NO EASY LESSONS FOR TEACHERS. . .

Being a teacher can be a daunting experience, especially working in a low-performing high school. There are few moments of success, but many moments of complete frustration. With that said, I want all of you to know that I feel blessed to work at IDEA, and my success comes from watching my students become successful. The successes can be far and few between, but when they come, they make everything worth the effort.

As I begin to move toward my 31st year of teaching, I, once again, feel the urgency of my challenges, and want this year to be even better than my previous years. For new teachers, I know how difficult the challenges will be, and clearly remember my feelings of inadequacy.

I treasure my relationships with my students, especially those kids that don't think they will ever like me, or value me as a teacher and friend. I feel blessed to have students that consider me as a friend, especially when I can be unrelenting, and at times, nasty. Saying the truth, which is my way of teaching, can be harsh, but it is the only way to be true to myself, and to you.

In the end, most kids realize that I only want them to be successful, but it takes a whole lot of effort to make it through a school year, especially this past one. The Class of 2008 wasn't an easy group to work with. They fought with me every step of the way. We had a LOVE/HATE relationship, but we made great strides, with many of you achieving your goals and dreams.

Saying all of this now is a result of reading an article in today's USA Today. Below are comments made by a former Newsweek writer, Donna Foote, who has written a book called Relentless Pursuit, after following participants in Teach For America, an elite teacher preparation program. The program recruits top college graduates for two-year teaching assignments in the Los Angeles area. Foote decided to write about "how we teach our most impoverished students through the eyes and experiences of our most privileged." Her book follows four beginning teachers during their first year at Locke High School. Here are some of the comments that she made in the article.

I'm not sure that any first-year teacher assigned to teach in a low-performing school is ever fully prepared. The job is all-consuming and incredibly demanding. Certainly, all of the Locke teachers struggled mightily, especially during the first few months of teaching. But the students of the teachers that I followed all ended up making significant academic gains.

At one point or another, each one of the teachers I came to know experienced moments of self-doubt and feeling of futility. 12% of the teachers in the Teach For America program failed to complete their two-year assignment.

Teachers, regardless of the path they take into the classroom, are leaving in droves. Some 14% of all new teachers quit after their first year; almost 50% are gone within five years. Teacher retention in low-performing schools is particularly difficult. At Locke, roughly 30% of the staff exit annually. Of the four teachers I followed, only one expected to remain in teaching after the two-year commitment was up.