Teaching as a Profession
Editor’s Note
As more and more evidence points to the impact of consistently effective teaching on student achievement, questions emerge about teaching as a profession—and as a career. This topic includes articles addressing trends and issues in teacher preparation, career development, and the day-to-day work of teaching.—N.W.
More Than “Making Nice”
Getting teachers to (truly) collaborate
There was no yellow Post-It note, no collegial suggestion like, “Hey, I’ve tried these ...” Newly hired French teacher Amy Moran merely found a stack of worksheets tossed on her desk by a colleague soon after she arrived at Westford Academy, a public high school in Westford, Mass. Continue
Taking Care of Novice Teachers
Researchers suggest how administrators can keep their newer teachers teaching and maintain a first-rate faculty
Do novice teachers see their first jobs as stepping-stones to work in other schools or other fields? The evidence suggests the contrary. New teachers actually feel more fulfilled and satisfied than college graduates of the same age working in other jobs. Continue
Wanted: Better Ninth-Grade Teachers
Concern over graduation rates has schools rethinking teacher assignments
If talented, experienced teachers in some DeKalb County high schools outside Atlanta want a prime parking space or super-clean classroom, they need only say yes to one thing: volunteer to teach ninth grade. North Lawndale College Prep charter school in Chicago expects Advanced Placement teachers to teach freshmen. And at POLYTECH High School in Delaware, a schoolwide emphasis on cultivating ninth graders means teachers are “fighting” for open positions in the freshman academy, according to the principal there. Continue
Related Articles
Landing the “Highly Qualified Teacher”
How administrators can hire—and keep—the best
In Search of That “Third Thing”
Education programs strive to define—and develop—the professional dispositions that make a good teacher
Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Teachers
School reforms are destined to fail until teaching becomes a professional career
Educators as “Applied Developmentalists”
An interview with Michael J. Nakkula and Eric Toshalis
Degrees of Improvement
States push to reverse the decline in preschool teachers’ qualifications
Taking the Measure of New Teachers
California shifts from standardized tests to performance-based assessment as a condition of licensure
Beyond Bargaining
What does it take for school district–union collaboration to succeed?
Teaching
From A Nation at Risk to a Profession at Risk?
Online Professional Development for Teachers
An interview with Chris Dede
Standards-Based Evaluation for Teachers
How one public school system links teacher performance, student outcomes, and professional growth
