A Friend, A Responsibility, and Intellectual Nourishment

By Alex Valencic

Many years ago, I heard a religious leader declare that new members of a faith community needed three things to help them successfully transition into the new world they had joined: a friend, a responsibility, and nourishment by the Good Word.

I have often reflected on this and thought about its application in the world of education. What happens when a new teacher (whether new to the profession or just new to the role/building/district) is hired? Are they give a friend, a responsibility, and professional nourishment? What would that look like?

 A Friend

When I was hired to teach full-time after three years of substitute teaching, I was assigned a mentor in my district. She was a wonderful support and resource for me, even though we were in very different roles. (I was teaching fourth grade in a general education classroom; she was a reading interventionist who worked primarily with first and second graders.) Ours was a small building with just two teachers per grade level. My grade-level partner my first year resigned her position for health reasons during my second year and, for reasons far beyond my control, this set off a chain of events that resulted in me teaching with six different people over the course of seven years.

For some, this would have been an insurmountable challenge that could have led to burnout and early departure from the field. Fortunately, I was able to find my own crew among the amazing educators in my building and my district. From the special education teacher who worked in the classroom next to mine to the fellow new-hire who became my best friend at work to the librarian across the hall to the dance/drama/music teacher who came into my classroom to co-teach cross-curricular units to the fifth grade teacher who joined me in a crazy adventure in after school clubs to so many others, I was surrounded with friends who were there to support, to encourage, and, yes, to correct as needed.

Every new teacher needs a friend to support them. This friend may be an assigned mentor or it may be someone in the same hallway or department or it could be someone who works across town. Schools can no longer be staffed by “independent contractors who share a parking lot.” If you are a new teacher, who is in your crew? If you are a veteran teacher, who are you mentoring? If you are an admin or coach, what opportunities are you taking to foster these collegial relationships?

 A Responsibility

Being assigned to teach a certain grade-level or class is indeed a responsibility in a school or district, but when I think of making sure new hires have a responsibility, I am looking beyond. What are we asking of our new teachers that shows them that we value them and the ideas they bring to the team? Every school and district I have ever encountered has multiple committees, from social planning to curriculum to parent engagement to discipline to equity. Should a new teacher be put in charge of a high-stakes committee like equity? Probably not. (But maybe equity is a passion of theirs and they are eager to jump in; don’t dismiss a teacher in such a role simply because they are new!) As an early-career teacher in my first full-time job, my principal knew I was interested in pursuing leadership and so she invited me to be a part of the school improvement team. Later I was invited to join the district’s tech cadre as an instructional technology specialist. I was given opportunities to lead grade-level teams, to serve on district exploratory committees, and to lead professional development for my peers. I knew that was valued and needed as more than “just” a classroom teacher. What responsibilities can you seek or make available to your new crew members?

 Professional Nourishment

I love learning. It is one of the many reasons I chose to pursue a career in education. In one of my undergraduate courses, I read Educating Esmé: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year by Esmé Raji Codell and I have always remembered this passage from the end of the book:

 People snicker, “Those who can’t do, teach.” But, oh, how right they are. I could never, ever do all I dream of doing. I could never, ever be an opera star, a baseball umpire, an earth scientist, an astronaut, a great lover, a great liar, a trapeze artist, a dancer, a baker, a buddha, or a thousand other aspirations I have had while having only been given one thin ticket in this lottery of life! In the recessional, as I watch them, mine, the ones I loved, I overflow with the joyous greed of a rich man counting coins... Thirty-one children. Thirty-one chances. Thirty-one futures, our futures. It’s an almost psychotic feeling, believing that part of their lives belongs to me. Everything they become, I also become. And everything about me, they helped to create.

I can’t know all the things. I can’t do all the things. I can’t be all the things. But I want to and I am going to do all I can to know, do, and be all that I can be and to help others know, do, and be all the things that I can’t.

In my current role, I have the privilege of serving my school community as the professional learning coordinator. It is my responsibility to see to it that every teacher in our district, whether they are a certified teacher in the classroom, a specialist, or one of the many essential classified staff who teaches through example as they run the office, clean the restrooms, or monitor the playground, receives the professional learning they need to be successful in what they do.

Once upon a time, it was not at all unusual for a school or even a district to bring everyone together for the same training at the same time. Now, to be clear, there are times that this is necessary. There are times that we need to calibrate as an organisation to make sure everyone is on the same page. But those times must be the exception and not the rule. Our district institute days (sometimes known as teacher inservice training days) are made up of many sessions related to core district goals, differentiated in a way that teachers can select what they want and when they want it. All staff are invited to lead sessions, as well.

Whatever your role in your building or district, you have an impact on the new hires. Bring them into your crew by being a friend, by helping them find a responsibility, and by providing them with the professional nourishment they need to grow in their roles! As Mike and Josh reminded us not too long ago, education isn’t a solo act. We all need each other. We are, in every sense of the word, better together