I am considering becoming a teacher...

number1PJfan

Kilgore_Trout wrote:

you're all a bunch of whiney lil bitches if you think teaching is that bad
if you got the right mindset and are good with people then go into it

40K right out of school with pretty good benefits is nothing to sneeze at... some room to grow too

not to mention, for every shitty moment there is something equally redeeming... and thats coming from a cynic like me

don't go into it if you're trying to relive your glory days or power trip... i know plenty of those types

I just read a list somewhere of the top 15 cities looking for teachers... i think there were 2 in CA, a couple in FL, and most in TX

GOOD LUCK

40K right out of school? I'm in the wrong state! I'm in my thirteenth year, have three degrees (BA, MA, and EdS) and am barely clearing 45K. No, I did not go into it for the money, but it is definately not a glamorous job. The government sticks their grimmy little hands deeper and deeper into education every year taking more and more of a teacher's control of what she can do in a classroom. Pretty soon we might as well be animated robots programed by the government but yet you can not discipline the ones who need it. Big brother is always watching.

LukinFan

Lizard wrote:

My husband teaches high school. Assuming you have a college degree, take the CBEST test and this will allow you to substitute in most districts--see if you like teaching. Be sure to sub at the level you want to teach in.

I'm a teacher and I wouldn't suggest trying out substitution first - I think that would push you away from the field. I really don't know how subs do it

Kilgore_Trout

LukinFan wrote:

Lizard wrote:

My husband teaches high school. Assuming you have a college degree, take the CBEST test and this will allow you to substitute in most districts--see if you like teaching. Be sure to sub at the level you want to teach in.

I'm a teacher and I wouldn't suggest trying out substitution first - I think that would push you away from the field. I really don't know how subs do it

yah i did it for the first time on friday... without any sub plans cause the teacher had an emergency... though i don't imagine it would be any easier with plans... since you wouldn't know what was going on or where anything is

kids don't respect you... you don't know the class/school disciplinary measures... its babysitting... except for less money than most babysitters make these days... and for 25 extra kids

Lizard

LukinFan wrote:

Lizard wrote:

My husband teaches high school. Assuming you have a college degree, take the CBEST test and this will allow you to substitute in most districts--see if you like teaching. Be sure to sub at the level you want to teach in.

I'm a teacher and I wouldn't suggest trying out substitution first - I think that would push you away from the field. I really don't know how subs do it

it's called baptism by fire!!!

PJfanwillneverleave1

Here is what a teacher can be capable of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeX1H7ajOvQ
How has it worked out OP?

hedonist

I've come down on teachers who put that work, that necessary dedication, on the back-burner for purposes of their own...agenda.

But the ones who give a shit, who give of themselves, who impact their students years beyond - invaluable.

Mrs. Speigelman, English
Dr. Love (yes, his name WAS Dr. Love), Science
Mr. Schiffrin, History
Madame Pusey, French
Ms. Sasaki, Algebra

I will always remember and be thankful for each of them.

"Old school" takes on a different meaning, since those days are a far cry from what I imagine today's educators have to deal with.

Get_Right

My son's fourth grade teacher makes 125K a year, has great benefits and works 10 months a year.

Sounds like a good gig to me. If you can fight through the poverty of the early years, and find the right town, it is a great career. Not to mention the personal rewards.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Get_Right said:

My son's fourth grade teacher makes 125K a year, has great benefits and works 10 months a year.

Sounds like a good gig to me. If you can fight through the poverty of the early years, and find the right town, it is a great career. Not to mention the personal rewards.

This would signify the highest salary I have ever heard for a teacher... by far.

If this is accurate, this is a private school paying this teacher and the tuition for attending is astronomical. The school has the opportunity to attract the finest teachers given what they are paying and I'm sure the programs are second to none.

Congrats on being able to send your child to such a school.

PJ_Soul

Such schools also symbolize and perpetuate pretty much everything that is wrong with society.

brianlux

PJ_Soul said:

Such schools also symbolize and perpetuate pretty much everything that is wrong with society.

No sure which schools you mean by "such schools" PJ_Soul, but generally speaking, most do exactly that. I used to teach so I guess it's OK for me to say that.

But that said, this is all the more reason we need good teachers. Of all the many teachers I've had through 12 years of public school and over 200 college course credits, the best of them had a majorly great impact on my life. Here's what some did for me:

Miss Painter helped me to discover that I am creative and can write.

Mrs. McGilvery taught me that sometimes the toughest teachers give the best life lessons and that sometimes they are the ones who are tough because they want to to help you learn to be resilient and do your best.

Mr. Jones proved to me that walking a different path is the way of the brave soul.

Mrs. G. let me choose what to read and from that day on, I never stopped.

Professor John Handy taught me the entire history of jazz.

Ms Welty showed me how to see and thus to draw.

Dr. Pender challenged and pushed me greatly and helped me learn how find my own way.

Henry showed me that it is far better to hack rather than to pack.

