially true if you are a life long learner, and reflective by nature. Fortunately, you'll find that you spend much less time in the survival and disillusionment phases as you gain experience.