must be nice the way you guys are talking. i’m a elementary teacher (not in texas) and am making 35k but will be getting a 5-8% pay cut soon. i got my bachelors, am currently getting my masters, and will be going on for a phd hopefully shortly after that. it’s a pretty nice job, but working with kids can believe it or not be pretty stressful. not so much b/c of what all can go wrong, but just always worrying about saying the right thing/not saying anything bad or hoping a bad word doesn’t somehow slip out while reading a book thinking one word is another.
also, there is a LOT to learn, but i actually find that if you’re comfortable in your situation in life, you’ll be a good teacher. when i was single, teaching was hard because i was not getting to bed very early, waking up late, kind of sad, and lacked motivation. that was a very bad combination for teaching. however, i’m a lot more set in life as i have a gf and we’ll be engaged soon, looking at a place to live, etc. so it’s easier for me to get more sleep/stay consistent.
you definitely have to be highly motivated, because while it seems like a cool thing standing around and lecturing all day long, believe me, some days you don’t want to talk that much. however, the nice thing w/ teaching is that if you really don’t feel like it for that lesson, you can pop a video in or something else. if you’re motivated though, that shouldn’t happen too often.
Overall i really enjoy teaching, but for a bachelors and masters only to have a pay cut off 35k, no, i do not believe you can say i’m overpaid. btw our state no longer has tenure, and i’m not sure how many other states do anymore. we remain in our position so long as our test scores are good (your “tenure” will depend on if your kids are having a good day on testing day). goodluck in your final decision.
Being a teacher entails many things that you don’t see in the classroom. Every week you have to develop a lesson plan and then submit them by Saturday night to be approved by the principal. Also you must enter grades every week online as well as keep a written record. You must have so many hours of teacher development every year or you lose your license. Where we live everyone has to be on after school committees and has to go to school functions. All of these items must be done on your own time. I would say in an average week she spend about 55 hours working.
I’m a recent college graduate that taught for 2 years and the bulk of the jobs I’m now applying for are teaching jobs or positions in University Housing and Residential Life.
I wouldn’t be opposed to teaching my whole life but I’m actually looking for employment to go for experience for a good couple of years before applying for a Doctorate in Education Leadership from some place like Stanford or Harvard. At Harvard if accepted its a completely free Doctorate fellowship. Then I’d hope to get a job either in an education office on way to Superintendent or preferably working in a boarding school or military academy as an administrator. Working at West Point would be a dream for me. Its one of the reasons I’m considering military (not the only) and if I don’t get any full time teaching position for next year I probably will push for military.
Honestly based on your first post you don’t need to go to school. Go somewhere and teach now. See if you like it. Especially if your goal is to travel you can teach in lots of countries without having a degree just because of where you are from (Western, English Speaking World). I’d advise you to do this. It’ll change your perspective, let you see the world, and be a good help at assessing where your real values are at.
I didn’t study teaching at all in school. I studied Architecture and then went into the Peace Corps. Was teaching in Samoa. I’m now applying predominately to private schools because they don’t always require certification. Yesterday I got my first interview which isn’t bad considering the school that called me, I sent an application to on Friday. But then the appeal to me of this private school is the out of class hours. Its a very small school that all classes are roundtable and the electives are chosen and administered by the teachers based on the teachers interests.
I used to teach and there are a lot of myths out there that are quickly dispelled once you actually do it. They have been addressed already, like the whole under-worked and overpaid myths. And has already been stated there are pros and cons just like most jobs. The biggest con for me were the parents, and it was a good number of them, who believed that they had no role to play in their child’s education and upbringing.
They expected the teachers to take over the job of not only teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, etc., but also discipline, manners, common sense. That was the biggest turnoff for me. I wanted to teach a particular subject matter and not spend most of the day socializing other peoples’ kids when their parents (usually parent, often grandparent) were not on the same page.
In other words: these parents helped to create an environment in which the teacher was seen as the bad guy, the enemy. I was in the inner city so maybe it is different in the 'burbs.
