Leadership and Agency as a Novice Teacher

Authors

Clara E. Lin, East Village Community SchoolFollow

Abstract

Tells an inspiring tale of a new teacher who refused to accept the dreary status quo to which beginning professionals are so often consigned. Almost in anger at the assumption that she was supposed to be miserable for her whole first year, she struggled mightily to find innovative ways to solve her most intractable classroom problems, and then turned her energies to whole-school reform.

Author Biography

Clara Ellertson Lin is a first-grade teacher at East Village Community School, a small, progressive public school in Manhattan. In her third year of teaching she served on its School Leadership Team and on various school committees. While earning her master's degree in literacy and childhood education from Bank Street College of Education, she worked at an Even Start family literacy program serving young children and parents living in poverty in Brooklyn. Her academic interests continue to include parental involvement, in a child's education as well as equity in education for high needs populations.

Recommended Citation

Lin, C. E. (2009). Leadership and Agency as a Novice Teacher. Occasional Paper Series, (23). DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1122