Monday, March 17, 2008

Good Leaders (Teachers) Never Quit

Yesterday I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Joseph Martin of the New Teacher University located in Florida. Among the topics he addressed were the following: the most common reasons teachers quit the profession; four "Fear Factors" administrators must be aware of when hiring teachers; three P's that administrators must understand about their teachers; and three things administrators must do to retain good teachers. According to Dr. Martin, the three most common reasons why teachers quit the profession are the following: lack of support (isolation); unrealistic expectations (too much to do & not enough time to do it); and, surprisingly, other teachers (experienced, negative teachers). Dr. Martin stated that student behavior was the fourth-most common reason why teachers quit the profession. In order to truly understand their teachers, administrators must understand teachers' "Fear Factors", which are (1) Time; (2) Approval; (3) Consistency; and (4) Quality. By "time", the implication is that teachers are afraid of wasting it. Their personal planning time needs to be respected & valued so that they believe they can complete their responsibilities. Second, some teachers get offended very easily. They need to perceive a "sense of approval" from their peers & supervisors. Third, some teachers don't want to change; they are afraid of doing things differently. These individuals need to be given very clear, simple directions when asked to do something new. Finally, some teachers are concerned with "quality", and need to be given time to do things correctly. The three P's that Dr. Martin refers to are: priorities; purpose; and pressures. Administrators need to understand teachers' individual priorities, preferably each person's top three. Second, administrators should try to understand each teacher's purpose for entering the profession; what drives the individual to teach? Third, an administrator should ascertain what pressures an individual teacher experiences, in order to know how best to help the teacher. In conclusion, all administrators (and leaders) should: serve with their hearts, not with their heads; the responsibilities should cause more heartaches than headaches. Next, administrators should focus on the purpose of their positions, not the payoff. Finally, administrators should be an example to their teachers, not an excuse.

14 comments:

maggie said...

Colby, this was fascinating! It reminds me how there are many do-able things we can do to retain and encourage good teachers...Your list seems incredibly practical!

Roxann said...

Colby
This was of interest to me with our work with SDI+. So many of our schools have high turnover rates, so this gives us another training opportunity for leadership in our schools we serve.

Anonymous said...

Interesting information and very relevant to what is happening in school districts this spring. How do you retain the good teachers you have and how do you recruit the new ones to replace the steadfast staffs that are retiring in droves?

Anonymous said...

I'm extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today.

My blog ... grand-jewelry

Anonymous said...

If you want to increase your experience only keep visiting this website and be
updated with the most up-to-date news posted here.

Also visit my web-site :: gw2 gold

Anonymous said...

You really make it seem so easy along with your presentation but I in finding this topic to be
really something which I believe I'd never understand. It sort of feels too complicated and very vast for me. I am having a look ahead to your subsequent submit, I will attempt to get the dangle of it!

Feel free to visit my site: guild wars 2 gold

laserspaces said...

Thanks for your sharing! good job!
-- laser pointers

laserspaces said...

Thanks for your sharing! good job!
-- green laser pointer

Anonymous said...

Sweet blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I've been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Cheers

Also visit my web site: www.babesflick.com

Anonymous said...

certainly like your web site however you need to check
the spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife
with spelling problems and I to find it very bothersome to inform the
reality on the other hand I'll certainly come again again.

My web blog :: wildpartygirls.org

Anonymous said...

Hello there! This article couldn't be written much better! Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept talking about this. I am going to send this information to him. Pretty sure he's going
to have a very good read. Thanks for sharing!

My web page; free porno videos

Unknown said...

The characteristics of the sink, washbasin and bathtub should match with the tapforyou. The second important factor is the proper function of the http://www.tapforyou.co.uk/. Faucets are used according to their purpose such as there are different faucets for sink, bathtub, shower and a different one for the washbasin. water tap have different functions such as the thermostatic faucets, the pressure balanced faucets and the electrical sensors faucets. Each shower mixer does not have a fine finishing, some have a standard plate density while some do not, some have sand holes, scratches and oxidized spots, while some do not. Therefore the faucets should be selected after a proper observation. The handles of the chosen basin tap must be smooth and of a high quality.

Unknown said...

Kaufen Badewanne Armaturen, Badewanne Armaturen bei Wasstar.http://www.wasstar.de/5-badarmaturen;
Rubinetti Bagno - Garantiti prezzi bassi - Teria.it.http://www.teria.it/8-rubinetti-bagno;
Comprar Grifos de baño - Catálogo de Grifos para Baños - Encee.http://www.encee.es/5-grifos-de-bano;
Bathroom Taps - Guaranteed low prices - Encstar.com.http://www.encstar.com/2-bathroom-faucets

CHEAPTAP.CO.UK -- Enjoy the water, enjoy your life! said...


Hope you can enjoy your water when you using our shower taps. The water through is rainfall, if with LED light can makes the water more interesting. All of our shower taps are high quality, you can not miss it.Cheap Shower Taps Sale at http://www.cheaptap.co.uk/shower-taps-c-31.html Online Store, LED rainfall shower taps, enjoy the water, enjoy your life. We promise our shower taps with great quality and nice design.