This digest explains that burnout results from the chronic perception that one is unable to cope with daily life demands. Teachers must face classrooms full of students every day; negotiate potentially stressful interactions with parents, administrators, counselors, and other teachers; contend with relatively low pay and shrinking school budgets;…

The British Columbia Teachers' Federation surveyed 1,500 teachers regarding workload issues and stress. This report examines teachers' use of time during summer. Teachers described how many of the 9 summer vacation weeks they spent taking holidays, teaching summer school, working in employment other than teaching summer school, taking educational…

A civil engineer describes his first day as a substitute teacher. Despite detailed lesson plans and good intentions, maintaining an orderly class environment is far from a "piece of cake." Recess duty is an ordeal, and lunch in the shabby teacher's lounge is uninspiring. The biggest benefit is appreciation of what constitutes a full-time teacher's…

Considers the relevance of gender in the teaching of composition as a professional field. Contrasts the cultural images of the male versus the female teacher. Challenges such constructs to posit new images of teaching and teachers, especially with regard to women teachers. (HB)

Describes a lengthy list of excuses used regularly by some teachers to justify the poor results of their own teaching. Criticizes the attitudes of incompetent teachers who are willing to blame anything for their failures except themselves. (HB)

Through interviews and participant observation of inmates and instructors, the needs of learners, institutions, and instructors in a correctional setting were identified. Learners of English as a second language wanted grammar and pronunciation rules, communication strategies, and challenge, but attendance was inconsistent. Instructors felt…

Examines two models of support services provided to Hong Kong secondary-school teachers: (1) a traditional model focusing on direct, remedial, and individual-oriented services; and (2) an alternative model accommodating indirect, preventive, and system-oriented services. Reports evaluations of each model and makes recommendations for future policy…

Teachers are separated by isolated classrooms and tightly packed schedules, rarely working with colleagues on matters related to teaching and learning. This paper describes benefits of collaborative team structures in schools, discusses potential pitfalls, and notes that the challenge is to develop teams with a high group IQ that can work…

Describes one day in the teaching life of a temporary college faculty member, focusing on her dedication to the students and the class that she has been asked to teach, and highlighting issues that she faces in being a temporary faculty member (e.g., low pay and no job security). (SM)

Before the author started teaching, he expected his classroom experiences to be similar to what he had seen in teaching movies like "Dangerous Minds." For instance, the first day of school in movie is always portrayed as horrible, while the rest of the year is fairly easy. In reality, the first day is fairly easy, while the rest of the year is…

In this article, a parallel is drawn between Steven Hawking's use of common and novel metaphors in his evolving explanation of the theory of the universe and the similar use of common and novel metaphors by educators in four school contexts attempting to illuminate their experiences of school reform storied and restoried over time. The epistemic…