Are there any teachers on this board?

by logansrun 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  logansrun

  So, I'm thinking about becoming a high school teacher. I'm finishing up a summer course at my community college and will be going to Northeaster Illinois University in the fall. I've been thinking about majoring in biology and secondary education (instead of history and secondary ed.). So, anyone out there have any advice? Any first-hand experiences in teaching? I'm concerned about the politics of the job and, of course, the money. I can always shoot for the moon and do pre-med .

  Just curious,

  Bradley
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  Ravyn

  hey logan!

  not to shoot down teachers by any means, but my husband is looking into Nursing. You can get your RN in 2 yrs(accelerated) and in two more years(or less) specialize. There is a BIG need for male nurses, and Anesthetists make the highest pay in the industry. They start out in VA Hospitals(lowest pay in industry) at 82K and can make up to 150K. His interest is because the military will take nurses up to age 47 and you go in as an Officer. If you do your 20 yrs (which for us now- we could not collect SS retirement until age 67 even as a civilian)you get a decent retirement. Oh and the military will take you with a BS in Nursing as an RN and give you the specialty themselves-free. Two training hospitals for Anesthetist--in MD and TX, a 20 month program. Nurses pretty much have more control over where they get assigned than other military too.

  anyway good luck in whatever you choose.

  ravyn
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  Francois

  Teaching, as we know, was invented to make astrology look good. You can take it from there.

  Teaching today has more to do with paper work tending to prove the good intentions and political correctness of the school board. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

  I like your pre-med idea. This is strictly personal - it's too late for me, I'm too old to do it. But if I were in your shoes, I'd go pre-med, then medical specializing in ophtamology. Think about it. Eye doctors rarely are called to the emergency room, rarely have emergencies of any kind, rarely deal with dangerous pathogens, perform a vital personal service for people especially the elderly, keep regular office hours, and make money like it was going out of style. And they don't have to deal with a room packed full of ankle biters for a pittance. What's there to think about?

  francois
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  DanTheMan

  Interesting Bradley, I've been considering the same vocation myself, even though I'd probably be 40 before I ever set foot in a classroom. I think that teaching high school kids must be a tremendously challenging and frustrating job, but people who do it seem to love it.

  Go for it man!
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  NotBlind

  Yep, I'm a teacher. Lots of work for not a lot of pay. And I don't get the summers off either - teachers have to do graduate work on their own money and time. But if you enjoy teaching, it's not a bad way to go.
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  dedalus

  I'm a teacher. Most of the time it's a terrific thing to be doing, and I hope Francois is wrong about teachers having "to prove the good intentions and political correctness of the school board." In the school where I work, anyway, teachers have great personal freedom in designing their courses -- and I haven't done a lick of paperwork for the school board. Early in the semester I disposed of the department's short story anthology, which was rubbish, and began distributing stories I selected myself. When a parent called to complain, the department head supported me, and I was free to continue teaching in the manner I thought best.
  

  If you want to be a high school teacher, Logansrun, there are a few things you should brace yourself for.

  1) It's not an "honorable profession." Most people regard you as a glorified babysitter. When teejay found out I was a high school teacher, he wasted no time telling me what a lowly profession I'd fallen into (but that might have been because I'd pissed him off earlier ).

  2) You will not make enough money. This is a very real problem. The supposed "nobility" of the profession may or may not compensate for it. For me, I think it doesn't, and I am looking into other career opportunities as a result.

  3) Though I somewhat bristle at Francois's comments, I must concede that there are some pretty confounding politics surrounding education, and the establishment will work against you, and often against the education of young people.

  4) At a high school level, I know more than I will ever be able to teach, which can be depressing. Six years of college meant a LOT of debt, and (this goes back to #2) with my salary I'll be paying off student loans for the next 40 years. (I didn't go to community college, though -- you're saving money there.)

  On the other hand -- and it's a very small hand -- I would say that most of my students retain what they're learning; most of them have become better readers and writers in the time I've been teaching them. I'd like a world with better readers and writers in it, so, yes, there is some satisfaction in doing something about it. But not enough for me to stay in the profession at these wages.