Where’d you get those numbers? Everything I’ve seen for Ontario teachers is starting around 46000-48000, and increase about 3000/year until you’re at around 80 000 after 11 years.[/quote]
This graph is a few years old. Unless salaries have drastically increased in the lasst 6 years though it gives a general indication of starting salaries
hmmn I did some time as a private tutor, but i liked science to much to stay out of the field, so i am working my way up accademic rungs.
I don’t know what its like in the US, but in the UK, private schools pay a lot better, and have smaller more managable classrooms, so if you feel like you could be a great teacher it can be pretty rewarding. On the other hand, in the Uk it must be at most 1/20 teachers who teaches in a school like that.
If you think you could be in that 1/20 then it could be great! also yo could emigrate to europe, in luxemberg and ireland teachers are highly paid!
It sounds like teaching in North America is far far different to what it is here.For example,one poster said he was tendering for a permanent job and is therefore putting in around 80 hours a week.In Ireland,after 3 years of full time teaching,the government is obliged to give you a CID(contract of indefinate duration)and is require to employ you.Therefore,the only reason you can really get fired is by a massive breach of the ethics of education,like boning a student or taking bribes or shit like that.
As someone who has done a lot of traveling and researched schools quite thoroughly for all the people and reports that say America schooling is so terrible and we have such high failure rates and whatnot. Its because here in America we expect our students to actually achieve a reasonable goal.
In lots of places that isn’t the case. In some cases its as low as 40% to pass as is the case in Ireland. Here in America you’re on probation sub 60% and two subjects sub 60% is detrimental to you moving on. Sure lots of places have higher pass rates but they expect far less from their students. Take New Zealand for example an A there is 100-80% while all the others are 10% increments which in turn puts a D at sub 50%. Here in America an A is 100-90% so failing is under a 60%.
So sure if you want to teach to make sure students get over the 40% mark to pass you’ll make a great teacher what with all the bad behavior and time for yourself.
Fuck over a 55% in Ireland is considered honour’s! What a joke. Barely learn half the content and you get praised.
Where’d you get those numbers? Everything I’ve seen for Ontario teachers is starting around 46000-48000, and increase about 3000/year until you’re at around 80 000 after 11 years.[/quote]
This graph is a few years old. Unless salaries have drastically increased in the lasst 6 years though it gives a general indication of starting salaries
Hmm I think it must’ve changed significantly then because I’ve seen recent pay scales that are definitely higher than that. Also there’s 4 ‘levels’ now, not just the 4 years or 6 years of education.
[quote]wigsa wrote:
I’d teach German and English or French.Teachers are overpaid and underworked.Many teachers who taught me in school and who now are my friends agree completely,I’ve seen it from a student’s point of view and they’ve seen it from a colleague’s point of view.[/quote]
Yea, see in America, teachers are the opposite of overpaid and underworked.[/quote]
Don’t get me started on American schools vs foreign…All the BS that schools are better in Asia, Europe, etc.
[quote]Enders Drift wrote:
As someone who has done a lot of traveling and researched schools quite thoroughly for all the people and reports that say America schooling is so terrible and we have such high failure rates and whatnot. Its because here in America we expect our students to actually achieve a reasonable goal.
In lots of places that isn’t the case. In some cases its as low as 40% to pass as is the case in Ireland. Here in America you’re on probation sub 60% and two subjects sub 60% is detrimental to you moving on. Sure lots of places have higher pass rates but they expect far less from their students. Take New Zealand for example an A there is 100-80% while all the others are 10% increments which in turn puts a D at sub 50%. Here in America an A is 100-90% so failing is under a 60%.
So sure if you want to teach to make sure students get over the 40% mark to pass you’ll make a great teacher what with all the bad behavior and time for yourself.
Fuck over a 55% in Ireland is considered honour’s! What a joke. Barely learn half the content and you get praised.[/quote]
I like teaching. If you’re in the States, try and get a job at a military academy or similar, where they give you a place to live, usually at little cost.