the types of teachers they were; and yet, She would want to get along
with everyone and She would fear being alienated from the others. The
principal realized that Sue was also afraid of losing that special ex
citement and joy that She had for teaching and learning and the
compassion She felt for students. Most important, she realized that
5ue'S students' love for learning would be a direct reflection of her
own personal fulfillment as a human being and as a teacher. That was
when the principal decided to put Sue in touch with Linda Byers, a
veteran first-grade teacher well respected for her courage, vitality,
and Sensitivity, who could not only help Sue survive the pressures of
the first year of teaching, but could also challenge her with difficult questions and offer wise advice and friendship. Linda helped Sue balance her need to be liked and be part of the group with her need to develop as a teacher true to herself and her beliefs about children and Schooling. Linda and Sue made time to struggle over the tough questions that helped them both grow as caring, reflective teachers: How can I understand who I am? Is my life story being written the way I want it to be? What kind of teacher am I becoming? How will my students remember me? Linda helped Sue realize that though there weren't any "correct" answers to these questions, they needed to keep asking them and to explore their responses on a deeper and deeper level in order to understand themselves better.
AS that first School year progressed, Sue quickly learned that developing into the person and teacher who embraced democratic living in her life and in her classroom would not be an easy task. She found that thinking critically, creatively, and imaginatively about teaching and learning and treating children as responsible classroom citizens were not only uncommon practices among teachers at her school, but were threatening to them, as well. Many of the teachers with whom Sue worked expected her to comply with their notions of classroom management, pedagogy, and the teacher's role. They supplied her with reams of worksheets for the students' use, instructing her, "We all use these. They are organized by weeks of the School year and we all Stay on the same schedule:" They also coached her on how to ensure her first-graders' "success" on the standardized achievement tests given in October. They provided her with patterns the children were to use to produce cookie-cutter art projects. They Shared with her their behavior management plans to help her with classroom "discipline."
Sue was confused and disappointed with these attitudes and teaching practices. They seemed to take all the joy out of her work