Any other teachers...

AELARA

pjfan31 wrote:

How long did you guys go to college uni for?

Here it is 4 years full time. I am near the end of my 3rd year at uni, but only half way through the degree. Man it is a long journey. And one assignment I have atm is the hardest one yet. Comparing the New South Wales curriculum (where I am) with the curriculum of somewhere else in the world. It's messing with my head.

Four years here too...

pjfan31

catefrances wrote:

pjfan31 wrote:

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Originally the course convener said to compare and contrast another Australian curriculum, only recently did he say we could go international. I started doing Northern Territory, because I thought they would have a heavy indigenous section. So I thought that would be a key 'contrast' But this is proving to be quite tricky, cause there is all this other b.s they want us to do.

Atm I'm evaluating online educational resources for teachers and students and planning a lesson on it. Not too bad, but assignments are never really fun.

Thanks again

where are you studying??

Macquarie. Club mac

catefrances

pjfan31 wrote:

catefrances wrote:

where are you studying??

Macquarie. Club mac

not sure how club mac runs things but @ UWS the first 3 years are BA with your major(mine was english) and then the teaching comes. you can do it in 2, 3, 4 semesters depending how insane you are. i went straight from summer school to teaching and realised way too late what a mistake that was. i thought i could do it in 2 semesters. and it took me 1 and a half semesters to realise i was way in over my head. it wasnt that im not smart enough... tis just that mentally wise i was unable to cope. i withdrew spring semester last year and have regretted it ever since. im still in 2 minds whether i should go back to complete my teaching degree.. high school english and history... i just dont want to lose my mind doing it. theres also that problem i have of working within the structure of the nsw education system.

pjfan31

Mac does BA with dip ed.

You do two years of educ subjects making sure you complete a years worth (2 subjects) in 4 KLA areas. So far I have done and 2 years English(that way I get out of doing maths), hsie, science.

Then 3rd year you do prac only for about a couple of weeks

4th year a bigger prac.

I'm finding it a bit much atm. I work full time, study full time, and these assignments I have atm, are just proving a bit too much for me. I took a break from one assignment tonight to catch up on a lecture. Great fuckin break if you ask me.

catefrances

pjfan31 wrote:

Mac does BA with dip ed.

You do two years of educ subjects making sure you complete a years worth (2 subjects) in 4 KLA areas. So far I have done and 2 years English(that way I get out of doing maths), hsie, science.

Then 3rd year you do prac only for about a couple of weeks

4th year a bigger prac.

I'm finding it a bit much atm. I work full time, study full time, and these assignments I have atm, are just proving a bit too much for me. I took a break from one assignment tonight to catch up on a lecture. Great fuckin break if you ask me.

UWS calls it a masters of teaching... ooh la la dont you know..

you dont touch education subjects until your MT and then youre in the thick of it. the semesters are 9 weeks each and youre thrown into prac at the end of each semester. what your major was determined your KLA within the MT. if you didnt have the units required you had to make them up. fortunately english is my thing. my minor was history/politics/philosophy and so history is my 2nd KLA.

i liked prac cause i relate well to teenagers. i know all their tricks cause ive grown 2 of them and i understand them. theres one week where you observe and then as i said at the end of semester you do prac. its 4 weeks.and by the end of it it is expected youre carrying a 50% load of a 'normal' teacher.

there was the opportunity to do prac overseas. when i was there it was china. also a stint in NT was possible. i liked that but competition was fierce.

guitar59

rafie wrote:

The long vacations!

The best part is that I do not have to teach 8 grade classes. What a god awful age that is...

I have a unique teaching job. I work with students who are homeschooled. I teach one grade 8 student this year. She is something else...reminds me of a 5 year old...but with more attitude

Cradles Broken Glass

I'm a sub and my first sub day is this Friday. I'm looking forward to it b/c as a sub, you don't always know when you're going to get to work and we really need the money right now. I'm working on my masters in teaching so I can teach jr. high or high school full time, so I imagine when I do it every day, I'll get the blues just like you would at having to go into any job. However, I know I'm green behind the ears, but right now I love it.

justam

pjfan31 wrote:

How long did you guys go to college uni for?

