Jay Mathews’ Class Struggle column this week focuses on the training of new teachers. The RI Department of Education will bring the Teach for America program to our state. While unions and university teacher preparation programs have been critical of the on-the-job “training”, Teach for America has been successful.
Mathews identifies a new training methodology practiced at the high achieving MATCH Charter Public High School in Boston. 2009 Brown graduate Elizabeth Pace, a MATCH Corps participant, provides the details of a typical day.
On a morning when I do not have breakfast duty, I wake up at 7am and am at my computer by 7:30 checking email and prepping for tutorials. The first bell rings at 7:45 and students can enter the building for breakfast and homework turn-in. When first period begins at 8:30, I head downstairs to tutor a repeating freshman in a one-on-one tutorial in Algebra I. From 9:30-10:30am, I tutor three sophomores in English. After that, I have a prep period to grade papers and gather materials for my next periods.
After a 30-minute lunch, I have a Readers Workshop group from 12-1pm where I lead 5 freshmen in an hour of independent reading and reading skill-development. From 1-2pm I have another hour to grade and work on my Administrative Assistant job. Corps members have a “secondary duties” of being either Teaching Assistants (TAs) or Administrative Assistants (AAs) and I am the AA for School Logistics. I am in charge of planning the student, room, teacher and tutor distributions for any classes and events that differ from the normal schedule.
From 2-3pm I work with my sophomore girls again – this time in Geometry and Algebra II. From 3-4pm, I am back with my freshman student to study Fiction and Non-Fiction. At 4pm, I have my last prep period of the day, where I often work with my sophomores again in study hall or plan/distribute logistics information.
From 5:15-7:15, I tutor another freshman student one-on-one in the Student Intervention Program (SIP). Students in SIP are failing one or more classes and are required to stay after school for extra help. At 7:15pm, I mosey on upstairs for food, a run with one of my fellow Corps members (we go cold, rain or snow!), parent phone calls, grading and organizing. Then at around 11:30pm or whenever my brain shuts off – whichever comes first – it’s lights out!
A long day? MATCH Corps is actually a residency program, and rooms are provided for those who join the corps.
While it’s certainly not a program for everyone, MATCH Corps is undoubtedly training some amazing teachers by first showing them the needs of students and how to build relationships with kids. This is precisely what is lacking in the traditional training of most public school teachers.
It’s not surprising that such innovative teacher training is happening at a charter school. Charters are often the laboratories where best practice originates. Be sure to explore more of the MATCH Charter website, which outlines the program of one of the best high schools in Massachusetts.
