The Challenge of Isolation
By Peter W. Cookson, Jr.

One of the ironies of teaching is that it is one of the most social occupations, but it is also one of the most isolating professions. I remember my first year of teaching. The principal walked me to my classroom and wished me the best of luck. I'm not sure that he even came into the room with me. The generic cinderblock room was painted in an institutional off-white, the windows overlooked the playground and on one wall was a large chalkboard. There was a teacher's desk and roughly 35 desks for the fifth-grade children who were coming in the next few days. There was no real planning and, while a few other teachers said hello, I certainly did not have a mentor teacher. It really was like being dropped into the deep end of a swimming pool in order to learn how to swim.

Sound familiar?
Most schools have changed considerably since I started teaching, but the challenge of isolation is still very real. Some teachers seem to have a gift for making friends, creating a warm classroom environment and finding security in their isolation. For most of us, however, our professional lives are greatly enhanced when we share with others, when we learn with others and when we openly acknowledge our anxieties and fears as well as our joys and hopes. Teaching is a social profession; unfortunately, most schools are organized in an eggcrate manner, making professional collaborations difficult. In what other business would a professional not have easy access to a telephone? What other professional lives are regulated by bells?

Breaking out
Teachers, and new teachers in particular, are called upon to shape the future but, all too often, they face conditions at work that make teaching very difficult. Historically, most teachers have operated as though their classrooms were their kingdoms. In today's schools, however, teachers are faced with so many complex tasks, and with such a diverse student body, that collaboration and sharing are required. There is no way that you, all by yourself, can help your students achieve their maximum.

Our new teachers are our best hope for creating a new kind of teacher who takes responsibility both within his or her classroom and outside his or her classroom. Breaking out of isolation is not only good in itself, but it is also essential if all children are to learn to their capacities.

To break out of isolation, it takes a conscious effort. Here are a few suggestions for creating a professional environment that is both supportive and productive:

1. Utilize mentors or other support activities for new teachers in your school or district. Today, we are very aware that new teachers need support, information and preparation. What you learn today will stand you in good stead in the future. It is very helpful for you to have a competent mentor who can observe your teaching, give you feedback and provide the friendship that is essential for professional growth.

2. Help form peer support groups with other new teachers. Research and experience have shown that new teachers are very receptive to sharing ideas with other new teachers. For several years I've been involved in new teacher institutes. I can testify that peer support is really the most effective way of supporting new teachers at the grassroots level.

3. Get to know your students' parents. One of the great gifts that's available to you is the support of your students' parents; invite them into the classroom, visit their homes, make sure you contact them when there is good news and reinforce school as a positive opportunity for their children. Learn to listen carefully because, after all, the first teachers of all children are their caregivers.

4. Join professional organizations. There are regional, state and national organizations that support the work of teachers. By attending a conference or two during the school year, you will get a broader, more textured view of your work. Create a network of friends and colleagues around the country and even internationally who will support you and whom you can support.

5. The worldwide web is a wonderful resource for teachers. On the web you can find all kinds of information you can use in your classroom; there are hundreds of sites designed specifically for teachers. In Oregon we are putting together the first statewide virtual professional development center for teachers. While technology can never replace face-to-face learning and the building of relationships, it can act as an important enhancement and extension to your ongoing personal learning plan.

A new professionalism
Teachers in the 21st century are working and living in a global society. When we think of the issues that our children confront in this era, it's evident that we ought to rethink the very definition of what it means to be a teaching professional. If our children are to become world citizens and have a frame of reference that is broad and deep enough to meet the challenges of the coming century we, as teachers, really need to broaden and deepen our frame of reference.

Imagine, if you will, the lives of the children in your classroom as they grow and develop into adults. In the course of their lifetimes, your students will touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of other people not only in their own neighborhoods, but also internationally. As teachers of these young people, we are obligated to think of ourselves as professionals in the full sense. This new professionalism means linking arms with other teachers locally, regionally and around the world, to see ourselves as ambassadors to the future.

Of course, the simplest way of not feeling isolated is to visit the classroom of the teacher next door and become his or her friend. There is no substitute for an open heart, an open mind and an open hand. Share unselfishly with your colleagues and very soon you'll find that you no longer feel isolated, but are a member of a community that's embarking on a marvelous mission.

Peter W. Cookson, Jr. is the founder of TCinnovations and the Dean of the Graduate School of Education of Lewis & Clark College. He is also founder of the Center for Educational Outreach & Innovation at Teachers College.

October 2005, Vol.36, No.2