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Bascially i would say for the next 15-20 years teachig is goig to go thru some difficult ties as a profession. The days of ncreasig salary is gone and the field is likely movbing to much more sompetttive field where different techers will make different salries based on need and skill in sellig that skill.
I am very glad that I'll be retiring in the not too distant future. They (adminstrators and legislators) are sucking the life out of this profession. To those promising young teachers who have entered the profession in recent years; I wish you the best and hope you have the tough hide to put up with all the silly political BS that has overtaken education.
I agree with you, Skoro. It has become political and legalistic.
New teachers should seriously consider private rather than public schools. Sure, right now the salaries and benifits are slightly lower, but those benifits and nice salaries in the public schools are getting gutted, and it is not going to get better. The result is going to be more affluent families sending kids to private school, and eventually private school teachers will be paid equal to or more than public.
And the job is better, because you dont have to deal with that many unruly kids or silly government mandates. You actually get to teach like a professional. Classrooms in private schools are allowed to be more creative and nuturing, with less worry about "teaching to the test".
Public schools, unfortunately, are going to become drab, institutional repositories for the disadvantaged, who have to sit through rote learning and testing as preparation for the low level workforce with few opportunities for the critical thinking skills that professionals need. They will be staffed by the least qualified teachers, with the least job security, with high turnover.
Private schools will be for affluent kids to learn critical thinking and creativity and develop into future professionals and entrepreneurs. They will be staffed by the most qualified teachers, with good job security, and low turnover, allowing community to build.
This will be TERRIBLE for America, because it will only solidify our class divisions. But this is the direction things are taking.
My husband has been a private school teacher for 6 years. Sure, he could make a few thousand more of salary right now if he went public (he is certified and has his Masters in his subject) but we decided this winter no way. With schools laying off, with the government BS he would have to deal with, with the total lack of creative control he would have over his program, with the bad kids he would have to teach, and with the lack of professionalism he would treated with, why would he leave private? With another Masters or PhD (he gets tutition remission at a local University as part of his benifits) and a few more years on the job he'll be making the 75-80K of a public school teacher. He is treated like a respected professional, and he has excellent job security. Why would he become a public school teacher?
Teaching is a great and rewarding profession. It is the teachers unions, bad teachers not being held accountable and fellow teachers that just don't care about educating their students that get you down. If you can ensure that you will be able to work in a charter school or district that gets good marks then go for it. If you have to settle for a district that will never improve because they don't have incentive to, that is highly political because of the union, and the bad teacher argument you will hate your career as a teacher. I paid my dues and it was rewarding but there is no way that I would go back to the district that I taught in. It was beyond horrible. My view is if you love a job, money is secondary and frankly I felt lucky to get the salary I did and have as much time off. Being in Corporate America, I don't have that luxury...I loved teaching, it was the environment that got to me.
I taught for five years back in the early-mid 90s.
I couldn't afford to stay any longer than that. If you're content living a minimalist lifestyle, always driving used cars and living in less-than-desirable neighborhoods, then teaching is a great way to get there.
Honestly, I did enjoy the teaching part. The pay sucks, despite what fervent corporate apologists calling themselves "tea party" people are trying their best to convince the general public.
In my time I've been a; sailor, window washer, worked in the oil fields of west texas, worked a dow chemical plant in south texas, worked a steel plant, been a bartender, salesman, worked in a chicken plant, glove factory, and worked more restaurants than I care to remember. I also have some ten years in as an elementary classroom teacher and now my fourth year in as a school librarian. I couldn't be happier.
Yes, I have problems. My little school is dying, school choice. My principle is a micro-manager and a control freak. My super is angry at my not getting along with the principle............and I wouldn't change a thing.
It just seems with all of the budget cuts and how politicians use teachers as their "soapbox" would make it hard for new college grads to go into teaching. There are those who are great teachers (myself included) are questioning if we made the right decision knowingly we as educators could have an even higher income and much more respect in other fields. The point that I am trying to get across is that the teaching profession with all of the clouded perceptions that we are "glorified babysiters" make the quality of this profession diminished to the eyes of college grads and younger teachers.
Both my parents are teachers from the UK. I most certainly would prefer not to get into teaching. I've noticed so many parents don't care about their children's education and I'd worry about implementing discipline in a classroom.
I wouldn't mind trying to impart knowledge and helping others gain understanding but teaching primary-highschool just seems very unattractive to me.
I am currently completing my student teaching to make the career switch from 5ish years in the IT consulting world to become a middle school math teacher.
I absolutely LOVE it.
Yes, there are an insane number of meetings. A ridiculous number of spreadsheets and crazy data statistics that need collected, analyzed, and manipulated. Politics and drama and whatever else. Kids bring drugs to school, parents sue the school, and things that I thought only happened on TV occur in the halls of my school.
At the same time though, I go home every. single. day. with a funny story, a smile on my face, or a bounce in my step from something a student said. There are periods during the day I want to rip my hair out, and others where I feel like I'm floating on a cloud. I never had those kinds of experiences in IT. I got paid twice as much as I'll make as a teacher, but I sat in front of a computer and manipulated spreadsheets all day and tested software. There were just as many meetings, just as much drama, just as many requests for data or statistics or progress reports. I'd work just as many hours, but for what? To save a company a few thousand dollars. I'd rather spend those energies teaching and mentoring teens.
Teaching's not glamorous, but it's a heck of a good fit for me, and I'm SO glad I was brave enough to make the switch. I've never for one second regretted it since I stepped foot into the classroom.
Originally posted by augusto29556 It just seems with all of the budget cuts and how politicians use teachers as their "soapbox" would make it hard for new college grads to go into teaching. There are those who are great teachers (myself included) are questioning if we made the right decision knowingly we as educators could have an even higher income and much more respect in other fields. The point that I am trying to get across is that the teaching profession with all of the clouded perceptions that we are "glorified babysiters" make the quality of this profession diminished to the eyes of college grads and younger teachers.
Many of my high school students cannot understand why I wanted to go into teaching. They say that teachers are disrespected, have mountains of work to do and they view the profession in general in a negative light. They give me this look like I'm a little crazy. Maybe I am. Those conversations are always fun, but at the same time I'm a little unsettled by it. We do need bright people teaching in the classroom, and my best and brightest students are the most opposed to being teachers. And frankly, with everything going on in the political arena and in public schools today, I can't blame them.
Personally, I don't mind my job. It's all right. But I can't recommend teaching to a college student, or even one of my own children.
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My view is if you love a job, money is secondary and frankly I felt lucky to get the salary I did and have as much time off. Being in Corporate America, I don't have that luxury...I loved teaching, it was the environment that got to me.
No, it isn't attractive...
