Thinking about becoming a teacher.

[Pulsar]

My wife is a teacher (high school math), as is her brother (elementary).

This all stems from the fact that you have juveniles running the systems; these people went from high school, to college, and then right back to high school. They don't have a fucking clue what it truly means to compete for your job, to have your successes and failures measured, and to not be sucking off the government tit for insurance and retirement... yet teachers bitch louder than anyone about how they're not paid enough, their benefits aren't good enough, blah blah blah.

Yep, but see above. Financial responsibility isn't in your average teacher's repertoire.

My wife worked in the private sector for almost 15 years before becoming a teacher. Her brother, on the other hand, went straight into teaching. It's hilarious to listen to him bitch and moan and writhe about all the horrible horrendous predicaments that bestow our teachers. My wife, thankfully, isn't shy about telling him to STFU and be thankful.

There is a lot of very unfortunate truth to this. Frankly, it leads to a couple obvious problems. How many of these 'teacher had sex with student' headlines are with younger teachers? The vast majority. It's a problem of peer association. Instead of being far enough apart in age that they automatically assume a mentor/student role, they assume a 'friend' role. That both erodes teacher authority and leads to inappropriate situations.

We dealt with this on a daily basis at my kids' schools (plural). From a new teacher who refuses to understand that a 402 agreement is not voluntary, to teachers that show obvious partialism so that they can be 'cool' to the kids, to teachers who make fun of students because they simply lack maturity: we have it all in spades.

To top it off, we have some administrators who have no business being administrators - they went and got a business degree and saw a quick 6 figure salary and jumped at it. In one case, one of these administrators tried to physically intimidate a parent by standing 'over' her and yelling at her when she went to talk to special ed about her son without his 'permission'.

I could go on all week about the shitty state of our schools. Schools that demand internet because they don't purchase books any more. Teachers that repeatedly send home handouts and worksheets with numerous mis-spellings and grammar mistakes because they're creating their own material on the fly. I look back to when I was in school not all that long ago, where the books were simply improved on every 4 or 5 years, they had examples and pre-created homework to send home that wasn't full of inaccuracies and mistakes....

It makes me cry for our kids and our school system. The WORST example is in STEM, where we're in the process of creating an entire generation who can't be helped by their parents because common core has them doing problems entirely differently than the way they've been learned for 200 years.

 

[Sonikku]

agh. Everywhere I look it's like the country is falling apart. And the cycle only seems to be accelerating, leaving me with little hope for the future. I wish I had been a baby boomer.

 

[BikeJunkie]

It makes me cry for our kids and our school system. The WORST example is in STEM, where we're in the process of creating an entire generation who can't be helped by their parents because common core has them doing problems entirely differently than the way they've been learned for 200 years.

Not only that, but kids are being instructed to use their calculators nearly 100% of time; many of which are situations where calculators were previously forbidden.

As I mentioned earlier, my wife is a HS math teacher, and she receives coaching from her peers because she's not allowing her kids to use calculators for everything. Why find the derivative or integral by hand when your Ti-Hulksmash can do it for you? They're literally avoiding teaching kids how to do math, and instead teaching them how to use graphing calculators.

When challenged, the administration's response is "technology is the future." Well no shit, you disingenuous fuck, but the purpose of math at the HS level isn't to actually teach MATH - it's to teach problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, etc., all of which are removed from the picture when you make calculators the focus of the class.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I'm not saying it's easy, I'm just saying the notion that it's harder than secondary ed is laughable.

Not sure how saying 'it is not babysitting' is then taken out of context to say 'it's harder than secondary ed'. Others may have made that assertion but you responded to me and I most certainly did not.

 

[BikeJunkie]

Not sure how saying 'it is not babysitting' is then taken out of context to say 'it's harder than secondary ed'. Others may have made that assertion but you responded to me and I most certainly did not.

My post was about 10x longer than what you quoted; clearly ALL of it wasn't meant for you. I responded to something you said, and then continued to discuss the thread in general. No need to take it personally.

