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 The Georgia Partnership launched a newsletter created specifically for Georgia educators in August 2001. Mailed (including electronic subscribers) directly to interested teachers and other education stakeholders, Teacher Connection aimed to keep educators abreast of the latest in policy and best classroom practices. The winter 2007 edition was the last printed version. An electronic newsletter is being considered. Click on the appropriate issue to read the 2006 - 2008 school year editions: Teacher Connection - Winter 2007 * Teacher Connection - Summer 2007 Teacher Connection - Spring 2007 *Additions to the Winter 2007 print version (Page 6 "Tomorrow Is Another Day . . . ") Here you will find the complete responses of the teachers. The printed version was edited due to space constraints. Jason L. Armstrong, Dalton State College As I embark on my career as a teacher, my primary goals are to: 1) Set high expectations for each of my students and do everything that I can to ensure that they reach them, 2) Establish a community of lifelong learners who work together and celebrate their diversity, 3) Bring out the very best in each student by focusing on their strengths and ensuring that each student feels that they are a special, valued, and important part of the classroom, 4) Promote and maintain an attitude of camaraderie with the students’ parents/guardians through frequent communication and feedback, 5) Continue to grow and develop as a professional educator through collaboration with my colleagues and administrators. As grateful as I am to the faculty of Dalton State College’s Education Department for providing me with such a rigorous, thorough, and challenging preparatory program, I fully expect to encounter a myriad of unforeseen challenges during my first year as a new teacher. However, I am confident that I will overcome them by remaining humbly receptive to veteran teachers’ advice and being willing to adapt my pedagogical methods accordingly.
Andrea Warren, Bleckley County Elementary School I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher. Playing school with my dolls and stuffed animals used to be a daily activity as a child. Therefore, I had no trouble deciding that I wanted to enter the education field. I earned my degree from Georgia Southern University. In our last semester of student teaching, I was told that I would be in the first grade at Bleckley County Primary School. This is where I was introduced to the Bleckley County School System. It didn’t take me long to figure out that this was a place that I could see myself teaching.
They have great schools with very high expectations. After graduating from Georgia Southern in 2004, I could not wait to start my career. Mrs. Townsend, the principal, called me one day during that summer and asked me to come for an interview at Bleckley County Elementary School. From then on seems like a blur. This is my fourth year at BCES and there have been good times and bad times.
Being a real-life teacher is not exactly what you dream about as a little girl. There are so many challenges and obstacles to overcome as well as pressures put on by the state and administration. You constantly wonder if you are teaching everything that you need to teach and if you’re teaching it in a way that is reaching all of the students.
There are days when you feel like a failure because you don’t’ feel like your getting through to the children, but that is when you have to go home and think of a totally different way to approach whatever you are teaching, and you do this until you find a way to reach each and every child.
Even though the challenges are great, I have made a commitment to the teaching profession. I wouldn’t want to do anything else because I have the opportunity to impact our future. I have the chance to make a difference in a child’s life. I could never express the feeling of accomplishment that a teacher feels when a struggling student finally understands something and you’re the one that got through to them. It’s priceless!
Cathy H. Purser, Bleckley County Elementary School This is my 31st year of teaching. I’ve taught pre-k, kindergarten, third grade and fourth grade. The systems that I have taught include Jeff Davis County, and Schley County. I am currently employed by Bleckley County. I’ve spent the last 12 years at Bleckley County Elementary School. I’ve been fortunate to be able to teach third grade reading for several years now, which is my true passion.
I’ve taught for 31 years now. Some of the years have been longer that others or at least they’ve seemed longer. I’ve had good days and bad days. There have been many days when I’ve almost run down the hall and out of the door screaming wildly, days when I couldn’t see past all of my responsibilities as a teacher. After all, I am expected to manage my classroom, maintain control and discipline, teach a subject to a class with a wide variety of abilities and learning styles, get these students ready for THE TEST, keep a roomful of energetic children focused and on task so they’ll be ready for THE TEST, meet with parents, attend meetings where I listen to administrators introduce the next “great new thing” we’re going to try that will help us improve our scores on THE TEST and through all of this, I must always remember to keep a positive attitude and a smile on my tired face. Well fellow teachers do you see a little bit of your self in this picture? Just remember you’re not alone. We all feel overwhelmed at times. Find another teacher to share your difficulties with, a positive person, not a cynic, you don’t need to listen to more negativity. You can also discuss your concerns with your administrators. They’ll know how to help, or they’ll know how to find someone who can help. If all else fails, just remind yourself, “Tomorrow Is Another Day.”
One year I was so frustrated, I thought I would have to have those words tattooed across my forehead! That was the first year I shared a classroom with an inclusion teacher. As an older teacher it was hard for me to share control of the classroom and students. She didn’t do things the way I did them. However, as the year progressed, things did get better. We discussed the problems and I discovered that she was just as frustrated as I was.
As a young teacher she had felt intimidated by me as a more experienced teacher. She was also frustrated that I wasn’t listening to her ideas. Working together we learned how to combine our strengths to our student’s advantage. Now we make a great team! Now, will things always turn out positively? No! You’ll have good days and bad days, days that will make you question your decision to become a teacher. But always remember, and this is what keeps me coming back day after day, the next week, or day or maybe even the next minute, you might be blessed with one of those wonderful moments when you see the light of understanding brighten a child’s face. That incredibly awesome moment is what being a teacher is all about! Cathy Ranew, Worth County Primary School After 37 years of teaching young children in both public and private schools, I feel that it is time to leave. My decision to retire from education has not come easily. I will miss teaching, encouraging, and nurturing young children.
A feeling of wonder when a child learns to read or make numbers come to life has kept me in the profession. I will certainly miss seeing young faces that change and grow in one short year. The sense of pride and accomplishment that I feel when the children are successful in the early years and return later to thank me for those times cannot be measured. These faces and achievements are what I will miss most.
I will admit that in recent years I have considered retirement more often than not. I think that this is a result of constant change. Changes in curriculum, standards and expectations have at times seemed insurmountable. I believe that we are constantly learning and that we should embrace new ideas: but I also believe that experience can be a great teacher. Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire (William Butler Yeats).
To new teachers and those considering a career in teaching, I would say do not give up. Teaching can be a joy and a wonder, but it can also be frustrating and exhausting. Even though the children are demanding, they also make you feel loved, needed, and worthwhile. Structure, good planning, and a sense of humor will carry you a long way in the teaching profession. Teaching is like a line in a song that says, do something good and leave something good behind. Hopefully this is what I have done. Dr. Mary Tanksley, Rigdon Road Elementary School Being in education for 30 plus years has made me RICH, not financially but in experiences. I would not trade careers for anything. It has become more than a job for me. These children are my life.
Advice I would give to a new teacher coming in: The textbooks that you have studied and learned from do not compare to the real world experiences that you are about to embark upon. The best lessons you will learn from now are called common sense. Keep in mind all children really want to be loved and for the most part want to learn. It will become your mission to make it happen each and everyday. You will have more good days than bad days. Nothing lights up your day than a hug or a smile from one of your students.
No matter how rough it gets, the first three years are usually the toughest. This will be an adjustment period. After that the honey- moon begins. Always surround yourself with positive people and ask for a mentor if one is not being assigned to you.
Good Luck and remember: “Children are mirrors- they reflect our attitudes in life.”
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 Drop us an E-mail with your mailing address and we'll send a copy directly to you. The winter 2007 edition of the newsletter was the last hard-copy edition. An electronic version is being considered. |
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