Why can't I do this? (2014, work, salary, 100,000)

[Nlambert]

I think a lot of the other responses are spot on. You have the book knowledge to do the job, but that's only a small part of the whole package needed. Teaching is a tough profession and you really do need people skills to succeed. From what I read it sounds like you don't like people, and you want to follow someone else. A teacher needs to figure out how to get along in a social environment and to be a leader in the classroom.

If you really want to teach, I'd consider working on those things with the counselor to try and figure out how to get over those hurdles. If you do, you may be able to land something promising down the road. Good luck either way! Hope it works out.

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Once again spreading ****, I see.

Yes, a Master's make teachers more expensive.
Yes, most school systems shy away from hiring first year teachers with them if there are candidates without them.
Yes, most states require a Master's to continue teaching after the expiration of the original certification.

Yes, you continue to give bad advice. I knew you'd be here spreading it, too.

In all due respects you brought this up in another thread and you were told by a number of posters on this board that various states do ask for a masters.

The world does not revolve around Maryland. I'm sorry but I do see jobs posted all the time for a masters preferred and experience preferred so it is therefore then equal.

Show me the jobs on schoolspring of which you are referring to.

Besides most systems at least here in the northeast want teachers to enter a graduate program while working and give them six years to complete. By coming already in with one that lowers the financing of it and thus you can sell someone on a lower rate, not a higher. If you expect someone has to earn a masters in six years you have to pay them more to compensate for that.

Just as in Mass you have to have a license to teach. If you don't have one you usually cannot get hired, it is that simple. I knew of one teacher they allowed to teach provided she could pass. She failed it repeatedly to the point where she had one last chance. Fail and get fired. She passed. Why would a district want to lower standards and have to have people jump though hoops when it is already done. Can they be more expensive? Sure but under what time frames? If you took finance you would know that $1 today is worth more then $1 tomorrow. With that being the case with the cost of inflation it can be better to ask for more now.What is the cost of a masters degree prorated for the next six years.. then remember that not everyone passes so what if they do not? Paying extra for a degree and then they don't complete it.

In Mass we fund education and I already posted specifically that other states spend more than Maryland. No one complains about the cost of public ed or education in general in Mass. There's public, private, charter and religious schools that generally all want professional teachers.

[horsechick71]

Maybe your just not meant to be a teacher. IF your student teacher's told you that you look like you don't want to be there maybe take that to heart.

[timberline742]

Why would someone who isn't a people person go into a profession where is all about interacting with people. All day, every day. Does not compute at all.

Surely the allure of "summers off" isn't that great.

[krmb]

Originally Posted by mdovell

"I just majored in ESOL for my master's."

Earlier you said you had a MED and now it's a masters in ESOL...those are two different things so which is it?

ESOL in case some do not know is English as a second language. This differs from a MED.

If you want to become a principle or superintendent you pretty much need a MED. Contrary to what was some said earlier no a masters doesn't make you more expensive as many states require a masters just as many school districts do. ESOL on the other hand mostly targets urban areas and overseas.

If you want to go overseas and teach English I'd say you are easily qualified by your background. See ESLcafe.com

If you want to teach a subject frankly it depends in terms of what you want. I don't know how your state does it but in Mass we have various tests depending on grade level and subject usually separated into primary and secondary. Naturally there's more specific subject in secondary. Early education is very hard to get into as is special education because there are more tests to take. There's two basics for everyone to take in addition to the subject. The trends I tend to see is subjects end up being combined. So you might see English and Social studies or you might see Math and maybe even gym class. But more importantly it generally assumed that you majored in the subjects that you are teaching. So if you are a math major you teach math, if you are history major you teach history etc. Majoring in education does not specifically teach the subject matter. So if you have a MED I don't specifically see how you can teach biology because then that would just reduce it to reading the teacher textbooks and frankly anyone can do that. Knowing how to teach is fine but frankly I personally believe that the ability to teach these days is made much easier with technologies. If you do not know the subject it can be much harder when more specific questions are answered.

It is like the old business issue of if you run a guitar store and want to hire help.

do you hire a salesman and teach him about guitars
or
do you hire someone that knows guitars and teach him to be a salesman?

Maybe look towards urban areas or higher ed.

Okay, I guess my initial post was confusing. At the college I attend, ESOL is described as a concentration that is part of an MED. I guess it is just a difference in how things are named, though. I'm registered as pursuing an MED with a concentration in ESOL; it is not a just a general Education MED. I hope that clears things up a little.

[mdovell]

That makes more sense now. I ask because I know people with MED's and I know institutions that have a specific masters degree of just ESOL.

It might make a difference in terms of applying if you put a concentration down or not. I have a concentration on my undergraduate degree and a ESL certificate. It it doesn't apply to it then I won't put that down on a resume. Just as with cover letters you cater it to them to make sure it reads to them.

If you want to teach English in other countries you can easily qualify for China, probably Korea. Japan has what is called the Jet program. That in itself is a big market. Domestically I would say small to midsize cities.

[thedwightguy]

Originally Posted by kmb501

I'm a straight A student in the master's program for Education, and I've only been able to find work as a substitute teacher! I've gone to several interviews and failed the interview questions miserably, because the questions were actually geared toward people who actually have classroom teaching experience. I feel lost in the classroom, but I tell myself it is because I haven't worked there. Everything I've been trained and taught to do I do well. Substitute teaching, though, the only paying job that has been offered to me, is killing my enthusiasm for the whole profession. I'm so tired of failing. Why can't I do anything right?

