Why is there a negative attitude about Teaching?

[fratermus]

No disrespect intended.

B.N.: I didn't say that a 22yo is not a real teacher. My argument is with the fellow who suggested that those with teaching degrees were real teachers in a way that altcert folks with other degrees could never be.

I do not think that a 22yo/45yo automatically make better teachers. To say otherwise would be discriminatory and (more importantly) inaccurate and counterproductive.

[Chelito23]

I left the teaching profession recently. I decided to take a career in a new direction and it was the right decision for me. Here is my person analysis of the teaching field and why it isn't all it's cracked up to be...and why potential teachers should think very carefully before jumping on board.

The field is low paid by other professional standards and there is little respect or recognition beyond lip service for teachers or teaching. Educators are the scapegoats since there is minimal personal responsability nowadays.

Many teachers are the "save the world" type. They don't have experience dealing with the kind of students that are in their classes. They don't have the same background or come from the same place (mentally, physically, culturally) and this creates more barriers. Many teachers don't know how to separate being a mother from being a teacher...which takes on too much ownership of someone elses actions. There is too much feeling sorry for the kids and too little ough love. It is better for the child to cry once than for the village to cry forever...

Many red tape requirements and heavy paperwork loads are thought up by bureaucrats. They make no meaningful sense and waste teachers' time.

10 months of pay!!!! And don't buy into the, "you can spread it out over 12 months" line. If the police department was forced to take two months off for "vacation" but told they could just have their checks spread out throughout the year so they didn't go without pay, do you think they would be happy??? They call that furlough in other fields when employees are forced to take 2 days a month off without pay. The difference with education is you spend that unpaid vacation tme prepping and preparing for next year....so you will go into school 2 weeks before the kids and be there two weeks after...no pay...so in reality you might get one month off if you refuse to plan and make time for yourself. You still will have worked an extra month for "free".

Teaching is a burn out profession. Many people get stuck in a rut and can't quit because there is nothing else out there unless they go the administrative route. Therefore, many burnouts are unhappy and counting down for retirement.

It can also be lonely in a certain way, but I suppose it doesn't have to be.

Here is how education works: the most experienced teachers have seen all of the trends and fads come and go. They know what works. That knowledge comes with experience, not with a degree. Many districts jump on the band wagon of whatever the new thing is, and seasoned teachers are frankly tired of it since they have seen it before with another name and now it is being forced on them with more paperwork. It really isn't about the kids, it's about someone who bought into X program that doesn't even teach and now mandates it in the classroom. The districts therefore like the young, new hires who are energetic and haven't been around to be jaded and are all on board with the new trends. Also, they don't have to pay them as much.

Sure, education has it's rewards as well, but the negatives sometimes aren't spelled out. So weigh them against the pros and decide if it's right for you. If you aren't sure, try subbing for a year first.

[openedskittles]

In my high school, my two favorite teachers had come from a job on a citrus farm, and at an industrial facility. There were a handful who had been teachers their entire careers that I really liked as well.

However, there were a lot of really terrible teachers who had degrees in education. One of my roommates in college said his AP English class was nicknamed "AP Kindergarten" because the teacher did a bunch of things with the philosophy of teaching like she was taught in college, but failed to actually challenge the students to learn anything. Meanwhile, he had some kind of science teacher who had worked in the industry for years and from what I could tell, it was normal that his students pass the AP test.

You could come up with situations where someone with a degree was better or worse all day, but this is my point:
Saying you have a degree in something really doesn't make you better for it (unless it is technical like accounting or computer science.) Wanting to teach certainly can make a difference, but there are a lot of people who want to teach later in their careers, too. Having a degree in the actual subject, especially with industry experience, is going to make you more informed about the subject than a teaching degree, and you will be able to bring value to a classroom in a way a teaching degree alone would not.

Personally, if I had the option, I would send my kids to a school full of teachers with education degrees for elementary school, but would prefer people with real-world experience teach them in high school.

[loves2read]

if I had the option, I would send my grandchildren to schools where principals were in the classroom teaching at least half the time--same with any administrator--
and NO class has more than 20 students when the age is more than 12 and more than 15 when the age is under

[jarishtx]

Well, every career has its detractors. Many blame only teachers for the lack of achievement in their children, which is easy and takes the onerous burden off their backs. In fact, kids are only at school for about eight hours, while the other sixteen hours are the parents' responsibility. It is a complex issue, with no simple fix possible. I propose that we advocate a partnership with parents and the community. It is like a three-legged stool, in that it cannot stand if one leg doesn't do its part. The community needs to step up and do its part, like mentoring at-risk children and volunteering in schools. It is a long road, but the children are the reward! We cannot afford to lose any more kids to violence, drugs, despair, and prison. I teach because I love kids (in the right way!)!!!