Are new Teachers more effective than Veteran Teachers?

While looking through articles on Edutopia.com I ran across this poll topic that I find interesting: Are new teachers more effective than veteran teachers?

Obviously, being that I am a "new" teacher, I want to say that I am definitely better than my fellow teachers who have been working longer. However, I have only been at one school, worked with the same teachers for 4 years, and well, I cannot compare myself to a really "new" teacher because I am the youngest at my school. But this does get me thinking about what I do in my classroom compared to another teacher who I worked with last year.

I do feel that younger teachers are very eager to try lots of new things and have the energy to bring a great deal of interesting aspects into the classroom. For instance, during my first year as a community based teacher, only my second year of ever being a teacher, I took on the task of applying for a grant to build a kitchen. Not only did I receive the grant but I was in charge of designing the kitchen, shopping for everything and then also managing the maintenance guys who installed everything. Phew...was it ever a great deal of work but I was excited for the opportunity it would bring to my classroom. That same year, I also started a full functioning cafe that ran two times that year. We cooked a full Thanksgiving meal and then served it up just like a restaurant. This was the first time this has ever been done at my school. I also started using the city transportation system for all community outings instead of a school bus. This saved the district money, but caused me more stress than anything. If I compare what I did to the teacher who has been teacher the other community based classroom for the past 10 years, I really out did her. She would even comment, "Jenny, you are making me have to work harder!" She feared if we did cuts, she would lose her job because I out performed her.

Though I had the energy to do these things, she definitely beats me in the knowledge and experiences that she has. If I had a problem, I would go to her and ask for her help in handling the situation. With special education, not everything is cut and dry or can be found in a book. She was my book of help which was important for me.

So can I say that I, as a newer teacher, am more effective than a veteran teacher? No, I don't think I can fully say that. Can I say that I have grand ideas and am willing to put in all that effort and time to make some great experiences for my kids? Yes, I can. But in the end, I think new and old teachers both have lots to offer the world of education and students benefit from the old just as much as they benefit from the new.