Opinions on Teaching?

BobbyTheDon · #1 09-07-2006, 02:40 PM

Hey, I'm not a teacher but one of my good friends is one. Check this out. Her and I were the same major in college (marketing). Then our last year she tells me, " oh my god bobby, i dont want to to this crap" and changes her major to liberal studies. Gee.now I'm a drug dealer. I deal cocain to the likes of Robert Downy Jr., Charlie Sheen, Dave Shula, Barry Bonds and Enrique Iglesias. While she is a pre school teacher and she LOVES it.

I never thought she'd be the kind of chick who would like kids, but apparently she does. She was telling me about their lesson planned as if I cared. I just went, " uh huh, yah. uh huh oh ok cool". But it floats her boat.

Don't worry about changing careers. You're young I assume. You sound like you like kids. So go for it.

Still BLUTANG · #2 09-07-2006, 03:53 PM

i am NOT a teacher so take my advice with a grain of salt.

most states have Alternative Licensure programs to get non-educators into teaching. check with your state department of education to see what you qualify for.

you can also look at your county or city's school district job openings to see if there are any opportunities available for you BEFORE going to school pursuing a masters. if you can get your foot in the door, maybe they'll pay for you to continue education?

you have a college degree and experience with kids, so it sounds like you're on the right track!

Good luck!

KillarneyRose · #3 09-07-2006, 09:59 PM

Hi Orchid,
I'm not a teacher, but I thought I'd chime in with my two cents worth!

I think you should go for it if you really want to go back to grad school for education. You're young, you don't have a family yet- the timing is never going to be better to go back to school. If you don't, five or ten years will go by and you'll regret not going in the direction you really want to.

Good luck!!!

PS What stage is your husband in in flight school? Does he know what aircraft he'll be flying?

DolphinChicaDDD · #4 09-07-2006, 10:08 PM

I am a teacher. My advice is if you are going to get a degree, don't get one in elementary ed. Elementary ed teachers are one of the few areas where most places have a supply rather than a demand. It is difficult in most parts of the country. I would say go with special ed instead of elementary. You can still work with younger children, but you'll be much more in demand.

As far as alternate routes go, they are great programs. BUT if your husband is in the military, then I'm going to assume that you will be moving around alot. I got my license through an alternate route program and now I'm trying to move to Hawai'i, and because I don't have 3 years of experience, Hawai'i won't recognize my license. Other states have the same requirements. It would be much better if you got the masters in education, because then it is much more easy for you to get licenses in other states. Right now, it looks like I'll have to apply to UH for yet another year long program in education, Le Sigh. And if I went with my orginal plan of getting a masters in education instead of envrionmental science, I wouldn't have any of these problems.

I love teaching. I truly do. There are many down sides to it, but at the end of the day I love my job. It doesn't feel like a job. I have fun almost every day. I was out of school a year before I realized it was what I really wanted to do.

Teach for America is a pretty competetive program, and it isn't in every community either.

hannahgirl · #5 09-07-2006, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DolphinChicaDDD

I am a teacher. My advice is if you are going to get a degree, don't get one in elementary ed. Elementary ed teachers are one of the few areas where most places have a supply rather than a demand. It is difficult in most parts of the country. I would say go with special ed instead of elementary. You can still work with younger children, but you'll be much more in demand.

I love teaching. I truly do. There are many down sides to it, but at the end of the day I love my job. It doesn't feel like a job. I have fun almost every day. I was out of school a year before I realized it was what I really wanted to do.

Amen to what she says! I myself am an early childhood teacher and I just started my 3rd year of subbing in Ohio. Let me tell you....Ohio is not the place to be if you are in my shoes. Go to NC, VA, MD, FL, GA, or Las Vegas. They are always in need of teachers. Thankfully I have been kept very busy and had 2 long term positions last year (3rd and Kindergarten) and just started another this year (4th grade), but there is a big difference in having a classroom and having your OWN classroom.

The smartest thing that anyone can do is the following.....if you want to get your degree in Early Childhood, tack on a Special Ed degree also! If I would have known that 5 years ago....I probably would have done it and I would have a job by now!

