In School, Everyone’s Job is to Learn
Posted on 08/19/2022 @ 06:00 AM
Tags: Jewish Schools & Educational Services
Wait, what does this mean? Aren’t teachers in schools to teach and students in schools to learn?
Actually, no.
If schools are to meet the needs of all children, then it is everyone’s job, including the adults, to learn.
Enter CAJE’s Day School Professional Development programs and in particular our partnership with the Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP).
For over a decade Miami’s Jewish day schools have benefitted from this program through which CAJE staff facilitate the professional development of veteran teachers to become mentors to new teachers in developing practical skills, such as classroom management, lesson planning and pedagogy, as well as provide emotional and practical support for new teachers as they adjust to their first years of teaching.
Teaching is difficult! That is the truth behind the shocking statistic that 50% of all new teachers drop out of the profession within the first five years.
JNTP is one way CAJE seeks to help our day schools overcome this problem.
While the primary goal of JNTP is to induct new teachers into the classroom and provide essential support to ensure teacher retention, something deeper and more long-lasting emerges during the program for the new teacher, the mentor, and the school.
We recently completed a two-year CAJE-JNTP mentor training and in reflecting on their learning, mentors shared:
“My role as a mentor is to listen and learn more about what the new teacher needs. It is not about turning the other teacher into another version of myself; it is about supporting the new teacher to become the best version of themselves.”
And once these skills are learned, they are shared widely, far beyond just the new teacher alone:
“The skills I learned as a mentor are not just for mentoring new teachers, I use them to support other teachers in my school as they continue to learn and grow.”
CAJE is proud to be a catalyst for this type of professional growth in schools, working to build the capacity of school faculty to continue learning and developing skills that meet the needs of all learners. In this way, we ensure that “in school, everyone’s job is to learn!”
A new CAJE-JNTP Mentor training cohort will launch in the Fall of 2022. For more information, contact ValerieMitrani@caje-miami.org
