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Hi fellow teachers,
Just curious to you find the job fulfilling enough both in work satisfaction and salary to continue or do you find in the near future to look for something else? I'm kind of on the fence right now and am not sure what to do. I'm 35 and teach high school math and have been for 10 years. Just curious what others think.
I am now permanently retired. I would not chose a career in education if I were starting out today, which is a crying shame because until about the last decade of my career I used to think there was no more rewarding profession on this Earth. I honestly don’t know how we manage to keep any of our young teachers. The stress and lack of respect coming at them from every angle is crippling. My experience as a classroom teacher is not theirs and I really feel for them. Unless they have been in the classroom in the last 5-10 years, teachers from my generation can not understand how truly different it is.
The next teacher shortage will not be able to be fixed with pay raises.
__________________
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I've got an honest question. Several threads lately have mentioned a "lack of respect." Where do you see that lack of respect coming from? I'll admit we're kind of out of the mainstream around here, but with very few exceptions, I can't think of many parents who don't have a lot of respect for teachers.
Now I do think there is significant lack of respect for the education system, for it's silly rules, and over emphasis on testing instead of learning, but I don't see that lack of respect carrying over to the teachers. It seems, at least around here, the teachers are respected for doing a good job in spite of a broken system, not for the system itself.
I've got an honest question. Several threads lately have mentioned a "lack of respect." Where do you see that lack of respect coming from? I'll admit we're kind of out of the mainstream around here, but with very few exceptions, I can't think of many parents who don't have a lot of respect for teachers.
Now I do think there is significant lack of respect for the education system, for it's silly rules, and over emphasis on testing instead of learning, but I don't see that lack of respect carrying over to the teachers. It seems, at least around here, the teachers are respected for doing a good job in spite of a broken system, not for the system itself.
In my personal experience?
-parents (not all, but the supportive ones were greatly outweighed by the overtly antagonistic and the passively unhelpful)
I feel varying levels of respect. Some comes from other colleagues/admin and some comes from students/parents. Sometimes it’s disrespect. Wish there was less workload and increased pay. The pay needs to be increased and we do need more respect and better working conditions.
I am now permanently retired. I would not chose a career in education if I were starting out today, which is a crying shame because until about the last decade of my career I used to think there was no more rewarding profession on this Earth. I honestly don’t know how we manage to keep any of our young teachers. The stress and lack of respect coming at them from every angle is crippling. My experience as a classroom teacher is not theirs and I really feel for them. Unless they have been in the classroom in the last 5-10 years, teachers from my generation can not understand how truly different it is.
The next teacher shortage will not be able to be fixed with pay raises.
That's where I am. I've mentioned my angst over Daughter 2 becoming a teacher. Daughter 1 sort of is, she does Books On Wheels for the County Library and visits pre-schools (where she tells stories), the jail where she does some adult education and nursing homes.
For the last bold I would put teaching at #2, below flying jets for the Navy. The last decade, or for me the last 5 or 6 years, was the breakpoint.
Hi fellow teachers,
Just curious to you find the job fulfilling enough both in work satisfaction and salary to continue or do you find in the near future to look for something else? I'm kind of on the fence right now and am not sure what to do. I'm 35 and teach high school math and have been for 10 years. Just curious what others think.
I took an early retirement in June at 55. Like you, I taught math as well working mostly at the middle school level for the past 24 years. Teaching was my second career and now I'm back to using my business degree and enjoying a much more flexible schedule. When I entered teaching the climate was considerably different and I enjoyed creating interesting and engaging lessons and materials that met the needs of my students. All that changed in 2002 with the NCLB testing movement. The last few years were just plain ridiculous with questionable data being used to justify expensive homogenous programs and often unrealistic objectives. Expectations were set for the use of common tests, quizzes, lessons, and materials. For me the salary had nothing to do with it. I had little say in what I was to do and every year some new program was adopted with the goal of increasing test scores. This went against what I believed was right for the students and I no longer wanted to be a part of it.
You are young. A math background is a valuable commodity in many employment fields. It may be worth exploring your options.
Hi fellow teachers,
Just curious to you find the job fulfilling enough both in work satisfaction and salary to continue or do you find in the near future to look for something else? I'm kind of on the fence right now and am not sure what to do. I'm 35 and teach high school math and have been for 10 years. Just curious what others think.
I’m not a teacher, but my niece is. She is currently going to school online for her masters in curriculum development well she teaches. The school is paying for it. Even if she has to remain a teacher for a while after she earns her masters, simply having the masters will bump her up to another level on the pay scale. If there something else you want to do that in the education field consider that you may be able to move to another part of education.
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