They begin teaching without the benefit of internships and training to handle a classroom. Sometimes it works wonderfully. But often they become disillusioned and start planning their exit. If we don't give them the support they need right at the start, we lose them. In interviews with dozens of teachers who left classrooms this year, a picture emerges of new teachers unprepared for the realities of teaching.
Help is available, but often it is insufficient.
With maddening frequency, the least experienced teachers get the most demanding students or the most remote classrooms, often portables, where they struggle in isolation. It's no wonder many of them can't wait to leave. And Florida's teacher shortage worsens. Shortly after he began teaching, William Rodriguez's fellow teachers warned him about a student who created more than his share of classroom problems. The teen turned out to be a pleasant surprise.