In our PLP leadership group we discussed recruitment within our division and it lead us to the four great questions of conversation within Greg’s August 31st, 2014 blog.
Who are we looking for when we recruit?
What are our expectations of them?
How are we welcoming them into our District?
How are we supporting them throughout their career?
In this blog post, I am going to reflect on the first one but I leave the other questions open for comment.
I truly believe that we need the right people doing the right work. I used to believe that a high school teacher was a high school teacher and an elementary teacher was an elementary teacher and that is how it went. However after spending ten years teaching in a high school setting, I made a huge change and spent the following two years teaching elementary. What that experience taught me although it was quite a shock to the system at first, is that a teacher is a teacher plain and simple. Students may have different needs in their differing stages of development however the fact is that they all need someone who cares for them and takes time to build a relationship with each of them. I have learned from this experience that sometimes leaving your comfort zone is good thing!
To answer the first question, I believe that what we are looking for is people that have experience volunteering or working with children. These people have already demonstrated that they care about kids and have the desire and ability to build those all important relationships. Top academic marks in university and extensive knowledge in a subject area may look really good on paper but are not necessarily what translates into a successful teaching career.
GPCSD Leadership Academy Blog 
Working with my PLP group I got thinking more about the the Hiring of teachers. We hire new teachers because we see qualities that we feel would build our school division. However, how are we ensuring that once they are hired that they have the opportunities to use and build these qualities? According to the article that we read countries like Singapore give new teachers ‘extras’ that help them to grow within the profession. What would it look like if we gave our new teachers quality time to observe our expert teachers? Should they have to do sub plans in order for this to happen? Should we require that they observe at least 2 expert teachers? Can we train our Mentors to guide our new teachers to growth
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I agree with you Mike on that experience with children and high GPA are definitely an asset when hiring teachers, however I often feel that the superstars in our schools are those that have struggled. They found strategies that worked for them and then they often incorporate those strategies into their classroom practices.
I have had the opportunity to watch a few teachers and in particular 2 that have been diagnosed with ADHD. In both of these teachers’ classrooms I saw the best accommodations for all students, where DI was demonstrated routinely. If I were to ask what their GPA was I am certain that it probably was not 4.0, however they know the challenges of trying to fit into the box.
I think that in the hiring process it is great to create opportunities for those teachers who may not look like superstars on paper either as it is our jobs as administrators to cultivate and nurture these future educators into the next generation of SUPERSTARS. In addition, we have to be ready to accept that some just don’t meet the bar and it is our duty to our profession to be firm in our evaluation.
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Great questions to ponder Mike. As Todd Whittaker mentions, “You can make your school better in two ways “by hiring good teachers or improving the ones you got”.
I think this is a two step/option process:
First off, to add to our PLP discussion, I feel that making a good first choice is crucial when hiring and I have posted on Darren’s blog my thoughts on it – similar thoughts but a good lead up to Help support Nicole’s and Tina’s comments.
Secondly, Nicole, I love the thought of having the time for beginning teachers to be paired with experienced ones – as you mentioned in the Singapore reference.
In addition, I totally agree with Tina that the teachers who struggle through come out better and more experienced. We could also have our struggling veteran teachers pair up to help support in the same way!
In our district we are blessed to have a very strong mentorship program and also lead teachers in Numeracy and Literacy that do a great job. It would be a great addition to incorporate the above mentioned supports for all teachers. In a way, however, I do see the opportunity for teachers in our district to go and seek this through our PLP’s, and have seen some of my colleagues deliberately jump into great groups with some super strong teachers. It would be a fortunate addition if they could also spend some in the classrooms of these strong teachers. Perhaps, they can with their PD money.
Moreover, some teachers might not take advantage of this for one reason or another. It might be a good idea to have all teachers participate in these mentorship mutualistic sessions?
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The more we open up our classrooms and invite others inside, the more we will learn from one another. When did teaching become something that was done behind closed doors? I think we should observe, reflect, offer feedback, trade students, trade teachers, team teach, ask questions, try something new, take risks, make mistakes, and talk about all of it! The more we can build this culture in our schools and in our classrooms, the more learning will happen, and the deeper this learning will be:) Mentorship, Leadership, Coaching, Observations (peer, coach, admin)… We are off to a good start! How can we make it even better? Can we be creative with our time so we can have more time to collaborate?
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