First Year Teacher...
a Documentary

Meet Lynn and Scott

We followed the lives of two fresh-out-of-college teachers for one year to see how their careers in education met their expectations.

by Gary Olsen
and Pam Fields

very year I was doing a small movie about our teacher mentoring program at the district, sort of a celebratory, often funny portrayal of teachers involved in the program. The mentoring program pairs experienced teachers with new teachers in an attempt to make them feel more comfortable (there's a much more complex definition, but let's save that). The movies I produced lasted about 10 minutes, and they always went over well while the mentors and their mentees ate cake, drank coffee, and waited for their awards and certificates. All of this took place at the annual celebration and award ceremony in the spring held at Loras College. But all the while I was delivering these videos, I thought to myself, "There's something more here." But I wasn't sure exactly what it was.

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This past year, when Pam Fields, newly installed director of Dubuque's mentoring program, asked me what I had in mind for this year, I immediately began articulating on an idea I had been thinking about. "Instead of shooting something at the end of the year," I began, "Why don't we do a little bit at a time, perhaps turn this into a series about the mentoring program?" My reason for doing this was to lessen the big push at the end of the school year to complete the video. "Why don't we follow the lives of two new teachers?" suggested Pam. "You have the teachers in mind?" "No," she responded, "but we can find them I'm sure."

Nancy Bradley, staff development coordinator for the district, actually picked the two teachers at random from a new teacher orientation at NICC's downtown campus in August. I was on hand with my camera and a microphone, and she had overheard one student (Lynn Simon) talking animatedly to a new colleague, and Nancy thought she would be good. She picked Scott Lammer because he was a student of hers when she was at Table Mound Elementary. She knew he was bright, dependable, and so we had our two candidates. Thankfully, they agreed to be part of this experiment in film making.

I came up with splendid material. My visits were not as many as I had originally planned, but I realized they didn't have to be. I was shooting for a one hour film maximum, so I budgeted my time into three interview sessions that would be about two months apart. I actually put about five months between the second and third interviews because I flat out was inundated with work. As I said, it worked out better that way.

Only if you ever looked through a viewfinder of a video camera for any length of time could you possibly know what went through my head on the occasions I spoke with these teachers. I prayed the tape wouldn't break or the batteries die. It was pure magic. The intimacy of the one-on-one interview when photographed correctly is my favorite thing to do. I love people, and I particularly love bright, funny, and articulate people.

One incredibly revealing moment in our discussions with Lynn was the fact that there were no teachers in her life that influenced her positively to choose education as a career. She admits that she struggled as a student, was poor in math, and misdiagnosed as developmentally learning disabled particularly when it came to math.

"No one tried to understand why I was bad at math," she says in the film. "At school, when everyone would tell their stories about great teachers that motivated them to choose teaching for a career, I had no stories. I had teachers that influenced me negatively," explains Lynn. "I vowed I would never be like that. I don't even use a red pen. I use every other color, but not red."

One of the best moments while visiting Scott Lammer was playground duty at Prescott. The playground is a special place where a type of bonding occurs between teacher and student. For one thing, you are free to be more boisterous outside. Scott loves the playground and the kickball games he often umpires. One child, who almost never ties his shoes, kicks the ball so hard his shoe flies over the fence into the construction area where kids are not allowed. An almost daily event takes place where Scott has to run into the area to retrieve the shoe, errant playground balls, and whatever else lands in the forbidden zone. All the while, Scott explains the fine points of playground supervision. It's not as easy as you might expect, and it occurs in all sorts of weather except for downpouring rain. "I hate indoor recess," says Scott.

Scott also takes us on a tour of the new Prescott school with his principal, Chris McCarron. What an opportunity for a new teacher to be part of outfitting a brand new school. And, might we remind you, he's a art teacher in an "arts focused Expeditionary Learning School" so he will have an important role in all sorts of curriculum decisions. He admits he fell into one of the best jobs in education in the city.

These two teachers were simply wonderful and incredibly cooperative. I can't think of one good reason why they had to be. Perhaps it was the smaller camera I would take to these interviews. I have a rather engaging interview style I've been told. But I think it's my camera. It's far less threatening than the larger, more professional and intimidating video cameras some photographers use.

First Year Teacher, a Documentary is airing right now on Mediacom's DCS-TV Cable 19. It's playing in the regular rotation, so you won't easily miss it. And of course you can download and keep the movie from our website, www.dubuque.k12.ia.us. Look for the link "First Year Teacher" on the front page.