THE DELTA KAPPA GAMMA BULLETIN 15 The Profession That Eats Its

This article discusses the concems of first-year teachers as the backdrop for recommendations for teacher educators, school administrators and teaching colleagues to help stem the attrition of new teachers from the profession. The pivotal roles of the principal and fellow teachers, of student teaching and of teacher education will be discussed. The good, the bad and the ugly of a first-year teacher's experiences are shared, along with recommendations for supporting young professional educators. 11 Overwhelmed, hectic, isolated, beaten down, unsupported, scared, humiliated, afraid, stressed, and drowning, " are not the words a teacher education professor wants to hear from teachers describing their feelings during their first-year of elementary teaching. They are, however, the feelings revealed by a study of first-year elementary teachers. The research described in this article illustrates the outcome of time spent with si