1st Edition

Early Career English Teachers in Action Learning from Experience, Developing Expertise

Edited By Robert Rozema, Lindsay Ellis Copyright 2015
    210 Pages
    by Routledge

    210 Pages
    by Routledge

    The first few years of teaching are critical to the professional development of effective English teachers. In these crucial years, new teachers establish their identities, learn the ins and outs of the curriculum, acclimate to unfamiliar communities, and cope with student behaviors that they never expected. All of this can be daunting for novice teachers. This book can help. The stories within are written by English teachers in the early stages of their careers. In their carefully crafted narratives, teachers offer practical strategies, professional insights, and a wealth of tips for surviving the first years in the classroom. The narratives are grouped into thematic chapters with brief introductions of key terms, helpful learning activities, and provocative discussion questions, all intended to foster critical conversation about beginning a career teaching English.

    In a time when many teachers leave the profession too soon, Early Career English Teachers in Action gives voice to those who have decided to stay. More importantly, this book validates teacher narratives as a powerful way of understanding what happens inside of the classroom—a way that provides more authentic evidence of learning than standardized test scores will ever supply.

    Contents

    Foreword, Lisa Schade Eckert
    Preface
    Acknowledgments

    Chapter 1: Introduction
    Why English School Teachers? Robert Rozema
    Why Teacher Narratives? Lindsay Ellis

    Chapter 2: School Culture
    Introduction, Robert Rozema
    Lessons from the Scrap Yard, Jeremy Battaglia
    The Rules, Adam Kennedy
    Lessons from the Slum, David Jagusch
    Life Skills, Blaine Sullivan

    Chapter 3: School Climate
    Introduction, Robert Rozema
    Loving and Leaving, Tami Teshima
    Why the Hell Would You Teach There? Kristyn Konal

    Chapter 4: Curriculum
    Introduction, Lindsay Ellis
    Kibera Sings, David Jagusch
    Going Gradeless, Sierra Holmes
    The Meaning of Success, Adam Kennedy

    Chapter 5: Teacher Identity
    Introduction, Lindsay Ellis
    Absorbing Fear, Rejecting Fear, Bree Gannon
    Integrity, Amanda Brown
    Breaking My Rule, Lindsay Stoetzel
    First Love, Sara VanIttersum
    Holding their Stories, Tracy Meinzer

    Chapter 6: Student Behavior
    Introduction, Robert Rozema
    The Exceptions, Adam Kennedy
    Finding Your Focus, Jeremy Battaglia
    Innocence and Experience, Amanda Brown
    The Heart of Teaching, Tracy Meinzer

    Contributors

    Biography

    Robert Rozema is Associate Professor of English (Secondary Education), Grand Valley State University, USA. Before coming to Grand Valley, he taught high school English for eight years.

    Lindsay Ellis is Associate Professor of English, Grand Valley State University. USA. She directs the Lake Michigan Writing Project.

    "This collection of beginning teacher stories provides authentic narrative voices that share the positive, neutral, and negative realities of teaching.  The vicarious experience serves as a means to help pre-service teachers envision their roles and the many choices, from overall career choices to the miniscule daily decisions, they will make as teachers…. and to meet contemporary and future challenges as public intellectuals, advocates for their students and communities, and pedagogical leaders who can usher in a new progressive era of education."

    Lisa Schade Eckert, Northern Michigan University, USA. From the Foreword

    "This is a gem of a book. It will stay on teachers’ shelves long after they have emerged through their teacher preparation programs and first years of teaching as an invaluable resource for thinking about their lives as teachers, their teaching, and the students and issues that confront them."

    Melanie Sperling, University of California, Riverside, USA