These are the kind of people you never forget.

oftenreading

I'll add to brian's list:

Mr. Sweitzer, who sparked an interest in science and math.

Mr. Swennumson, who spent his lunch hours for a whole year helping me prepare for the scholarship exam in English Literature (with a focus on the Metaphysical poets - so there, rgambs!). A whole year of his own time spent with one student - and what wonderful discussions we had! I still remember them 30 years later.

Jason P

Mr. Trautman taught me to be an expert in guerrilla warfare, to be a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with my bare hands. He trained me to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. He taught me my job is to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition.

ldent42

hedonist said:

I've come down on teachers who put that work, that necessary dedication, on the back-burner for purposes of their own...agenda.

But the ones who give a shit, who give of themselves, who impact their students years beyond - invaluable.

Mrs. Speigelman, English
Dr. Love (yes, his name WAS Dr. Love), Science
Mr. Schiffrin, History
Madame Pusey, French
Ms. Sasaki, Algebra

I will always remember and be thankful for each of them.

"Old school" takes on a different meaning, since those days are a far cry from what I imagine today's educators have to deal with.

How you got through school with teachers named Dr Love and Madame Pusey is a mystery to me lol


I only remember the name of one of my teachers, and it's from High School, and the only reason I remember is name is cuz he thought I was his therapist. Either I'm a terrible person or I didn't have any of these amazing teachers like you guys did. Possibly a little of both.

hedonist

Ha! Her son was my classmate/friend - great guy, cute, well-liked...and was teased mercilessly about his name (even though it was pronounced Pu-ZAY).

And I doubt you're a terrible person. While it's something else to be positively impacted by even one teacher, I'm not sure it happens all that often - unfortunately.

The Juggler

hedonist said:

I've come down on teachers who put that work, that necessary dedication, on the back-burner for purposes of their own...agenda.

But the ones who give a shit, who give of themselves, who impact their students years beyond - invaluable.

Mrs. Speigelman, English
Dr. Love (yes, his name WAS Dr. Love), Science
Mr. Schiffrin, History
Madame Pusey, French
Ms. Sasaki, Algebra

I will always remember and be thankful for each of them.

"Old school" takes on a different meaning, since those days are a far cry from what I imagine today's educators have to deal with.

hey my french teacher was named madame pusey too!

hedonist

The Juggler said:

hedonist said:

I've come down on teachers who put that work, that necessary dedication, on the back-burner for purposes of their own...agenda.

But the ones who give a shit, who give of themselves, who impact their students years beyond - invaluable.

Mrs. Speigelman, English
Dr. Love (yes, his name WAS Dr. Love), Science
Mr. Schiffrin, History
Madame Pusey, French
Ms. Sasaki, Algebra

I will always remember and be thankful for each of them.

"Old school" takes on a different meaning, since those days are a far cry from what I imagine today's educators have to deal with.

hey my french teacher was named madame pusey too!

First name Rochelle?

I just loved her! A true Frenchwoman who taught not only the language but the authentic pronunciations.

My senior year, French was my first-period class and I showed up stoned almost every morning. Aced that shit too.

Do you ever have occasion to speak it these days?

The Juggler

hedonist said:

The Juggler said:

hedonist said:

I've come down on teachers who put that work, that necessary dedication, on the back-burner for purposes of their own...agenda.

But the ones who give a shit, who give of themselves, who impact their students years beyond - invaluable.

Mrs. Speigelman, English
Dr. Love (yes, his name WAS Dr. Love), Science
Mr. Schiffrin, History
Madame Pusey, French
Ms. Sasaki, Algebra

I will always remember and be thankful for each of them.

"Old school" takes on a different meaning, since those days are a far cry from what I imagine today's educators have to deal with.

hey my french teacher was named madame pusey too!

First name Rochelle?

I just loved her! A true Frenchwoman who taught not only the language but the authentic pronunciations.

My senior year, French was my first-period class and I showed up stoned almost every morning. Aced that shit too.

Do you ever have occasion to speak it these days?

i forget the first name. she was young. her mom was also a french teacher. for some reason i signed up for the advanced french class in my senior year (at that point we didn't even have to take a language anymore) and i was barely a C student in french. yeah, i lasted about a month before dropping it. haha

no i never really have to speak it. the main thing i remember is "maintnent, pour apprendre, les francais, nous avons invente une histoire!"

loosely translated: "now in order to learn french, we will read a book."

hedonist

The Juggler said:

hedonist said:

The Juggler said:

hedonist said:

I've come down on teachers who put that work, that necessary dedication, on the back-burner for purposes of their own...agenda.

But the ones who give a shit, who give of themselves, who impact their students years beyond - invaluable.

Mrs. Speigelman, English
Dr. Love (yes, his name WAS Dr. Love), Science
Mr. Schiffrin, History
Madame Pusey, French
Ms. Sasaki, Algebra

I will always remember and be thankful for each of them.

"Old school" takes on a different meaning, since those days are a far cry from what I imagine today's educators have to deal with.

hey my french teacher was named madame pusey too!

First name Rochelle?

