HELP! I need some information.

Hello/Saludos,
I have a couple of conference presentations coming up about bilingual teachers and what keeps them in the profession and helps them grow professionally. Besides a bunch of articles and funded study reports from various places, I have some strong personal opinions, but those are not allowed.

What I really need are some reports from all the truly wonderful bilingual teachers who were once my students, mentees, interns, neighbors, friends, colleagues—-and some of their friends who don’t even know me.

The only way I could think of to get the data I need without going to schools and trying to get tired teachers to fill out a form at the end of a long day, was to use this blog and impose on several former students and/or interns who include me on their lists of people who welcome their forwarded PowerPoints about the things that matter to them, religion for some, gentle humor for others. Please copy the link to my blog to your list!

So, here goes! I don’t have any special funding to provide a perfectly composed and formatted questionnaire and, frankly, every time someone asks my opinion and it has to fit one of their pre-conceived responses, my answers become less informative.

Please just highlight the rest of this blog post and paste it into an email addressed to
maestrostexas@gmail.com
then edit in your responses and send it to me. I will not reveal who responded to my questionnaire, nor do you need to reveal your name if it isn’t in your email address.

1. What events or experiences would have caused you to leave the teaching profession and find a different line of work? This may be something that happened to you, or to a friend or something you imagine. Examples that come to mind from teachers I have known who either considered leaving or did leave include
____A. being physically assaulted by a student or someone else in a school,
____B. having an administrator who set out to prove a teacher incompetent,
____C. having members of one’s family “punished” for one’s professional convictions,
____D. having no real mentor or friend to turn to at school when faced with new or serious challenges,
____E. being offered substantially more money for work that has similar rewards in terms of serving humanity
____F. some of the above, and these others…
____G. none of the above, but maybe…
____H. all of the above and…..
____I. couldn’t happen–I was born to teach and I probably won’t stop til I drop—Some call it “VOCATION”.

HINT: to save time, just put the number rank (1=MOST LIKELY TO MAKE ME LEAVE through whatever rank is needed to include the ones that could affect your decision in a major way), after you add the others you think of to F., G. or H., as needed.

2. In rank order from MOST IMPORTANT to ALSO MATTERED, these are the people, events or experiences that kept me from leaving teaching or a particular school or district in my first year or first two years of teaching:
These are some possible considerations, rank those that are/were not important for you as N/A, and for the others and those you add, rank them from 1=MOST IMPORTANT to whatever number you think is a good place to stop:
____A. Having a very supportive family, partner, friends, pets at home for sympathy, encouragement, etc.
____B. Having an official mentor who was paid extra to help me learn how to do the job.
____C. Having an informal mentor who wasn’t paid but took me under her/his wing and anticipated my every need for guidance, information and support.
____D. Having direct support, including visits to my school from my college, university or AC program professor/supervisor/specialist/coordinator.
____E. Having direct support with modeling of instructional strategies from a specialist for new teacher support provided by my school district.
____F. Having a principal who believed in me and who gave me an opportunity to overcome my errors.
____G. Having students who made me feel I was important to them.
____H. Having the support of the parents of my students.
____I. Having religious beliefs that supported me in times of doubt and difficulty.
____J. Having a strong personal and/or philosophical committment to the value of the work I am doing.
____K. Having a good sense of humor.
____L. Having a copy of the poem “Invictus” in my desk drawer. (Let me know if you need a copy.)
____M. Relishing my addiction to caffeine in its many life-saving forms–coffee, Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, chocolate, etc. (O.K., this is getting a little too personal; use your own imagination from here on.)
____N. (your ideas)
____O. (your ideas)
____P. (your ideas)

HINT: to save time, just rank any that work for you and add the others you think of with their rank.

3. Is it important for teachers to get a master’s degree or other specialization as a way to keep up in the profession? If not, what is a better way to learn new information, skills, strategies…?

4. If you have or are currently taking post-graduate courses or training, what have been additional benefits (if any) beyond the new knowledge you have gained or are gaining?

5. How have you made professional contacts with colleagues who share common interests and concerns, other than working with your grade level or subject matter team at school?

6. Are you active in any professional organizations for educators? If so, which one(s) and how have you benefited from that experience (if you feel you have)?

7. What else should I have asked?

Please tell me the following personal information about yourself:

female/male
age: 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60, 60-70, 70+
How many years teaching in Texas?
Bilingual teacher? ESL teacher? Mainstream teacher? Middle School or High School–subjects taught?
Certified through–
University degree with teaching certification?
Alternative certification, university degree in another field?
Alternative certification after teaching in another state or country?
Out of State/Out of Country certification based on testing only?
Other program:___________________?

PLEASE PUT YOUR RESPONSE DIRECTLY INTO AN EMAIL (NO ATTACHMENTS PLEASE) AND MAIL IT TO ME AT MY NEW EMAIL: maestrostexas@gmail.com

Unfortunately, I cannot reward you with anything but my intense gratitude, but I will send up a prayer that none of the bad experiences I listed in question one ever threaten your pedagogical bliss!
Also, I will respond to your email with a copy of the poem “Invictus”, and maybe some other bit of inspiration.

Also, in the next blog, I will share links to free newsletters that may be useful to you, and I will pass on information about professional conferences, listservs that provide professional opportunities, as well as what I learn from research about ways to become and remain successful in the teaching profession.
Cheers,
Rita
Incidentally, in case you received this as a forward from someone, my blog address is
http://maestrostexas.edublogs.org