Musing on Day 361 of my challenge to myself to write something of encouragement to stay in the field every day for 365 days.
Post from a former student teacher to her former clinical classroom teacher on Facebook: I was at a DPS Superintendent/Parent Forum this morning and low and behold, there was your pretty face right on the screen during one of the “Teacher Leader” videos. Nice “seeing” you!
Comment from clinical teacher: Did they tell the audience that I left teaching?
So three years later, neither of them is in the field anymore.
I had interviewed the clinical teacher last winter about what kept him in the field. He told me stories of being there for kids, of giving kids projects and activities in which they were engaged and excited and then he said, “I’m actually not sure I can keep doing this.” All I could say was, “I understand. But, please don’t give up.”
Now I ask myself if there is anything any of us could have done to keep him? The students loved him. He wanted to be a good teacher. He couldn’t overcome the micro-managing pressures and contradictions , the constant threats, the loss of a vision and focus to aim for in his daily work with kids. And so, he’s gone, a new teacher is in his classroom.
Maybe we can figure out a way to keep him.