During my first 3 years of teaching, my lessons were largely hit or miss. Sometimes it
seemed like I had the entire class in the palm of my hand and I could do no wrong. On other
days, the students acted like I was not even present. But the worst part was that I could not
predict when lessons would work or why. I read a book calledThe Last Unicornby Peter S.
Beagle (1968) and I found it captured the way I felt about my teaching. It is the story of a hap-
less young magician who is trying to save unicorns from extinction. Sometimes he finds that
he has great magical powers, but then, inexplicably, the magic is gone. The magician eventu-
ally realizes that humans cannot control magic. It only comes when there is a great need.
During those years, I frequently felt that I was that hapless magician. I was always hoping for
the magical lesson, but I never knew when it would appear.
As I learned how to teach, I realized that experience brought increased skill, better judg-
ment, and greater knowledge. There was no magic formula, only practice and hard work. I
now believe that it takes between 3 and 5 years of classroom teaching experience before you
learn how to teach—and that does not include teacher education courses or student teach-
ing. When you finish these programs, you are a certified beginner, but that is all.
As you might suspect, I am not a big fan of rapid preparation programs likeTeach for
America(but of course if they want to use this book they can). Unless the people who run
those programs have discovered a magic potion that eluded me, or the students they turn
into teachers are just much more talented than I was, the programs will not have a major im-
pact on schools and teaching. In fact, because it only requires a 2-year commitment from
participants, most of the people recruited byTeach for Americaare little more than “acciden-
tal tourists” who leave the profession just when they are really learning how to be effective
teachers (Darling-Hammond, 1994, 2000).
This chapter examines the “job of the teacher” from different perspectives. In a section ti-
tled “My Best Teachers,” I introduce a friend who helped me figure out how to become a
teacher by modeling his own idiosyncratic approach. The “Becoming a Teacher” section fo-
cuses on childhood experiences of new teachers that have helped them define the “job of
the teacher” for themselves. The chapter concludes with autobiographical sketches by two
veteran teachers who explain how they learned to teach and an essay about teachers with a
sense of mission who define their job very broadly.
In addition, in response to my much delayed understanding about what it requires to be a
teacher, chapters include “Nuts and Bolts of Teaching” activities designed to demystify the
mechanics of teaching. Remember, you only get better if you work at it. Think of teaching as
CHAPTER2 Responsibilities: What Is a Teacher?
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