Imagine yourself as a young college graduate, finally holding that Bachelor’s degree in your hand and excited about the new adventures that await you in the “real world.”
Now, imagine that someone hands you the keys to a large, empty classroom, and puts you in charge of teaching twenty six-year-olds how to read. Intimidating, right?
This is a reality for many new teachers. There’s lots to be said for how daunting and stressful, yet exciting, the first few years in the classroom can be.
Luckily, Dr. Kathleen Crawford and Mrs. Courtney Toledo, two professors in Georgia Southern’s Elementary and Special Education program, had an idea for a New Teachers Anonymous group.
“When we started this group, I went back to my 21-year-old self and remembered being absolutely terrified and unsure of what to do. I felt unprepared for the magnitude of responsibility that came with teaching,” Dr. Crawford said, speaking on her own experiences as an educator.
The New Teachers Anonymous group, now in its second year, provides an opportunity for teachers in their 1st-3rd years of their career to ask for advice, share concerns, and build relationships with other new teachers. The group is based solely in Statesboro and the surrounding areas and is open to Georgia Southern graduates of the elementary and dual certification programs.
Keeping the group solely to Georgia Southern graduates was intentional – many recent graduates have taken classes with both Dr. Crawford and Mrs. Toledo, and have an existing relationship with the pair.
“I ran into a group of former students in their first year of teaching and they immediately told me how stressed they all were,” Toledo mentioned, “The New Teachers Anonymous group came about as a way to stay in touch with former students, make sure they’re okay, and make sure they stick to teaching.”
Current teacher attrition rates are alarming, so keeping new teachers in the education field is also one of their goals. Dr. Crawford and Mrs. Toledo both hope that their group can provide new teachers with comforting knowledge that they (new teachers) aren’t alone in this journey in becoming a teacher.
While the group helps new teachers in a multitude of ways, Dr. Crawford and Mrs. Toledo also found that the group helps the two of them stay connected with Statesboro schools and have a more comprehensive understanding of the school districts within the southeast region of Georgia.
The group is a great thing for new Statesboro educators to look into! For more information, please check out the flyer below!
