Am I crazy? I want to be a teacher in Chicago

[thePR]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Maybe we need more good teachers in the bad schools?

What a nice thought if a teachers true intentions were to teach
not just the privileged but someone with a mind that needs a little extra
push

For the original poster i say go for it, wish there were more like you!

That's true. I enjoy the idea that Illinois has scholarships for education students but they have to teach in Chicago for a certain amount of years.

[MannheimMadman]

i'm not sure how it is now, but in 2009 when I graduated, there was a huge, huge glut of teachers. I bet you could put a two year moratorium on graduating education majors and you'd still have more than needed. Where I work, our shipping manager actually graduated with a degree in elementary education in 2005, and never found steady work. Her sister graduated this past summer without any offers either.

Having known many people who went to various schools for education as well, it seems all of the programs are fairly similar. Aside from Governer's State (which had a terrible education program as of 2009) I feel like the prep and classes you take are pretty much standard.

[dewthedru]

Originally Posted by edsg25

and i have no doubt from the tenor of your observation that you find it pretty sad that you even have to make it in the first place. i mean, this should be second nature, shouldn't it?

indeed. as someone that moved from outside this union-dominated area and now has a business relationship with one of the city's biggest unions, i'm stunned that the system has survived as long as it has.

having said that, i'm happy no one has turned this thread into union-bashing because through my interaction with my kids' CPS school, i also know that the vast majority of the teachers seem to genuinely care about their trade and are saddled with having to teach kids how to take the stupid NKLB tests. absurd.

BTW, you wouldn't believe some of the waste i have encountered because of decisions made decisions based on political influence and union rules. millions upon millions up in smoke. literally witnessing it first hand. and when i express my horror, i'm just told...that's how it is here in chicago.

[CoolSocks]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Maybe we need more good teachers in the bad schools?

What a nice thought if a teachers true intentions were to teach
not just the privileged but someone with a mind that needs a little extra
push

For the original poster i say go for it, wish there were more like you!

I agree and your comment reminds me of this movie-
YouTube - Freedom Writers - Movie Trailer

[CoolSocks]

Originally Posted by chet everett

You can make decent money w/o a masters.

I don't know the rules for teaching in California or Illinois, but I have some friends who are education majors and others who have just started teaching and according to them, in Michigan you have to earn a masters degree within five years of teaching.

[chet everett]

A well timed masters degree can help you be a better a teacher. Getting before you have achieved tenure is not the smartest plan. First off it makes you more expensive to hire and not really more valuable -- smart administrators prefer to hire teachers who are either inexpensive or solidly experienced.

Secondly the way pretty much all district contracts are structured the district will either directly assist you in paying for the masters or indirectly increase your salary as you complete credits toward a masters. In many cases working teachers get an incentive from the college offering the program too. Way pay full price for something that you don't have too?

Third, and really most importantly, if you earn a masters in education before you are tenured you run a very real risk of having earned a masters and not really being in a position to ensure that you will stick with teaching / education. If positions gets eliminated due to cutbacks the people with the least seniority have to leave, regardless of the fact that you may have a masters and they do not. If you get eliminated from a couple of different districts even if it is just for budget reasons, you really will have a hard time sticking with education. If downnthe road you need to switch fields the masters in education does no real good / could be a discouragement to other hiring managers (so, do you think you might. go back into teaching? Oh, just asking -- and inside thier head: last thing I need is have the flake leave and head back to the classroom...).


Fourthly, and this is something that is also a very pratical thing, is that the shortage of principals, administrators and specialized teachers means that earning a masters in those areas, PLUS having the experience of several years of paid classroom experience, makes you MUCH more valuable. If you want to broaden your abilities by specializing in an area with shortages you go from being a potential target for cutbacks to nearly "bulletproof" -- it is almost like the difference of a baseball manager having to decide between cutting an aging DH that used to be an outfielder or sticking with a player that has the rare talent to hit reasonably well and play a variety of infield positions. If you have get a reading specialist designation or ESL or special ed and have also taught a regular elementary classroom you will be in high demand for districts that know it is much easier to have a flexible person "in the line up" than some crusty old thing that complains if they have to so much as change the mimeographed worksheets they've been using since the Carter administration .
If you also have earned your supervision certificate and an opening for a principal or assistant superintendent becomes available you have the chance to have an impact far greater than a single classroom, and generally increase your take home pay considerably as well. I know from experience that good administrators have some traits of good teachers, but also have skills that are different. Some teachers are excellent when it comes to direct instruction of children but others have talent for helping other teachers understand change / growth. Just about no one coming right out of college is going to be good at that. With several years of classroom experience and appropriate graduate education courses those sorts of abilities might come through.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by CoolSocks

I don't know the rules for teaching in California or Illinois, but I have some friends who are education majors and others who have just started teaching and according to them, in Michigan you have to earn a masters degree within five years of teaching.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Isnt it hard to get a job anyplace these days
let alone a teaching job

Just curious are cps jobs plentiful?

If they are that would really surprise me

High turnover, especially at the high school level. But some at the elementary level too, I suppose because even though the kids aren't little reprobates by that age yet, the teachers get worn out being 10% teachers and 90% social workers.