Dorks and Newbies

     Can't say it enough....I love the energy of new teachers! I'm drawn TO them, impressed BY them, and motivated by learning WITH them. If you have ever taught with me, you know what a dork I am when I catch the invigorating scent of a newbie. In part, I'm sure it's because I remember being the new teacher, and I remember leaning on the veteran teachers in my building.... longing for the day I'd find my teacher legs and walk with confidence and the knowing that only comes from years of experience. Thanks Marilyn! You gave me a safe harbor where I felt comfortable spreading my wings in my first teaching position.
     I'm not too proud to beg. --for a student teacher, field experience student, prospective education major, you name it. If you want to teach, I want to be a part of your journey. I'll break my neck leaping to the principal's desk to ask if a preservice teacher needs a placement. I'll poke my head in an 8th grade Algebra class to invite a math major to visit my 7th grade language arts classes or to free up a lunch hour for me (oh okay...let's be real. The term 'lunch hour' doesn't really exist in teaching. But I'll eat through my twenty-two minutes alongside a new teacher any day!).
     It's not as philanthropic as it might seem. Trust me. I'm a selfish person on the inside. I want to share the air with new teachers because they make me better. They challenge me, they reset me, and they exhaust me. Proof of my dorkitude isn't hard to find. In 2009, I took an educational sabbatical to teach education courses at my beloved alma mater, Indiana State University. During that year, I taught 100-level intro to teaching courses, visited elementary and middle school classrooms weekly, and presented at a national conference focused on school-to-college partnerships.  In 2012, I began teaching online reading courses for current and prospective teachers at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. With the distance format, I get to share my passion for teaching with people near and far. And to every single education major I meet, I say this: "I am a real teacher in a real classroom with real students who conquer real challenges every day....and I LOVE IT. Please find time to visit my classroom. My students will welcome you, and you will be glad you came!"
     I dedicate this blog to the dorks like me and to the new teachers like the one I used to be.  I'll share the good times we have in our building welcoming and growing with new teachers. It's that important. This topic deserves immediacy and audience. New teachers need to know they matter. They need to know it's perfectly normal to feel nervous in the morning, giddy by noon, and worn out at the end of the day. There's a sweet spot in the soul of every teacher, regardless of rank, that feels nervous and brand new at the beginning of every school year. It's how we know we're alive.