Although I've been able to go to school and make good grades, I haven't been able to hold down a job, any job. I was fired from my position as a food service worker before I started college; I was unable to find anything in work-study, even though plenty of people were hiring, and now, even with almost a master's degree, I struggle to find a job that will actually pay anything. What on earth am I doing wrong? Why is it so hard for me to find work? To put this into perspective, I know someone who has no college education and an okay personality but suffers from bi-polar disorder, and she has an easier time finding paying work than I do. What is wrong? I didn't do all of this work to sit around unemployed my entire life. I have dreams and aspirations, too. Why can't I find a path toward fulfilling them?

I had a friend double major Political Science and History, do his practicum, and then flounder.
It turns out he had a phobia of dealing with people, and crowds. One on one was great.
In 1980 I suggested he get into this telemarketing idea just starting, because we talked on the phone a lot.
Turned six figures by 1990.

Straight A's are fine but they seem to belong to introverts and those that spend all their time studying.
You're still young enough and the teacher hiring curve is booming right now. Get on finding out what your barriers are fast, as other posters have suggested.

[krmb]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Why would someone who isn't a people person go into a profession where is all about interacting with people. All day, every day. Does not compute at all.

Surely the allure of "summers off" isn't that great.

You haven't read my other posts on this subject. I majored in Education initially, because I thought that learning how to teach would bring me out of my shell. I made a lot more progress with communication and comfort level around people than I did before I started the program, for sure, and it gave me confidence. I only discovered that my people skills were still not on par with the gregarious people who usually become teachers when I actually entered the classroom and had to deal with not only picky students but mentor teachers who weren't willing to give me the benefit of a doubt. Student teaching was scary and frustrating. Substitute teaching is boring to unbearable, depending on the groups I work with; I'm either ignored or tormented, depending on the age group. Tutoring is okay, though. It's easier to work with individuals than large groups, especially when the students are young and easily distracted. I've also never had a problem with adult learners, because if they don't understand something, they ask. Kids just assume you don't know what you're talking about and go do their own thing, big difference.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by kmb501

I guess that seems like common sense to other people, but I'm really still trying to figure some of this out. I guess I'm just not used to interacting with a lot with people I'm not already familiar with.

Reading this makes me wonder why it is that you want to be a teacher. Teachers would need to be outgoing and motivated. Teachers would want to take an active role in the process and not wait for someone to tell them what to do. Reading your posts and I do not see what I would want in a teacher.

You either need to change or think of another plan for your future.

[krmb]

In response to most of your feedback:

I've noticed that the really good teachers do certain things. It's like they all follow some kind of script, but when I ask for a copy of it, they just give me a confused look. It makes sense that if they all do the same thing, though, they had to have learned it somewhere. I think if I understood the script, that would be a start. For example, "tell interesting story here after this activity." It all seems very deliberate and goes way beyond the basic elements of a lesson plan, yet when I ask them to tell me what they do here or there, they just tell me that, "their style doesn't work for all teachers." The conversation usually ends there. I've also noticed, though, that I don't pay attention to everything going on in the classroom. I can really only pay attention to a few things at a time. For example, if I'm trying to adjust the LCD projector, I may need to take an eye off of the class for a few minutes. Add to this, I have a very hard time matching faces with names. I have to re-learn a name several times before I remember it. I find it very difficult to keep track of students in the classroom and also difficult to prevent misbehavior. If I call "Joey," when I mean "Bob," I've lost competence in the eyes of the students and they know they can take advantage of me.

As a substitute teacher, to my knowledge, I do not have access to any free professional development training and would actually have to pay for training at seminars that are open to the public. I've gotten some limited professional development CEUs from the state, but they are mostly online courses and do not provide an opportunity to interact with a group of students or peers in a classroom setting. I found them helpful nonetheless, but they weren't the magic bullet that would solve all of my teaching woes. I'm still searching for that.

Volunteering with various educational outreaches is a chance to get more productive experience working with students. Sometimes I try to tutor subjects that are out of my field of expertise, though. I guess it's my responsibility to be well-read and thoroughly practiced on a subject, though. Maybe I've just been a bit lazy in this respect. Perhaps I could learn a lot if I signed up with local organizations that offer free tutoring. I tell myself that I know enough to charge for my services, but maybe I'm going about this the wrong way by not taking advantage of community networking opportunities. I don't mean to seem hypocritical, though, and charging for a service that I also offer for free seems a bit out of place.

As for public speaking, to be honest, I haven't taken the time to see what is available here. I've thought about joining Toastmasters again, but I really wish a few teachers could get together and work on presentations. I've found that my classmates are capable of a lot, and some of them, especially the ones who already have their own classrooms, are really the best ones to learn from. I haven't had enough confidence to suggest this, though, and I imagine that successful teachers have better things to do than to sit around and share their secrets with eager teachers-in-training who may try to take their jobs from them. Part of my confusion is decoding the common core standards into a workable lesson plan that fits my personality. I like using technology and bells and whistles and scripts to compensate for my limited communication skills.

Substitute teaching is especially frustrating, because I have to pretty much become a different person. I don't talk much; the students usually claim that they don't even understand what I'm saying, odd. The burden to communicate with a lot more than just my voice is a major disadvantage, especially since I'm not allowed to use technology to engage the students and compensate for what I seem to lack in inherent ability to be entertaining. I'm lost on a whiteboard, and I know I can't organize the kids for a game or fun activity, mostly because they don't seem to trust me, and the feeling is mutual.