This article presents the author's experience as a new teacher lamenting the lack of clear and achievable expectations. Given a book list in place of a curriculum on her first day, she comments that she can understand why such a lack of guidance for new teachers can lead to frustration and departures. She further shares that since becoming a…

Teachers are crucial to the success of students. Yet, many of them are leaving their schools and the profession every year, particularly in poorer, lower-performing schools. As in any profession, not all attrition is bad, but whether bad or good, it has financial ramifications. This article explores the costs associated with teachers leaving the…

Despite its image as an all-American city, downtown Peoria, Illinois, home of Bradley University, is also a place of strip clubs and violent crime. For undergraduates, it's a risky environment in which to conduct field research. Edward Lamoureux, an associate professor in Bradley's multimedia program, saw a better place in the virtual world Second…

In this article, the author shares her experience in teaching students with passion. She recalls the time when she was then what most first-year teachers are today: filled with hope and promise, determination and good will, ready to work hard and yearning to soak up the art and craft of teaching and learning. And whenever she gets tired and…

Most character education-advocate organizations list traits that they identify as the central principles or "pillars" in character development. They usually include words like responsibility, fairness, pride, and citizenship. As so often happens in education, these words are presented as though they represented straightforward, commonly understood…

Whether nearing the completion of a teacher education program, already teaching and considering changing school districts, or relocating, teachers share a common interest--finding a teaching position. At first, the prospect may appear somewhat overwhelming. They may wonder whether sufficient positions are available or whether certain grade levels…

In this article, the author discusses the frustration he encounters when teaching his students about philosopher Henry David Thoreau's views, in particular, Thoreau's idea of simplified living. He finds that his students cannot imagine how anyone would want not more but fewer things, and the idea that the quality of life could actually be improved…

Organizational competence is what makes schools smarter, and such competence is typically found to reside in the relationships, norms, memories, habits, and collective skills of a network of people. Simply put, organizational competence is the sum of everything that everybody knows and uses that leads to increased learning. In an organizationally…

To lure highly qualified teachers to low-performing schools, the Mobile County, Alabama, school board did what a small but growing number of districts are considering: pay teachers more money for working in what are considered less attractive jobs. As school districts are more pressured to raise achievement among all student groups, more are…

Preservice teachers get their first teaching position hoping to take the first step toward becoming professional educators and expecting support from experienced colleagues and administrators, who often serve as their mentors. In this article, the authors present the story of Kristine (a pseudonym), who works at a middle school in a large U.S.…