  Dedalus
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  La Capra

  I am a high school math teacher in California. This is my eleventh year teaching. At the end of my tenth year, I decided to go law school. I love teaching. I love spending my days with bright, witty, hopeful and energetic adolescents. But I was bored out of my mind with the curriculum. I am a creative, artistic type, and there came a point where the material got old. I hear this happens in ALL subject areas. I have been told that having significant outside interests makes this a more bearable kind of boredom, which is why I decided to go to law school. The money was really bad my first few years teaching. But I made it a priority to get all the units I needed to max out my salary credits as early as possible. Non-teachers always say it's a good deal because we get summers off, to travel, but the reality is that travel is expensive, more so in the summer, and if a teacher wants to get ahead financially, she needs to work in the summer for awhile. You will feel a financial pinch for about five years, which seems to be the "survival rate" of about half the new teachers in California. The politics of teaching is pretty horrific, but if you can keep your eyes open, your mouth shut, and figure out who in your particular district is the one to keep happy, once you have tenure, there is a lot of freedom to do what you please. The main stress of teaching is that no matter how many hours of your own time you put into it, there is more that you can be doing. This is the heart of what makes teaching so stressful-no matter what, you are never done. If you are a parent, or plan to be one, teaching is the type of career that does give you more time with your children, since the schedules are similar. Most teachers struggle for about five years with the paper chase, then a system that works for them emerges. As far as the district paper work goes, it is, in actuality, minimal, unless you are teaching in a special services area (English Language Development, Speech Therapy, Special Education). And teachers are notorious flakes when it comes to this kind of thing, too, so in all likelihood, the secretaries have to remind the teachers of everything that does need to be done, paperwork-wise. Teaching high school isn't rocket science or brain surgery. There is a fairly forgiving margin for error. In fact, considering that a typical teachers has to make over 5000 decisions a day in carrying out her duties, and most of those decisions are then tweaked by 160 individual immature human beings, there HAS to a fairly forgiving margin. Teaching preparation programs can be expensive, so if your state has a program that can get you into a classroom BEFORE committing to most of the training, you can save yourself some time and money testing it out to see if you really want to do it. Substitute teaching isn't always a valid test because it's always someone else's show you are temporarily running. You need to find out if you like putting on your own show. Good Luck. Shoshana
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  asleif_dufansdottir

  If you have any reservations at all about teaching, I'd seriously reconsider. It's hard, and unless you have a burning desire, you probably won't stick it out long in the classroom (unless you turn bitter - haven't we all had those kind of teachers?)

  What do you like about biology? Have you thought about getting a grad degree in it and doing some sort of research or other work? Medical Bio is where the big $$ are today (not necessarily med school, but other types of research and stuff)
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  joannadandy

  I'm going into teaching High School as well.

  I have one year left. So far I have just done a few field experiences and won't do my student teaching until next spring. I'll be teaching high school English when I finish, and I can't wait.

  I couldn't agree more with the notion that you really should love it if you're going to do it. Parents, school boards, politicians, adminstration, and even some students themselves can make it a nightmare.

  I have to bristle at what a few people have said, that teaching high school is a nightmare. That's your opinon of course, and you are welcome to it, but that's really a shame. And I would have to ask each of those posters how many high schoolers they know...and I mean REALLY know. (And no your own children don't count. The parent child dynamic can skew perceptions about an age group (from both ends).) I have found most are thoughtful, and concerned with a lot of the same things and worried about the same problems as adults, they just lack the social tools to deal with it.

  Teaching is not for everyone.

  My advice to you. If you want to do it, bio is a better option than history because the social studies field is usually overflowing and securing ajob would be tough. Bio is crying out for teachers and usually they give pretty good incentives (when school districts can afford to do so) for bio teachers.

  I have to say your comment about money set me back to. If you want to make money--this isn't the career path for you. Most starting teachers make 20-25,000. By the time you retire you can expect to make 45,000.

  I would suggest you get in a mentoring our tutoring program. Schools love volunteers. Try your hand at maybe some summer school programs. See how you feel about it before you make your choice. I know it's not a glamourous job, and I know that nine times out of ten it is a thankless job, however that one percent can be so gratifying...and so mood altering! The high you get from watching someone's "light bulb" turn on, when they finally get it, and it's because you helped them...there aren't even words to describe it. You might get paid more to watch cells divide in a petry dish, but I doubt the same thrill is there...tho maybe it is. You really do have to find what will be a good fit for you.

  Once you choose to become a teacher, I will be more than happy to give you loads more of advice, links, and resources that have been a HUGE help to me.
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  lisaBObeesa

  I would recommend trying out my job while you go to school to see what the classroom is really like. ( I am an aide in a continuation high school and am working slowly on my degree to one day teach.)

  You can try out being an aide in many different teaching environments, see what different teachers do, see what the politics really are like, and see if you have a real love for the profession. I know I do. I had my job in the classroom for a week and I knew I would never leave. I also knew I would never go over to the ‘regular’ high schools.

  I just think you have to actually be IN some classrooms for a little while to decide if you might like teaching.

  There are a variety of types of schools and administrators, so jobs for high school teachers vary widely in many ways. Volunteer in variety of classes for a semester if you can’t get a paid position.

  Just my two cents J

  -Lisa