Good to Gone

This is a required blog post. I chose two related topics from the list of several “suggestions”: What should be the goals of MTC? and What are the qualities MTC should look for in an applicant?

I believe the number one goal of the Mississippi Teacher Corps should be to train dedicated, top-notch, career teachers. I mention the “career” part quite pointedly, as that is precisely what we are failing to do. I think it starts with recruitment. I sometimes wonder if we are recruiting the wrong sort of people, at least on that front. Most of our recruits are too young to know what they want to do, so they just end up trying teaching for a test drive before they know any better. They never really chose teaching. They simply had no better ideas, so they ended up here. Therefore, even if they have a good experience, which is not altogether likely, because teaching is tough and these schools are tough, our chances of retaining them in the teaching profession are slim at best. Frankly, I think our recruits are too young for this mission. They are great people, with great academic and service records, but for the most part, they have no idea what they want to do with their lives, and they certainly feel no commitment whatsoever toward teaching as a long-term career. So why, then, does the State of Mississippi invest thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars on each one of them to receive a teaching degree so many of them will never even use? The applicants should be asked tougher questions about their reasons for joining Teacher Corps and their future plans: “What brought you to the decision to apply to Teacher Corps? What other opportunities did you apply for or consider? Where do you see yourself in five years?” If the answers to those questions are insincere or inconsistent with an honest desire to make a career choice out of teaching, I believe Teacher Corps should pass on that candidate. Doing something because you have nothing better to do—even coupled with some vague desire to help people—is not a good enough reason, no matter how good you look on paper.

Yes, Teacher Corps is a pipeline supplying good teachers to schools that otherwise have a lot of trouble recruiting decent teachers. That is an important function. But as it stands, the benefit is short-term only, in most cases, and the investment is completely wasted once the teacher leaves for some other career. The fact is, good teachers, especially in certain subjects like math and science, are in short supply, not only in Mississippi, but all over the world. Therefore, the true benefit of Teacher Corps is measured by the average quality of its teachers times the number of teachers it trains times their average length of service in the teaching career. The last factor is decidedly lacking in Teacher Corps. It could be much better if Teacher Corps redirected its focus in that way.

Dr. Mullins often encourages us not to leave teaching altogether until we at least try teaching at a better-run school. I agree with that advice, and I plan to follow it myself. I also feel strongly that Teacher Corps needs to redouble its efforts to support the teachers it has. Some support is there, I give you that, what with the second-year mentoring and Ben occasionally calling people, and whatnot, but it is far from enough support in extreme cases. Mullins is fond of talking about “improving the percentages.” So Teacher Corps should do the same thing. The better it supports its own teachers, the better the chances that those teachers will not only finish the program, but remain in the teaching profession. I wrote a recent blog entry in which I praised Teacher Corps in supporting me through my depression, but I also critiqued the administration for doing nothing to support its teachers who are going through state evaluations at their schools. I still feel just as strongly today. Since Ben and Dr. Mullins are so fond of Good to Great, I will mention a principal from that book. This is my “red flag.” You need to get on this, Teacher Corps. You need to be proactive. You need to support teachers who go through tough times, even before they ask. You especially need to recognize special circumstances that place unusual strain on your teachers, and you need to get informed about the situation, starting from day one. You need to call those teachers—before it ever gets so bad—and counsel them. And stop blaming them when they finally leave! Everyone has their limits, and bad feelings only harm the organization. Look at your own responsibility, when you had the resources to help, yet you stood by and did nothing. Dr. Mullins never even spoke with her!