Ben Guest’s Blog

Teacher Shortage

2008-03-24T14:56:40Z

The Clarion-Ledger has an article in today's paper about the teacher shortage in Mississippi. Here is a quote: "In 2006, Mississippi graduated 1,387 education majors. Of those, 937 worked in the state's public schools the following year. But wi...

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Attrition: A Conclusion

2008-03-17T21:59:32Z

Last in a series of posts on attrition . So, if everything I have said about attrition is accurate, especially that education in Mississippi is a battle that has already been lost, why should anyone join the Mississippi Teacher Corps? First an...

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On Ambiguity

2008-03-16T18:50:11Z

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Henry Adams "Making a difference, one child at a time." Mississippi Teacher Corps Motto "That's sweeping leaves on a windy day." The Deacon This is the second to las...

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Favorite MTC Posts

2008-03-14T23:02:49Z

I'm working on my last two posts about attrition: a post on ambiguity and then a conclusion post. In working on the ambiguity post, which I hope to have up by Sunday, I started reading through some of the MTC Class of 2005's final blog entries (t...

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On Motivation...

2008-03-06T15:19:32Z

This started out as a reply to Holly’s comment on my previous post and grew from there (Holly, I appreciate the comments. As I'm sure y'all know by now, I love a good difference of opinion)... Does money matter when it comes to teaching? The hig...

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Time and Attrition

2008-03-05T14:13:48Z

Posts on attrition here and here. Here are the posts on low pay, classroom management, intensity, administration, outside issues, and promotion. Last week's issue of Time had a cover story on "How to Make Better Teachers." Included in that ar...

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Promotion

2008-03-04T15:15:35Z

Posts on attrition here and here. Here are the posts on low pay, classroom management, intensity, administration, and outside issues. Promotion to an administrative position as a reason for leaving the teaching profession is a rare case as f...

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Outside Issues

2008-02-26T01:24:29Z

Posts on attrition here and here. Posts on low pay, classroom management, intensity, and administration. Outside issues, as a reason for leaving the teaching profession, can include anything from having to take care of an ill family member to m...

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Intensity

2008-02-21T23:13:48Z

Over the next few days I will be exploring different reasons for why teachers leave the profession. I have already posted on low pay and classroom management. The first two posts on attrition are here and here. The intensity of teaching is the ...

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More Thoughts on Attrition

2008-02-19T00:44:47Z

Last week's post on attrition drew a lot of well-thought out comments. I've been letting these comments bounce around for awhile and have come up with some more thoughts. Here are all the reasons I can come up with for why people leave the teach...

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