Alter and Mathews, who write regularly on education and teaching, are often found praising young teachers — whom they seem to believe need little formal preparation for teaching in high needs schools — at the expense of older, more experienced teachers who have been trained in education schools and thus “burdened” with pedagogical coursework. (In particular see this recent column by Alter in which he blithely offers the descriptor "older, incompetent teachers.")
So let's take a look at teacher recruitment at the Equity Project Charter School, which garnered national headlines by announcing it would pay its teachers $125,000 a year, plus performance bonuses. Who did Zeke Vanderhoek, founder of the innovative school, recruit to teach and earn the professional salaries offered? As Gootman's story documents, most of his choices are very experienced — dare we say older? — teachers, like Oscar Quintero, who has taught for over 30 years and is in his 60s. Or Judith LeFevre, 54, a science teacher from Arizona, "who spent three decades honing her craft at public, private, urban and rural schools."
While there are also several 30-somethings on the school faculty, they all have been well prepared over time for teaching in high needs schools. They have proof of their teaching expertise and a strong track record in engaging students in high quality instruction.
What is most striking is Gootman’s description of how the teachers Mr. Vanderhoek found in his nationwide search complement each other as a team. While each of the teachers had special training, skills, and experiences, what matters most is how they fit together as a cohesive unit, ready to serve their students from Washington Heights. For LeFevre, making the move to NYC from distant Arizona was about “working with a team of master teachers.”
How is the Equity Project Charter School doing at the end of Year One? It's too soon for an academic progress report, but here's the NYC Dept. of Education Learning Environment Survey Report 2009-2010 for the school, which "provides a view of a school's learning environment based on responses from parents, teachers, and middle and high school students." The satisfaction scores are some of the highest in the city.
Skills and experience, collaboration, cultural competency, demonstrated expertise — these are the qualities that matter in today's teachers, whether they're 25 or 65. These should be the drivers of education policy and reform — not the notion that somehow, de facto, younger is better.
Great post, Barnett, and great example of the Equity Project hiring veterans. I am so glad to be working among experienced teachers as well as newer teachers. I think a mix is the best scenario, for students, teachers, and the future of schools--after all we need a new generation of teachers to replace those who retire. Those new teachers need people to learn from. But if I had to choose to teach or send my own children to a school full of veterans or a school full of newbies--ridiculous choice though it is--I'd choose the school full of veterans, where I could be confident it would not be complete chaos, and where I could be fairly certain children were learning.
The schools I attended growing up were, at the time, staffed by mostly veteran teachers far removed from my classmates' and my generation. Some of my teachers were great; some weren't. Many were much more traditional and "boring" in their methods than I like to see, but we learned at least the basics we needed to learn, and we benefited from an orderly environment.
As a progressive educator, I don't yearn for those days, and I have a ton of criticisms of a number of my former teachers. Nonetheless I've come to understand that change takes time. Bulldozer-style initiatives that undermine experienced educators and traditional ties to the communities tend to do more damage than good.
Among other things, this realization comes from having seen a large traditional school closed down and replaced by a new school staffed almost entirely by new teachers. The teachers were committed to learning the craft, but the situation as a whole simply was not viable. There was no one for all of the new teachers to learn from. Everyone was reinventing the wheel all the time and making a million mistakes along the way that directly impacted student learning. High turnover dampened progress from year to year.
So, although we really need a solid mix of more and less experienced teachers to make up a school community, on the whole, no, newer isn't better. Policy makers need to understand that. If change is what we're after, we need to look at sustainable models that make use of all of our resources.
Posted by: Ariel | July 31, 2010 at 10:23 PM
What language is thine, O sea?
The language of eternal question.
What language is thy answer, O sky?
The language of eternal silence.
Do you like it?
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