Here it is 4 years full time. I am near the end of my 3rd year at uni, but only half way through the degree. Man it is a long journey. And one assignment I have atm is the hardest one yet. Comparing the New South Wales curriculum (where I am) with the curriculum of somewhere else in the world. It's messing with my head.

I had to get three degrees because I teach in a university. Four years for the BA, two more years for the MM, a few more for the DMA. :?

pjfan31

justam wrote:

pjfan31 wrote:

How long did you guys go to college uni for?

Here it is 4 years full time. I am near the end of my 3rd year at uni, but only half way through the degree. Man it is a long journey. And one assignment I have atm is the hardest one yet. Comparing the New South Wales curriculum (where I am) with the curriculum of somewhere else in the world. It's messing with my head.

I had to get three degrees because I teach in a university. Four years for the BA, two more years for the MM, a few more for the DMA. :?

That's harsh. IT is such a long road. I work full-time, and study pretty much full time, and I just don't much 'me' time.

I've been at uni since 2008, at this rate I think I will finish in 2013.

The Champ

number1PJfan wrote:

Give this a read... see if you still want to be a teacher...this, coming from me, who is also a teacher...

http://neatoday.org/2010/04/21/florida-teacher-issues-rallying-cry-for-respect-for-educators/

Awesome, thanks for the link! Just received the new Time magazine, focused primarily on education: http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20100920,00.html ..haven't had the chance to read the multiple education articles, but browsed through one that referenced a new documentary coming out soon that followed the lives of 5 families and their journey to and in charter schools..basically paints the picture of how great charter schools are and how much teachers suck...but maybe I'm just in a cynical mood..

Anyway, it's 1:30 AM on a Friday night and I'm working on curriculum, unit, lesson planning and professional development self-assessment reflections for our new AP....at least I'm glad to be finished with my Master's reading through this thread..good luck to everyone! Oh and yeah, I found out the first day of school that I'll be teaching global history and also servicing/supporting the needs of all the students with learning disabilities and English language learners..fun times..

haffajappa

I started as a TA this summer got 3 weeks off and felt it was hard going back on tuesday....
And I've only been in this job 2 months!

guitar59

The Champ wrote:

Just received the new Time magazine, focused primarily on education: http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20100920,00.html ..haven't had the chance to read the multiple education articles, but browsed through one that referenced a new documentary coming out soon that followed the lives of 5 families and their journey to and in charter schools..basically paints the picture of how great charter schools are and how much teachers suck...but maybe I'm just in a cynical mood..

I taught at a charter school for my first 3 years of teaching...it was 10 times more work then anything I have done since...my son goes to a charter school, and I know the staff puts in way more time and effort than the staff at the regular public school that my other children go to.

I love that we have the choice in education...that does not cost as much as private schools. I have not seen the article and I do not know if the charter schools in the States work like those in Canada...but I think that a publicly funded school, that offers choice when it comes to different learning styles is a good thing. Where we live, it really made our public board wake up and take notice. Our city has a variety of choices now, that do not cost the parents extra tuition. We can shop around and choose a school that offers Inquiry based learning, an all girls school, a school that focuses on mastery learning and character education or schools that teach in two languages...and the schools are in all areas of the city. The choices started as charter schools, but as demand grew our public board offered alternative programs. The competition has made for more opportunities for kids, greater accountability in schools and the teachers choose more carefully the positions they stay at. Parents have to know more too, because a different choice is not always best. The school my son goes to focuses on inquiry based learning, which suits his learning style...the school does not suit the learning style of my daughter who needs more structure in her assignments...parents need to know that different is not always better...

number1PJfan

justam wrote:

pjfan31 wrote:

How long did you guys go to college uni for?

Here it is 4 years full time. I am near the end of my 3rd year at uni, but only half way through the degree. Man it is a long journey. And one assignment I have atm is the hardest one yet. Comparing the New South Wales curriculum (where I am) with the curriculum of somewhere else in the world. It's messing with my head.

I had to get three degrees because I teach in a university. Four years for the BA, two more years for the MM, a few more for the DMA. :?

I had to get three degrees to just to get a pay increase worth anything. I got my undergrad -4 years, masters-2 years, and then my educational specialist degree 2 1/2 more. We get little step increases yearly and cost of living increases but in order to maximize you have to go back to school.