 

[Regs]

It's an over saturated market.

Yes. Though like any other markets, you just have to be better then them. It's really hard to get your foot in the door now with little to no experience. Most teachers now get recruited after they moved from another related profession in which they want to teach. Chemist from big pharm now science teachers, physicist/accountants are now math teachers, and ex cons are now gym teachers.

 

[BikeJunkie]

Yes. Though like any other markets, you just have to be better then them. It's really hard to get your foot in the door now with little to no experience. Most teachers now get recruited after they moved from another related profession in which they want to teach. Chemist from big pharm now science teachers, physicist/accountants are now math teachers, and ex cons are now gym teachers.

lolwut? I'm curious as to where you're getting your information, because with very few exceptions, the exact opposite is true.

One, teachers aren't recruited. There's no need to recruit teachers. You'll trip over 10 of them looking for a job when you go to get your mail today.

Two, the less experience you have, the more attractive you are as an applicant. No experience = CHEAP, and aside from who you know in the district, CHEAP is the #1 factor that will help you land a gig. "Little to no experience" is precisely what will help a teacher find a job. Sad but true.

Many districts need special permission to hire a teacher with more than n years of experience, where n is usually 2 or 3. That's why layoffs are so traumatic to teachers; if you're laid off after having taught for more than 3 years or so, you are FUCKED SIDEWAYS and will have to compromise substantially when it comes to where you're willing to teach.

It was said before but it's worth repeating: districts could not care less about how much experience a teacher has, beyond what cost the implications are of hiring said teacher.

 

[Fingolfin269]

My post was about 10x longer than what you quoted; clearly ALL of it wasn't meant for you. I responded to something you said, and then continued to discuss the thread in general. No need to take it personally.

I was seriously offended... personally.

 

[cabri]

i wouldn't mind being a teacher in the detroit public school system. i feel i can really make a difference.
the only thing holding me back is the stupid pay and the fact that i hate dealing with children

typical leech

 

[cabri]

Different areas will have different markets.

Expect the salary to be low and below the prevailing wage levels.

Entering into a small school system will be better, you will have closer interaction with the community and slightly less politics.

Though salary levels are lower in rural areas, the quality of students "may" be better. Much is based on the local community values.

A few years ago, Alaska was heavily recruiting for teachers; bonus and potential free land if you stay for a set period of time.

 

[Regs]

lolwut? I'm curious as to where you're getting your information, because with very few exceptions, the exact opposite is true.

One, teachers aren't recruited. There's no need to recruit teachers. You'll trip over 10 of them looking for a job when you go to get your mail today.

Two, the less experience you have, the more attractive you are as an applicant. No experience = CHEAP, and aside from who you know in the district, CHEAP is the #1 factor that will help you land a gig. "Little to no experience" is precisely what will help a teacher find a job. Sad but true.

Many districts need special permission to hire a teacher with more than n years of experience, where n is usually 2 or 3. That's why layoffs are so traumatic to teachers; if you're laid off after having taught for more than 3 years or so, you are FUCKED SIDEWAYS and will have to compromise substantially when it comes to where you're willing to teach.

It was said before but it's worth repeating: districts could not care less about how much experience a teacher has, beyond what cost the implications are of hiring said teacher.

Recruiting usually refers to the overall process of hiring someone, not actually going out and finding them. Though yes, they're plentiful. As far as actually hiring teachers with real world experience, I am only going off what I see talking with friends and previous co-workers. Your perspective is definitely different than mine.

 

[MetalMat]

From know friends and family members that are teachers, don't do it unless you REALLY want to. Of course this is taking into account that the Louisiana public education system is not good.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Become a tutor instead and run your own business. That's what I did, although it took years to build a clientele. Demand for tutors is through the roof (at least in NYC). I still tutor students during the summer, but at least I get to choose the schedule.

ARCADIOS <serious> Scool of Creeping®

(no H's allowed)

((you guys remember that shtick, right))