Public school teachers are leaving the classroom in record numbers. According to a 2022 report by the NEA, 55% of classroom teachers considered leaving the profession early. The percentage is even higher among teachers of color. This is only one of the reasons public education is in crisis in today. One response to this crisis is the creation of alternative pathways to teacher certification. Most states have such a program, although requirements vary widely.
In 2007, I responded to a statewide plea for classroom teachers via the Oklahoma alternative teaching pathway. At the time, it was reported that almost half of new classroom teachers left the field within five years. More than half who stayed had fewer than ten years’ experience. I knew going in that it wouldn’t be all rainbows and unicorns. Even then, I underestimated the challenges of becoming a high school science teacher at age fifty-five.
I’d had a long career in the biological sciences, which alternately piqued and satisfied my curiosity. Nothing charged me up more than learning something new, asking a question about that newfound knowledge, then discovering the answer. The burning question in 2007 followed a realization that I was at loose ends, career-wise. Why couldn’t I use my passion for and experiences in science to inspire students?
The Oklahoma alternative certification process was intensive, involving several rounds of testing, logging college course hours in educational philosophy, working with a mentor, and being observed and interviewed by local and state administrators. It can take a couple of years to complete. Once the certificate is awarded, though, the recipient is afforded all the privileges and opportunities of an educator who arrived at their job through conventional channels, with a degree in elementary or secondary education.
Not surprisingly, and to my delight, my journey, from medical technologist to biomedical researcher, to freelance writer and editor, and eventually to high school teacher taught me a few things. I sometimes think I learned as much from my students as they learned from me.
Here are six of the most important lessons I learned, which I’ll explain in future posts:
- Names are important. Learn them.
- Plan more than you think you’ll need in a class period.
- You learn as much from failure as you do success; maybe more.
- Don’t assume what you know about someone is all there is to know.
- You can’t define success for anyone except yourself.
- One of a teacher’s greatest assets is humility.
Janice Airhart 