Here is information on classroom leadership.

ASCD's Classroom Leadership Online.

Ask Not What Your School Can Do for You,
But What YOU Can Do for You (Excerpt)

by Lisa Renard

Vol. 2, Number 8, May 1999

Being Proactive

In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), Covey says that being proactive "means that as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives" (p. 71). "It is inspiring," says Covey, "to realize that in choosing our response to circumstance, we powerfully affect our circumstance" (p. 86). Covey is discussing the basic principle that when life does not go the way that it should, truly effective people do not throw their hands in the air, cry "victim," and give up or move on. People who apply Covey's idea of being proactive to their teaching careers become educational leaders.

When I read articles about new teachers, I am confronted with such issues as, "How can we better support new teachers?" That's nice. But why don't I ever read about "The top 10 ways new teachers can help themselves," or "How to make your first years the best years"? The focus of our efforts to help new teachers seems to weigh too heavily on the schools, forgetting to encourage new teachers with practical steps to help themselves.

In this age of abbreviated teacher-training programs, alternative certification, and emergency teacher placements, a growing number of teachers have the potential of arriving in classrooms feeling inadequately prepared. Instead of arming themselves with the additional resources that they will need to be successful and sane during those first years, too many stand isolated, wondering bitterly where their welcoming committee could possibly be.

This sounds harsh, I know. The truth is that districts and schools do need to do more to ensure new-teacher success (and therefore retention). Analysis of teacher perceptions reveals that new-teacher support programs still fail to hit the mark in terms of effectively helping new teachers (Ingersoll & Alsalam, 1997). However, this is only part of the truth. The other part is that new teachers need to be resourceful, tenacious, and self-motivated to equip themselves with essential knowledge and skills.

What to Do! What to Do!

New teachers can do some very concrete things to prepare themselves with the knowledge and skills to excel during those first few years:

Find out how to use the programs and equipment that you need on a regular basis by asking colleagues specific questions. You won't look dumb if you pay attention and do it for yourself the next time.

Scour your room and department for resources that will give you an idea of what you are expected to do. Get your hands on a faculty handbook. Seek out that curriculum guide. Sure, it should have been given to you. But if it wasn't, find it.

If you weren't assigned a specific colleague mentor, recruit an unofficial one. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know." It seems to give senior colleagues a certain satisfaction to hear newbies say those three words. They are the experts and are often glad to share wisdom and resources. Note that I did not say "whine and complain to others." That elicits a whole different reaction, which is to be labeled "needy" and "ineffective."

On your own, seek out information about teaching. If you feel inadequate in a particular area, don't expect the school to bring you up to speed. Find books, Internet resources, anything that will improve your knowledge and skills. Expect to spend time on your education beyond the walls of the university.

Take classes-even tiny, one-unit, minicourses. Keep educating yourself. So your school hasn't offered you the in service program that you feel that you need. Find a comparable course on your own and go for it.

Equip yourself with knowledge about current research-based, best-known teaching and assessment practices. Motivation & Learning (Rogers, Graham, & Ludington, 1998) provides important ideas for your classroom. You'll also want to read about multiple intelligences and brain-compatible learning. Books by Eric Jensen or Renate and Geoffrey Caine will start you out well.

Read resources intended for new teachers. The First Days of School
(Wong & Wong, 1998) is an excellent beginning. Take care when choosing to be certain that the resources advocate current, theoretically sound practices. Avoid the myriad new-teacher resources available that promote outdated and unsound practices, such as shaming students as a form of discipline or planning classes solely for teacher convenience.

Join professional organizations and subscribe to journals. Doing this keeps you informed and helps alleviate your feelings of isolation.

Choose your friends wisely. If the group in the lounge whines, complains, and gossips, eat elsewhere. Seek colleagues who seem happy, enthusiastic, and professional.

Being hard working, smart, resourceful, and willing to seek assistance-these are the things that will make you successful during those first years of teaching.

Fear of Being New

Being proactive is not the same as being pushy. Being proactive is recognizing our ability and obligation to make things happen in our own lives (Covey, 1989, p. 75). New teachers who allow their probationary period to paralyze them are not on the right track. Being new is neither a sin nor an offense warranting termination. Novices can be tactful in seeking assistance. When you do that well, no one will fault you for being new.