The first year is the first step on a teacher's journey to the future. So often, however, because teaching requires living in the present, teachers give little thought to the future. The students they are teaching will likely live to the very edge of the twenty-first century and possibly into the twenty-second century. This article suggest some…

Argues for the use of colleague mentors to increase retention rates among new teachers. Describes mentors' role as offering emotional support, suggestions about effective instruction, and information on the mores of the school community. Identifies characteristics of good mentors. Stresses the importance of shared decision making in teacher…

A veteran teacher now teaching undergraduate education majors recounts the many stresses that contribute to teacher burnout. She proposes new teachers' dinners, Internet teacher-support systems, and mentor programs, concluding that veteran teachers will benefit as much as will new teachers. She calls on the Foxfire network of teachers to promote…

The author advises new interns that their success as teachers will depend critically on their ability to manage time--to handle lessons, administrative tasks, counseling, and social activity all within the framework of a 50- to 60-minute class period. (SJL)

Describes the techniques and strategies suggested by seasoned teachers by which beginning teachers might successfully survive their first full-time semester in the classroom. Discusses the primary needs of beginning teachers. Advocates regular reflection on teaching experiences. (HB)

Responds to previous articles (Mintz, 1992; Watkins, 1992; Mintz, 1993; Stabb, 1992; Weigel and Lamb, 1992) on new professional in academia. Adds to information discussed in previous articles by focusing on issues of age, competency, role boundaries, dual-career couples, parenthood and tenure, and mentoring from colleagues. Provides…

The practice of mentoring new teachers is spreading widely. School systems are finding that beginning teachers who have access to intensive mentoring are less likely to leave teaching. With the growing acceptance of the need to mentor novice teachers comes the danger that schools will attempt to implement mentor programs without paying adequate…

Teaching has moved gradually from being seen as an art or craft to an evidence-based techno-rational profession. However, within Steiner-Waldorf schools, teachers are largely autonomous and seen, like their pupils, as always "coming into being", through the development of an objective imaginative faculty. This perspective is derived from Steiner's…

Some mentees or proteges are not successful because they are not emotionally or professionally ready for full-time teaching, they are philosophically incompatible with the school district, they do not engage with other staff, what they learned at the university is incompatible with district practices, they do not listen to their mentors, or they…

The federal "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB), the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, seeks to improve student learning by setting high standards for academic achievement and putting into place basic school and district requirements to frame the improvement effort. Among those requirements considered to…

This article discusses preparing teachers to teach in rural Alaska. An anecdote illustrates how outsiders who come to work in rural Alaska get into trouble because they are unprepared for conditions unique to the North. These conditions end up being viewed as impediments rather than opportunities. The same is true for the field of education. Of…

Many young men and women who have just received the degree Doctor of Philosophy and are looking forward to a career in college teaching do not know very much about their future career. A political science professor shares some tips that he has picked up during 37 years of teaching. (RM)

This series of articles discusses beginning vocational agriculture teachers and the challenges they must meet, the rewards they are offered, and the adjustments they must make. Also stresses the need for experienced vocational agriculture teachers to aid and abet their rookie colleagues. (JOW)

Examines three myths about reading: that reading is an exact process, that readers learn first to decode and then to comprehend, and that students must know all the vocabulary before they can read something. (DD)

Presents two narratives from beginning English teachers. The narratives included are: "At the Centre of All This" (Kristie French); and "Praying for Control" (Cecile Grumelart). (SG)