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The editors at Top Teaching Colleges decided to research the topic of:
Making the Grade: Great Teachers in Our Schools
- Each Fall, more than 200,000 new teachers enter US classrooms
- Who will become a great teacher?
- 26% of teachers in 2011 had been teaching for just 1 to 5 years
Lesson One: Most teachers are in it for the long haul
- 91% of the respondents identified the desire to work with children as a very important factor today in making the decision to become a teacher
- 77% reported that their decisions were not influenced by the lack of other options (This should say something like - 77% chose a teaching career); a teaching career was a positive and desirable choice, issues that did not factor heavily in their decisions to teach
- including beginning teacher salary (74%)
- advancement opportunities (70%)
- salary potential (70%)
- The respondents' decisions to become teachers were made early in life
- 60% of respondents decided to become teachers before they had graduated from high school
- 35% had made the decision while they were still in college
- 77% of the respondents would choose to become teachers today, and a similar majority; 76% would encourage family members to become teachers. Even more; 83% would encourage their students to become teachers.
- They plan on sticking it through - no matter how long their hours or how low their pay
- National average starting salary for a teacher: $30,377.
- Computer programmers start at an average of $43,635,
- Public accounting professionals at $44,668,
- Registered nurses at $45,570.
Lesson Two: Great teachers are made, not born
- Teachers are mostly self-taught! Most teachers felt incompetent in their first year, but soon get the hang of things
- Feistritzer's (2011) survey of teachers
- Classroom discipline - 28% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 78% feel "very competent"
- Classroom management - 25% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 84% feel "very competent"
- Time management - 21% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 77% feel "very competent"
- Deal with administrative hierarchy - 23% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 73% feel "very competent"
- Organizing instruction - 16% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 85% feel "very competent"
- Ability to motivate students - 12% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 78% feel "very competent"
- Deal with fellow teachers - 12% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 84% feel "very competent"
- Ability to teach subject matter -- 9% "not very" or "not at all" competent
- by the end of 5 years: 93% feel "very competent"
- How teachers feel they learn best
- Valuable criteria in Developing Competence to teach (according to teachers):
- Ones own teaching experience: 83% very valuable
- Clinical/field-based experiences 83% very valuable
- other teachers/colleagues 76% very valuable
- life experiences: 64% 'very valuable'
- courses in subjects being taught: 64% 'very valuable'
- professional development activities: 45%
Lesson Three: Qualifiers
- today in education you don't have to hold a master's degree in order to be a great teacher
- An increase in professionals from their fields are finding their niche as teachers
- Although teachers say they want to be better qualified, there has been a DECREASE in masters degrees achieved by teachers
- In 2005, a master's degree in education was the highest degree held 47% of the teaching force, followed by 31% who held a bachelor's degree in education.
- In 2011, the proportion of the teaching force holding masters' degrees in education as their highest degree was 43%, followed by 29% % who f
Lesson Four: Great Teachers Have the Best Laid Plans
- 53 hour work week:
- On average, teachers are at school an additional 90 minutes beyond the school day for mentoring, providing after-school help for students, attending staff meetings and collaborating with peers.
- Teachers then spend another 95 minutes at home grading, preparing classroom activities, and doing other job-related tasks.
- The workday is even longer for teachers who advise extracurricular clubs and coach sports - 11 hours and 20 minutes, on average. for teacher that advise extracurricular clubs and coach sports they spend an average
- Planning periods
- U.S teachers spend about 80% of their working time teaching in the classroom versus about 60% for most other industrialized nations
- US teachers average 3-5 hours a week in lesson planning versus 15-20 hours a week in Europe and in Asia.
Lesson Five: Great Teachers: They give and they give and they give
- In spite of the fact that starting pay for most teachers is less than the average college graduate ($46,000),
- teachers still find extra cash for their classes
- 92 percent of teachers spent $450 of their own money on classroom supplies just this year without being reimbursed
- Public school teachers in the United States spent more than $1.33 billion out of pocket on school supplies and instructional materials in the 2009-2010
Sources
- http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/backtoschool/story/2012-09-05/new-teachers/57581638/1)
- http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/teachertoteacher/ttt/voices_part_1.pdf
- http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/nsopf/
- http://www.edweek.org/media/pot2011final-blog.pdf
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/survey-teachers-work-53-hours-per-week-on-average/2012/03/16/gIQAqGxYGS_blog.html
- http://blog.readinga-z.com/bobs_blog/2009/02/us-teachers-have-less-time-for-planning.html
- http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-college+graduate
- http://www.lakevoicenews.org/out-of-pocket-expenses-are-a-reality-for-todays-teachers/
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/survey-teachers-work-53-hours-per-week-on-average/2012/03/16/gIQAqGxYGS_blog.html
- http://blog.readinga-z.com/bobs_blog/2009/02/us-teachers-have-less-time-for-planning.html
- National School Supply and Equipment Association (NSSEA), http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/07/08/teachers-spend-1.3-billion-out-of-pocket-on-classroom-materials.aspx#lKOG6WvGSRy7DrM2.99
- http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/7007-survey-reveals-what-students-really-think-of-teachers
- http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/teachertoteacher/ttt/voices_part_1.pdf
- National School Supply and Equipment Association (NSSEA), http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/07/08/teachers-spend-1.3-billion-out-of-pocket-on-classroom-materials.aspx#lKOG6WvGSRy7DrM2.99
