Rhode Island ill be using the Haberman Star Teacher interview as part of its
teacher selection process. Martin Haberman, distinguished professor emeritus of curriculum and instruction in the School of Education University of Wiisconsin, Milwaukee, developed a number of instruments for educators and now his foundation works with school systems around the country to help select teachers and administrators.
Selecting good teacher,i.e those with potential to become excellent teachers, is an important early step in the reform process. Below are a few important points from the Haberman interview that was cited in an article in today’s Providence Journal.

...if we find they don’t have the capacity to build relationships with the kids, the rest really doesn’t matter. Relationships are a matter of life and death” educationally, that is.

...an interviewee might answer a question with: “‘What do they expect of me? The parents don’t show up and the kids don’t bring homework.’ If they tell us that kids are at risk because so many parents are not doing their jobs and the students aren’t interested, they aren’t going to work out. Some list everything outside of the classroom: ‘The curriculum doesn’t fit; we test them too much.’ On the other hand, another person might say, ‘I would never punish kids because their parents didn’t show up.’ These are basic, core beliefs.”

Persistence is also critical. Interestingly, a recently released study of Teach For America data surprised many people by revealing that the main difference between great teachers and merely OK ones was their capacity to hang in with a kid when problems come up. Training, experience and even academic background matter far less than this kind of patience, or perhaps just stubbornness.

Note that paragraph two harks back to my own concerns about excuses rather than the search for solutions.