It also doesn't help that for the first three years of your career, you have to be in a "mentor" program. You have to jump through so many extra hoops and check a bunch of boxes with a veteran teacher. You really don't have a voice the first few years of your teaching career. And some mentor teachers are better than others. I've had one treated me as her equal, another who micromanaged my classroom and insisted I do everything how she did, and the last one who simply told me, "I told the district I didn't even want to be a mentor." It's rough out there for new teachers those first few years. And whether or not you'll even get quality "knowledgeable colleagues" to collaborate with is a shot in the dark.

I think many schools would be hard pressed to honestly answer "yes" to this question. The one school I did work at that did not have the "top-down approach", the principal was run out of that district for his progressive approaches to education. It's not something that very many districts are keen on implementing. Districts are way too political to make sure that this is put to bed. There always has to be a top dog in an office somewhere calling all the shots at the end of the day.

I believe my very first school held true to this. We had our principal and five teachers. That was the whole staff and we truly worked as a team. Not once did my principal ever feel like a "boss" and the team of teachers I was a part of really steered the school. And I like to think that that model was for the better. The students were at the heart of every decision made and many of the things we engaged in came from a collective decision we made as a team rather than an order given from the top down. I felt as if being a first year teacher, I had just as much respect from my principal and colleagues as the veteran teacher of twenty-five years had. Unfortunately, I have since learned that this is not the culture of many schools and is very hard to achieve. Why? I'm not quite sure. I think the small nature of the school is what kept the team so close and respectful.

I feel this so much. There have been many times over the past five years where I have considered teaching. The most serious being the beginning of this year where I actually did take a break. I believe if all teachers were more supportive in general, following much of what this article is talking about, new teacher burnout would be less of an issue.

This addresses the issue I was thinking when I first started reading this article. So often, new teachers are overlooked at the beginning of their careers, as if their thoughts, ideas, and opinions don't matter. The first three years of my career, I almost always felt dismissed and unheard in any kind of meeting. It hasn't been until this year where it feels as if my experience and expertise is actually being recognized and listened to. I don't understand the hesitancy with more seasoned teachers wanting to collaborate with us early in our careers. I think both parties have something valuable to bring to the table regardless of how long they have been in the profession.

This is a great idea that would be ideal if it were implemented. I think this allows both parties to learn from one another. I also feel that this kind of consistent collaboration would allow teacher leaders the opportunity to mold the up and coming generation of future teacher leaders.