I hope these posts aren't held against us, but since I was asked, here goes my two cents.......
I would love to have had a thorough orientation process as a new teacher. I think that I may have had more than most, by beginning NTI the summer before school started. Even armed with all of that wonderful information, I still felt MASSIVELY unprepared when school started! There were those well meaning folks who offered their "first year war" stories as consolation, but it felt like anything but consolation. I mean, the worst thing you can tell someone who is in the midst of the battle is "keep fighting because the war will end in 3-5 years". I was told that almost daily for the first week or so! An orientation process where you are paired with someone who has not only the experience, but the desire and the TIME to help you would be ideal. I have been paired with a mentor, since I am a new teacher, but my mentor is 5 times as busy as I am!
There just always seems to be such a chasm between what you learn in school and how things work "for real". Receiving "realistic" orientation would help to better manage expectations of new teachers. I came in ready to save the world and make a mark that couldn't be erased. The reality is, that I have been so incredibly overwhelmed my first year, that it is considered an accomplishment (for me) just to remember which class periods I see on which days (we have block scheduling). And lets not forget the acronyms! No one prepared me for the acronyms!!! I would liken my first year of teaching to being taught how to swim while standing on the pool deck fully clothed. No matter how frequently you rehearse how to swim while standing on deck, it is a TOTALLY different experience once you are actually in the water! An effective, realistic, thorough orientation process would be quite beneficial and very much appreciated. Maybe once I make it out of the war zone in 3-5 years, I will create the program that I think would help others that find themselves "on deck" like me.
Thank you for your post. I would like to spend some time with the class next semester asking for suggestions of things to keep and things that need changing to make NTI in the summer a better program for all of you. Dr. J.
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