Assignment of NOMINEE’S INITIAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE

1.Today, I have vast experience of 13 years in the field, but there was a time, when I was new to the teaching and school social work field, and had no expertise in this regard. But I was lucky enough to get enough professional support and considerable guidance during my early days, which not only allowed me to enhance my knowledge, but also allowed me to increase my personal ability and capacity to do well on my job. I have been part of the Miami Dade County Public Schools Mentoring and Induction Program for New Teachers. It is a well planned and defined strategic approach to support new teachers in the field so that they grow as great teachers and mentors in their profession.

        With this program as well as other aspects, I have been able to enhance my knowledge and skills in the teaching profession, which allowed me to understand different dynamics of this field. That’s why I have been able to become a better school social worker later in my career, and I had seen it all as a teacher and mentor myself that what a teacher goes through while dealing with diverse students, and how things can get stuck. The problems can vary to different situations, and if new teacher is not provided in those difficult situations, then they may get confuse and nervy with their job. But I was lucky to get good personal and professional support from my mentors and schools that I was able to understand different issues and found relevant solutions accordingly.

        The critical thinking skills as well as problem solving skills can be crucial for the teaching and school social work career. A professional school social worker needs to understand problems of teachers, students as well as schools so that he/she can collaborate with them to get things done accordingly. The initial support that I received in my career was instrumental in developing my problem solving and critical thinking skills. It allowed me to look at things with a critical view point, find issues in them, and then find viable solutions. I have also got support and orientation to learn professional as well as ethical standards of the field. I also received good enough help from my mentors to understand that how to do classroom management, and develop relevant activities.

        I strongly believe what I have received throughout my early career; that was all beneficial for me in different ways. I can’t pick any specific thing to say that one thing was too beneficial than the otherbecause each support from my early days helped me to build my career and learn those skills which are necessary in this profession. Every professional support that I received was instrumental for me to climb on my career ladder. However, I can say that mentorship in terms ofenhancing my knowledge and capabilities to handle pressure and find solutions in difficult periods was the most beneficial as it developed me a strong professional person in this field.

        I would like to mention here that when you go through all those early days of your career, and become an experienced professional, then it is important for you to provide same level of support to those, who are new in the field and working under your super vision. By using my experience of early career, I would like to recommend few things, which should be provided to new teachers and social workers. The first recommendation on my behalf is to develop an ongoing support system, which is thereto supportnew ones all the time. There should be regular sessions and meetings with new teachers so that they can share their problems and feedback, and get a roadmap for the future course of action. The feedback is crucial for mentoring new teachers, so their feedback must be listened carefully, because it will allow understanding their current state of mind.

        I have personally experienced a problem in my early career that when you face any issue and stuck in different things, then you start losing your motivation. You start to believe that nothing is going to work well. This is the time, when new teachers need motivation and inspiration. So, I would recommend using different motivational programs and activities on regular basis so that new ones are inspired and motivated to do well. I also recommend that new teachers and social workers should be provided mentors to get the roadmap of their career. They should be allowed to work with experienced teachers and school social workers so that they can get valuable input from them. The role of experienced teachers can be crucial to develop the level and skills of new ones, and they should provide that essence of support without any lack of commitment.