Meet the Teachers
by Camille Hedrick, Potomac Falls High School
Original text © 2004 Camille Hedrick
Relationships Matter
Novak and Knowles (1992) predict that since many career-switchers will come from team-centered jobs, they will expect supportive, problem solving collegiality instead of the classroom isolation veterans in many schools favor. I found that the career-switchers in this study consciously avoided isolation, and were strongly influenced by relationships and interactions with other teachers and administrators.
The participants were most affected by the degree of support and acceptance from veteran teachers and administrators. Nell described the importance of an administrator in her first year:
I walked into John’s office and I sat down and I know John was like, “Oh, no, she’s going to cry,” But I just sat there and I said, “John, what would happen to me if I quit my job and just substitute taught. What would happen to me?” And he just looked at me and I said, “John, I’ve bit off more than I can chew. I’m exhausted, I am—I cannot do it. I’m working and I can’t do this. What would happen to me in Jackson County?” He is a simple man, a man of few words, but what he does say, he said to me, “You do what you feel is best for you. But I think you would make a big mistake if you stopped teaching."