I just loved her! A true Frenchwoman who taught not only the language but the authentic pronunciations.

My senior year, French was my first-period class and I showed up stoned almost every morning. Aced that shit too.

Do you ever have occasion to speak it these days?

i forget the first name. she was young. her mom was also a french teacher. for some reason i signed up for the advanced french class in my senior year (at that point we didn't even have to take a language anymore) and i was barely a C student in french. yeah, i lasted about a month before dropping it. haha

no i never really have to speak it. the main thing i remember is "maintnent, pour apprendre, les francais, nous avons invente une histoire!"

loosely translated: "now in order to learn french, we will read a book."

It'd be hilarious if they were mother / daughter.

In my early 20s, I spent some time in France and while it took me a bit to get into the groove of a different common language, I found myself unconsciously speaking/thinking in French...like where the mental translations were just gone.

So cool how our brains adapt.

Longueuil

The Juggler said:

no i never really have to speak it. the main thing i remember is «Maintenant, afin d'apprendre le français, nous allons lire un livre»

loosely translated: "now in order to learn french, we will read a book."

Fixed

what dreams

number1PJfan said:

Kilgore_Trout" said:

you're all a bunch of whiney lil bitches if you think teaching is that bad
if you got the right mindset and are good with people then go into it

40K right out of school with pretty good benefits is nothing to sneeze at... some room to grow too

not to mention, for every shitty moment there is something equally redeeming... and thats coming from a cynic like me

don't go into it if you're trying to relive your glory days or power trip... i know plenty of those types

I just read a list somewhere of the top 15 cities looking for teachers... i think there were 2 in CA, a couple in FL, and most in TX

GOOD LUCK

40K right out of school? I'm in the wrong state! I'm in my thirteenth year, have three degrees (BA, MA, and EdS) and am barely clearing 45K. No, I did not go into it for the money, but it is definately not a glamorous job. The government sticks their grimmy little hands deeper and deeper into education every year taking more and more of a teacher's control of what she can do in a classroom. Pretty soon we might as well be animated robots programed by the government but yet you can not discipline the ones who need it. Big brother is always watching.

Exactly . . . 40K right out of school is before taxes. After taxes, you live in fucking poverty). After 20 years in, you might make 70K if you continue to earn multiple degrees and move to the right state. I live in an affluent DC suburb, and my rent is almost 40% of my take-home, so fuck the 70K, too. I'll never be able to afford to save anything or buy a home, or even do anything more than take an annual Pearl Jam concert vacation. The idea that the hours are great is bullshit as well. I work 12-15 hour days five days a week, and the work is never over.

Honestly, I wouldn't even say the pay or the hours are my biggest complaint anyway, because I didn't go into teaching to get rich or have summers off. I went into it 20 years because I wanted to give back to society what it had given me. In the beginning of my career (1993), I could say that I loved everything about my job. I had creative freedom to design my own curriculum. Parents were trusting and supportive. Students didn't lie and manipulate about their teachers when they got home with the B+ (gasp) that they may have earned (as opposed to now which inflated by design). Now it's nothing but abuse all the way around. The kids are a bunch of high-strung perfectionists who are really great at answering multiple choice questions but God help us all when it's time for them to think creatively or critically about any problems. They have no resilience or persistence, and their parents (Gen-Xers who lost their fucking minds along the way) are completely neurotic. You wouldn't believe the abuse I take through e-mails, phone calls, and conferences on a regular basis. Then I sit in hours of meetings every week talking, talking, talking through a bunch of political mumbo-jumbo about "REFORM" which is really nothing more than administrators and politicians collecting "data" from standardized tests which are completely flawed instruments. All too often they make shit up just to appear like students are improving. For example, our current superintendent got a big write up in the paper about how he raised the reading passing rate to 94% while he's been in charge. The article didn't mention that before he took charge, the reading passing rate was 93%. In the meantime, teachers fill out reports every time the damn kids sneeze as though just filling out the report is going to miraculously do something for children.

I feel like we have a lost a whole generation of learners by handing over our educational system to the corporate, for-profit reformers like Bill Gates and the Walton Foundation and all these groups whose goals may be lofty but their methods SUCK. They have had nothing but a negative influence on the way public schools work, and some of these groups like the Rand Corporation and Cato have no qualms saying flat out that their purpose is to dismantle public education by overloading the system with its "reform" initiatives. The president and our lousy Secretary of Education have fallen for them hook, line, and sinker. Don't even get me started on the revolving door called Teach for America whereby well-to-do Ivy Leaguers spend two or three years in the public classroom and then leave to create for-profit consulting firms because somehow in three years they have learned everything there is to know about performing miracles.

I'm sorry I sound bitter. I am. With that said, I won't quit . . . because I'm completely subversive and I will resist and resist and resist until our school system starts to put kids first again.

So . . . OP, really . . . it's the absolute worst time in the history of public education to become a teacher. Don't do it unless you have incredible determination to overcome every obstacle put before you and a highly functioning bullshit meter.