MJo19 · #6 09-07-2006, 11:04 PM

I am a teacher and I am in the exact same boat as Hannahgirl in Ohio. This year I'm teaching middle school art and doing some reading speciality work too..with my early childhood license. I agree with the special education thing. This is the "hot" field right now, along with math and science education. Good luck though with whatever you decide to do.

kdonline · #7 09-07-2006, 11:12 PM

I got my bachelor's degree in Journalism. Then I decided I wanted to "save the world" and teach. When I called the Univ. of Miami to find out what classes I needed, the advisor said, "Why don't you just get your master's degree? It's more classes, but it'll be worth it."

And so I did. And I saved a few lives (educationally speaking) in the 10 years I taught.

KSigkid · #8 09-08-2006, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DolphinChicaDDD

I am a teacher. My advice is if you are going to get a degree, don't get one in elementary ed. Elementary ed teachers are one of the few areas where most places have a supply rather than a demand. It is difficult in most parts of the country. I would say go with special ed instead of elementary. You can still work with younger children, but you'll be much more in demand.

But only go into Special Ed if you really want to; those classrooms can be extremely challenging, not only because of the students but because of parents' attitudes and, in some areas, lack of adequate resources. If you go into it without a real interest, you could burn out rather quickly.

(two relatives who work with special ed. students, one an administrator)

LaneSig · #9 09-08-2006, 05:29 PM

Orchid -

I was in hotel management for 5 years and absolutely hated it. My brothers and sister were teachers and I really enjoyed visiting their classrooms and helping out. Like kdonline, I went to University of Memphis to ask what classes I needed to take - they had a Master's program in curriculum and instruction that fit my needs (my undergrad is in Political Science). I taught elementary for 9 years and switched to middle school last year. If you can specialize in an area, it helps, too. I can teach reading, history, and English as a Second Language up to 8th grade. Look into ESL. It is being needed more and more due to the amount of immigrants into school systems. (And if you are moving to Texas, we have a shortage of elementary, ESL at all levels, and just about everything else you can imagine.)
With your gymnastics, a lot of middle and high schools would kill to have you as a cheerleading sponsor.

And, I still love teaching. Some of the kids will be rotten. Some of the parents will be crazy (literally). But, most of the kids and parents are great. And, a plus, if you are at a school you end up not liking, you can always transfer to another school or district.

LaneSig

AchtungBaby80 · #10 09-09-2006, 02:01 PM

You can do what I did and get a Master's degree with initial teaching certification. A lot of colleges have programs for this now, and even though it's an "alternative certification" route, you end up with your Master's as well so it's nice. Check with the colleges you're interested in and see what their requirements are--most of the ones I contacted had restrictions on what specialty field you could enter. For example, I couldn't just choose to enter the English master's program, because I have a bachelor's in fashion merchandising. If you wanted to teach English, you had to have a degree in either English, journalism, or something related. It was the same with math, science, and social studies. If it just so happened that you were hell-bent on teaching something totally unrelated to your bachelor's, though, you could do that...but you'd have to take some more undergrad classes to compensate for your deficiency in that area.

A word of caution, though--make sure it's what you really, really want to do. And make sure you choose a subject area that you could actually find a job in, because as some others have mentioned, there's an oversupply of certified teachers for certain areas. Be aware that teaching is more of a lifestyle than a job--you don't put in your 8 or 9 hours and then leave. There's faculty meetings, parent-teacher conferences, professional development, and other "extra" responsibilities that will require your time. Those summers off that you hear so much about are usually spent doing professional development, and if you need to take a sick day, you still have to make sure you have all the sub plans ready. I knew all of this going in because I have family members in the school system, but one thing I wasn't prepared for was the school environment--mainly, how teachers really have to watch what they say and do, and often aren't supported by the administration when something goes wrong. Those are things you have to be prepared to deal with. I've often heard it said that teaching is a "calling"--you really have to be dedicated to pull it off, and I completely agree. That is why I am a claims analyst now instead of an educator.

I'm not saying all this to put you off--by all means, if you've thought it through and truly believe that teaching is what you want to do, go for it! Many of the Master's programs for teaching are designed to take less than two years if you go full-time, and with some (like the one I went through) you are eligible to teach after you complete the first two education courses so you could be in the classroom in a relatively short time span. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you choose to do.