Each day is a new day for Milwaukee Public Schools mentor Deon Haith. He helps guide first-year teachers. Frequently they don’t have a degree in education. For example, an engineering chap may sign on to teach math. My baptism into student teaching involved entering a classroom where the students had hidden a radio that blasted Pink Floyd’s “Brick In The Wall”: “We don’t want no education.” I should have laughed, but I was a terrified greenie who didn’t have Haith at my side.
Each day is a new day? Your day begins and ends when?
It can begin as early as 7 a.m. and end as late as 5 p.m. if the teacher and I schedule a meeting after classroom hours. These meetings are important for reflective conversations leading to a successful year for both students and teachers. It defines goals and next steps.
What is your approach when you initially meet with a first-year teacher?
Well, I ask them to identify what in their classroom experience made them smile. What made them proud to be in the profession of teaching?
Can you identify a major problem facing new teachers? So many other duties eat up time.
The first year of teaching can be very tough. During sit down conversations, we reflect on prior conversations and we try to plan for the next steps.
Do you believe students “test” the endurance of first-year teachers? How many years does it take to shape a fine teacher?
I don’t believe that the students test the new teachers. It is the unknown around our urban students, their families, and community that cause the anxiety. My personal experience would support my belief that the first five years help mold the foundation of one’s practice.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
You speak with passion about your mentoring profession, but you also say “being a mentor is my work now. Being an educator is who I am.”
I have to be capable of providing various mentoring roles as: advocate, facilitator, collaboration, teacher, learner, coach, assessor, problem-solver, reflective listener, and resource. Being a part of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association provides me the voice to stand up and speak out about what is important from the front line. Teachers, more than anyone else, know first-hand what needs to be done to ensure all students receive a quality public education. Furthermore, we not only know what needs to be done, but are the ones left to do it. Our voices matter! Our students’ voices matter!
