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I will have a degree in elementary education a year from now. I am a male in my mid 40s starting a second career. I have subbed in a K-4 grade setting for about four years and love it. However, at times since going back to school I paused to think whether starting a career in education at my age was a good idea. By the time I'm in my 50s I would have been teaching only about 10 years. True that may seem like forever these days, but it isn't. I would like to continue teaching elementary level well into my 60s, God willing. However, by then people at that age will be retiring and I will want to stick around. Does this seem strange to anyone? I regret not having entered the profession before now. But as some may say, better late than never.
No, it isn't strange at all. I don't think people should just retire because they are a certain age, and you will be in a career you love...so go for it. There are alot of us changing our careers like you.
As a teacher in his mid 30s I say you will be fine. I am a bit burnt out but more so because of the school I teach at. I have toyed with the idea of my own career change. Not sure yet. PM me with more specific questions.
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If I was in charge, I would make a law that says nobody younger than 40 could become a teacher. I want to see teachers that have real life experiences in the real world to help them teach.
I have a real problem with kids that go from highschool, to college, straight to being a teacher. They have never been in the outside world to see what it's really like. They can only teach what somebody else has written in a book. How can they prepare a child for the real world when they have never been there themselves? They don't have any real experience to draw upon. Forty years of life beats four years of college any day.
For those that fit this description, and are about to throw a hissy, look at what it says under my name in the top left corner. I will counter anything you have to say with, "Up yours. I have underwear older than you".
Doesn't sound strange at all from a parents viewpoint! My son's 3rd grade teacher was a man who retired from the military then became a teacher, initially job-sharing with another teacher then he got his own class (full time) when he was close to 50. He was a wonderful teacher by far the best elementary teacher either of my kids ever had! My son is in middle school now and had to write a paper last year on someone who made a difference in his life, and he wote about this teacher.
I hope you have a wonderful and long teaching career!
I had my children late and by the time they were in elementary school I was forty and ready to go back to teaching. I started on my 40th birthday and taught until I was 66. i loved every minute of it. It kept me young too.
South Range Family ~ unfortunately, where I am, the thinking is the exact opposite. School boards around here will hire NO ONE but student teachers, who are 22, for full-time postions (on the slim chance there are any openings at all). A school district about two hours away hired 45 new grads this year- no one with more than a year of teaching experience. Needless to say, I am reading that it has been an interesting year so far. We shall see how PSSA goes.
I agree. Teaching requires skills that are not measured by a single test. I have only gotten better with age and experience, as with most things in life. I do not understand the whole "you need to be 20 to be hired" mentality, other than they think they are getting a financial bargain. Sad, really. My best teachers were those who had much to offer from their long, interesting lives.
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