Description

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about shepherding in relation to staff care. It’s a powerful metaphor. In this slightly shorter episode, Daniel Horst focuses on what this kind of care and leadership looks like in working with new teachers. He speaks with a deep concern for helping bring new teachers through the dangers and snares of the first years in the classroom and make it a journey of joy. Daniel is in his seventies now with many years of experience serving on school boards. He also brings the perspective of someone who has had several children enter the classroom.

In an interactive time leading up to the part of the presentation that you will hear, Daniel worked with the attendees to diagnose what contributes to what we might call, “New Teacher Syndrome.” Here’s what they came up with.

1. New teachers are disoriented by all the “first times” of doing things
2. They’re inexperienced (it might be their first job, and generally they have no parenting experience)
3. They are now loaded with responsibility
4. They tend to have unrealistic expectations for themselves and their students
5. They bring a potent mix of inspiration and apprehension

Daniel responds by outlining two main responses or roles. He paints a picture where the new teacher lives at the intersection of the care of a mentor and the oversight of an attentive administrator or school board. Here’s Daniel.

The Mentor role

1. Mentor: someone who is for them (build the relationship first, make them feel like a valued part of the team
2. Work on one goal at a time
3. Be there as often as you can, it’s hard to fix things that you can’t see; support them in meeting deadlines
4. Listen, listen, listen
5. Track progress, reflect their gains
6. Show them your weaknesses
7. Don’t micromanage, let them make some mistakes
8. Bite-sized feedback, positive first and one or two pieces of constructive criticism

The School Board or Administrator role

1. Stay connected to the new teacher,
2. Orient them
3. Provide or support them in developing daily plans and class routines
4. Assign reasonable workloads
5. Be a buffer for parents’ criticism

Links

• This talk was first published as “Shepherding the New Teacher” https://www.thedockforlearning.org/content/shepherding-the-new-teacher-daniel-r-horst
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