Okay, before I start, I realize I've made a similar post in another thread, but this is a different topic, and if you think my posting is excessive, please let me know. I just want to get great ideas down and have a little help brainstorming them. If this offends you, please let me know, and I can stop posting what might be misread as SPAM or some other piece of internet junk. I posted in a previous forum about how great it would be if colleges trained teachers like private companies seemed to have capacity to do, in addition of course, to covering broader theory, and the idea came to me that there may actually be a market for companies that could lead teacher candidates to the right resources, above and beyond what area career services centers can do. Ideally, this company would cover the details of helping new teachers and teacher candidates find specialized training, in the form of certifications for specific recognized teaching programs (not just the tips and tricks they offer in professional development), help the teacher candidates with targeted resume writing, provide specialized resume and cover letter writing tailored to the school the teacher candidate wants to apply to, provide mock interviews reflecting what principals and schools are likely to ask a prospective teacher, refer the teacher candidate to other useful services, such as image consulting, and help the freshman teacher candidate decide on the right track that will make him or her a valuable asset upon graduation. Well, at least it sounds good on paper. The problem, though, is I have no idea how to implement this. To begin with, I'm not very well trained myself. If I did anything like this, I would need cooperation from area teachers, businesses, reading coaches, and tutoring centers. I would LOVE to see some kind of supplementary program implemented, though, because if teacher training is anything like it was when I graduated, the kids are going to need a lot of help and support to become successful, and I think teachers at all stages in their career could benefit from something like this. No, it's not offered by career services, at least not where I graduated. What colleges do is very broad and general; I'm talking about somehow providing a service that is targeted and specific. Some people, like me, benefit more from learning proven methods than confusing theories.
You know, Teach for America actually does a really good job of recruitment, retention, and in-service training. Search the forums for many posts we (including myself) have made arguing against TfA conceptually, but they do a few things pretty darn well. If TfA were to suddenly find themselves interested in what I had to say, I might suggest that they take their model of teacher support and market/sell it to districts for all new teachers - not just the TfA ones. The main critique of TfA is that it's unethical to put untrained teachers in classrooms, especially with kids who have more need. So, take the best of both worlds - take teachers with great pre-service training and provide them support for the first two years on the job. In terms of you specifically, starting the company would be different than providing all of the services. Hospital administrators are often not doctors, but it doesn't mean they don't know how to run a hospital. Still, they know how to run a hospital.
Organizing it all doesn't SEEM like it would be a challenge, but I would need so much participation from other businesses. I would need leads from local and online companies. Like I said, it looks good on paper, and parts of it seem so easy I would like to draw up a business plan and see if I could put something in action right away, but I'm pretty sure to get the kind of service I want, something that genuinely offers more than the schools are willing to and doesn't cost its clients a lot, would take some foot work. I would probably have to look into applying for special grants, and I would have to have the cooperation of area principals (for mock interviews and resume tips), experienced teachers (for lesson plan writing and teacher coaching), and tutoring centers (for the targeted teacher training), just to name a few. I want to do this so badly I can almost taste it, though, so I wonder if there's a way. I wonder what incentives would get the community on board with this. Really, how could I start? I know that Goodwill runs a charity that offers tutoring to certain populations with low literacy. I wonder if programs like this would be able to offer ideas on how to make this a reality?
I emailed a grant writer to see if he thought I had a workable idea. I really do want to start something.
I think a good place to start would be coming up with a logic model for your project, and for each step of the way do a SWOT analysis for making that step a reality. This should give you at least an initial framework for understanding what you'd need to put your project in motion, and good first steps.
Has anyone here actually pursued a similar idea since this thread started? I'm really curious if anyone managed to get a program like this off the ground or has experience working in a related field. It seems like a great concept, especially in terms of building a support system for new teachers. Also, I wonder if anyone has looked into ways a lock-up garage storage software business could tie into local community support efforts, maybe as a means of offering affordable storage solutions for educational materials or even hosting workshops. Would love to hear updates or fresh ideas!
