Cliff, I cannot address the amount of time poured into their work by charter school teachers, but I can say that burn-out by the young and enthusiastic may be more related to a new career in teaching than to any particular school model. In my traditional school, I put in about ninety hours per week during my first year and sixty hours per week the next two. What is significant is that I am definitely not unique. The demands on new teachers in this district are enormous. New teachers are expected to spend their first three years in a professional development program which requires seat time and projects, while at the same time being asked to do most of the school committee work because the administration knows that teachers without tenure will do whatever is asked. While there is some value to those activities, they add little to instruction, and the teacher must divert precious family time to reaching instructional goals. I had really hoped that I would hear that charter school teachers could be heroes without devoting the obscene number of hours that new teachers, at least new teachers in this district, are pouring in to the traditional system. I hope for the future of the teaching profession that my experience and that of your colleagues do not represent the norm.
Perhaps our answer lies in Mark's observation on vision. Not only does a vision energize us, but it also holds the potential for coaxing us to let go of the unimportant, and possibly engage in the streamlining which Bryan mentions. I'm hoping someone will comment with some streamlining success stories.
Posted as a reply to:
Retaining and sustaining teachers by Cliff Chuang
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