Year Three: Reality Sets In

[Teacher Man is the pseudonym of a third-year teacher at an intermediate school in Brooklyn.]

I have just begun my third year of teaching here in New York City, and from a pedagogical standpoint, things are going well. After two years that were more of a learning experience for me than they probably were for my students, I feel like I’m finally coming into my own as an educator. Tasks that once seemed gargantuan, such as creating a behavior management plan and mapping out an entire unit, now seem second nature. Classroom management is, dare I say, well under control.

My third year is also unique because I began my teaching career through the New York City Teaching Fellows alternative certification program. For the last two years, in addition to teaching full time I was also going to Hunter College at night to earn my Master’s degree. While I learned a great deal those first two years, I often felt like I was barely keeping my head above water. The demands and deadlines of a graduate degree program combined with the stresses of being a new teacher were overwhelming, to say the least. Looking back now, I wonder how I made it.

So now, I find myself, still a very new teacher by any measure, feeling like a salty veteran who has been there and done that. And I’ve begun to notice, with the extra time I now have to pay closer attention to a lot of things, just how demanding it can be to be a truly excellent teacher, and how much of a learning experience it is to become a teacher. One of the biggest problems with delivering quality education is teacher turnover, and this is a view supported by all those involved in the debate over education reform. Everyone agrees that teacher turnover is bad for schools and bad for students, and developing the skills needed to be effective requires a great investment of time and support. While I was fortunate in this respect, there are many teachers who don’t last more than a few years because of a lack of support, and this is unfortunate.

Another thing I have noticed, this being an election year for the city of New York, is that every politician has made great pronouncements and promises about education, yet the budget situation remains in critical condition. The staff at my school was greeted this year by the announcement that we had lost several million dollars from our budget, and although no staff positions were cut, we would not be replacing several teachers and staff members who retired or left. We are also not going to be able to purchase any supplies this year, we were forced to cut our popular marching band and our formidable chess team, and we had to scale back our after school programs. To increase enrollment and bring in some extra monies, our principal maxed out classes at 30 and 31 students per class, instead of the more effective classes of 25 or so that we used to have. Split classes of ELA and Math, which were used to split classes of struggling students into two groups for more one on one instruction, have been eliminated. Just recently I found out several of our very hardworking school aides will be cut.

While our school has been used as an example of how urban schools can thrive, many here fear that these drastic budget cuts will alter the delicate fabric that holds our community together. Many of the programs we have been forced to cut are part of what set our school apart. The resources that were once available to teachers to encourage the best possible instruction have now been reduced or eliminated. Yet we hear every politician running for office this year expounding on their commitment to education. We need to hold our leadership accountable, and demand that education is properly funded, as it is the most essential long term investment we can make.

Tagged: budget cuts, classroom management, Hunter College, middle school, teaching fellows

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