New Teacher Collaborative

A century ago, America, deluged with immigrants, its schools severely taxed to meet the learning needs of all students, came up with a convenient shorthand for what education was about: "The Three Rs", by which they meant, reading, writing and arithmetic.

Apparently, "orthography" was not on the list, so instead of a handy acronym, like RAW or WAR, they settled on the ironic-- now iconic --moniker, "the three Rs."

Sorry to say, but the level of discourse about education in America is not very high. I read newspapers, journals, blogs and books, listen to public radio, go to state senate hearings and union halls, sometimes I even watch television.

I can tell you with authority: We are not piercing through to the real issues underlying how we improve schools and teaching.

Mostly, we are dealing with education through the frame of politics: looking at test scores, teacher "accountability", and school choice -- using these to argue for political causes or candidates.

There is a new document out by NCATE, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education about "teacher dispositions"--that is, exactly what predisposes an individual to being an effective educator.

Let me say right off: This is a fascinating and much neglected topic, one very much at the forefront of most new teachers' consciousness. The self-examination, even self-doubt entering this profession is a constant companion: "Am I really cut out to be a teacher?"

I sure asked that, as did every student I know who has considered teaching a career.

This may sound like one of those late-night info-mercials, in which, a slick sounding confidence man convinces people that buying a property with "no money down" is the road to riches-- provided you follow the three rules of real-estate success: location, location, location.

Well, I don't have anything to sell, other than my soul, and so far, I've done nothing but lose money putting that out on the Internet, but here's the truth: there is nothing more important to teaching than the way you manage relationships. Period.

Or, as the title suggests, teaching is all about: relationship, relationship, relationship.

Or, for those of you new to the profession: how good are you with people?