Quote:
Originally posted by kddani
I do feel that NC's situation is horrible. A friend, who had a BS was recruited to go to NC and teach HS physics or chemistry. I don't know why he even went to begin with- no relocation help, I believe around $24K a year salary, not sure if he even had benefits. He stayed for 2 weeks then quit. He loved his students but no one can live like that. He had no teaching experience or education. I believe that if you teach down there for so long you can get a certificate or something? Not sure. It was something like that, and he had planned to come back up here to teach.
|
You can not teach in NC for "so long" and become certified. You must go back to college and recieve you certification within 5 years... and they have a requirement on the number of classes you must take every year, not just one here and one there. You also must pass the Praxis 1 and the Praxis 2 in your area. I have a friend how graduated from Clemson with an education degree and decent grades. He could not pass the praxis 2 with the score that NC requires. They let him work for 2 years as long as he continued trying to pass. After his 2nd year and still no passing score, he was let go by the state. He could move somewhere that met his scores, but his wife and child are here. He is such a great teacher and role model for the students, he is a exceptional childrens assitant. He is making a little over half of a teachers salary now. The "No Child Left Behind" law is going to take care of that all together. Everyone is going to have to be a highly qualified teacher. Honestly, the fact that he did not have his certification was his first problem. Without taking the methods course, I doubt he could not have known what he was jumping head first into. NC offers pretty decent benefits...I have never really had a problem with mine. My starting salary, with graduate hours and 2 coaching jobs was about that much. I am not making much more than that now. I am trying to become Nationally certified. I chose to stay in NC for personal reasons. I am not from here and I had job offers in Va and other states. I seriously doubt most could live comfortably off of my salary. It is not easy for me either...I love to go out, wear my citizen jeans with my real LV bag, vacation, and drive a decent car. No, I do not have credit cards...it all comes out of that check, plus my side job. I pay for most of my workshops I attend, some equipement in my classroom, extra outside stuff I use at school, and supplies. It is not just teachers who are underpaid, school systems are underfuned. How happy would you be if your child had to sit out of half of my class because I didn't have enough hockey sticks for everyone or enough books for every child to have one and take home? That is a whole other ball game. I even buy the dertergent to wash my uniforms. I am not complaining, because this what I chose to do going into college, I researched it, and I love it. I do not really care for the lateral entry program, just like you might not care for a lawyer who's LSAT was not high enough to get into law school, but they did. I do support "NCLB", but it needs to be properly funded. I could have been the PE teacher who did nothing and did not care that all the kids were fat. You could also be the lawyer I paid $300 to get me out of my speeding ticket, and he didn't show up in court. Yes, you might be able to show up for work for me, take roll and do that type of stuff. No, I do not believe you could do my job. I might be able to sit in your office and respond to emails, but I could never show up in court and defend the family of a murder teenager. I know this reply is rambled, but there have been so many off the wrong path responense here...its hard to find the arguement.
In response to the reply about why doctors and lawyers have practices and why everyone else has a job...how many teachers have read Harry Wong's First Days of School book? Remember how he recommended you to frame your certification and degree and hang it up just like the doctors and lawyers? If you are doing your job correctly and the best of your ability, you are practicing what you know, just like them.