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You don't mention the field your husband is certified to teach--and of course he is not certified in TX so that would be a hurdle to overcome in hiring process--
The only real vacancies except for when a district opns a new school (and many times there are teachers that are surplus at other schools that get first dibs on those jobs) are in areas like Special Education, and math, sometimes science specialities have quite a few openings and rarely foreign language and fields like art or drama...Most of the time elementary teachers, English and social studies teachers have GREAT difficulty getting jobs in districts that pay well...because those are the fields where many students graduate each year in TX alone...
In Tarrant county some districts now start new teachers off at 45+K a year--but there are not very big increases from year to year after that--it is like a bait and switch--while the first year seems pretty comprable to what a "real world" job would be--the pay raises are slim and teachers bear a LARGE portion of their insurance costs as another poster mentioned...I know some teachers who if their husbands did not have health insurance through their jobs--family would not be able to afford to buy it through the district...
The area around Denton is booming and housing is getting more expensive--but there is a softening in the market--Taxes in TX on property are higher than California--so that has to be factored into your monthly costs...thinkt is is difficult for family of 5 to live on 45K a year almost anywhere--
Teaching in TX is not something I would recommend to a college student looking for a vocation--and I am a retired teacher and have two children with teaching degrees--the state is becoming very Draconian in its demands for professional time/effort in the classroom and the money does not really compensate for that...going to merit pay as some legislators/districts seem to think will be an added incentive will just start to tear faculties apart--teachers will not want to teach any groups that they know will fail to measure up---
If you think that your husband will be not have ESL students in his classroom--I think he will still have the same type of student unless he teaches in a very affluent district--Denton has growing population of Hispanics--many illegal--and those kids sometimes are ESL students...smaller towns around there have same situation with lower socioeconomic families looking for cheaper housing...
Last edited by loves2read; 10-26-2007 at 07:57 AM..
loves2read - I did not know that about you and your family. My kudos and respect to you. I had the most wonderful, inspiring teachers and we are in constant contact 30 years later. We have a huge email network going between alumni and teachers and we are there for each other in times of joy and sadness.
thanks lakewooder--like to think that I made a different in some people's lives via teaching--I think it is the most under paid job in the US--considering the demands that are put upon teachers and the results that are expected---many teachers in my generation and the one after look at their jobs as more of a "calling" and are willing to put up with the weak pay and do the after-hours work needed to bring quality to the classroom--
but from what I saw of younger teachers--people under 30 usually--that work ethic is not there--most of them drop out into other fields or move to admin jobs which pay better and have more upside (although many of them also demand time after regular hours, have high expectations, and require dealing with hostile people)...
thanks lakewooder--like to think that I made a different in some people's lives via teaching--I think it is the most under paid job in the US--considering the demands that are put upon teachers and the results that are expected
My late dad was also a teacher and the demand of that job pales in comparison with the private sector that I've worked in (SW engineering) during the past 10 years.
Teaching has got to be one of the most underestimated and most difficult jobs out there. And it is definitely underpaid.
That info helps for sure! My husband mentioned that he heard Texas was switching to merit pay, but I didn't realize it's already happening. His teaching union in California is very strong, which is a bonus. My husbands current district pays over $900 a month to cover 100% of our medical/dental and vision. When we had both our children we didn't pay one cent. We've even heard that the teaching job market in southern california is getting more difficult because of all the transplants coming here for the pay and benefits teachers get.
I am also interested that the illegal population is growing in that area also. We were looking to move away from that. We know that it is happening everywhere, but here is has gotten to the point that billboards are all in spanish and some people are even get angry with my husband because he doesn't speak spanish.
Overall, it seems that most red states are not as kind to teachers as many blue states. Thanks again for your time and info!
no real unions as you know them in TX--professional organizations and most of them are weak if compared to a real union--
districts are not going to merit pay at this time--considering merit pay as bonus situation for improved test scores mainly--but it won't work--too many variables both in class composition in the same school/grade level, teaching styles vs learning styles, and other factors that can't be qualified--like how do you fairly test a teacher when s/he has had two students from same district moved into your class two days before TAKS testing--their scores will count with your classes' that you have had all year, no matter how poorly or how well they were taught or learned from their prior school...
Merit pay for standardized test scores will only create animosity between faculties when some people HAVE to teach more difficult situations like TAKS testing grades or students that have lots to make up in learing like ESL students...
it puts merit pay in the hands of the students and the people who do the statistics--not who should really be judging quality in the classroom, IMO...
Regarding illegal immigration--we too have billboards in Spanish but there are many Spanish-speaking people who were born in TX or other border states--they keep their language in the 2nd and 3rd generations more than almost any other nationality that has immigrated to the US--
from my study of English and what I know about American history--most immigrants WANTED to eradicate their home language in their children and grandchildren--saw it as a stigma of lower-social-status and being "outsiders"---so they sometimes forbade their children to speak anything but English as they grew older-
Not seeing that with Hispanics for the most part--they like their language and use it to insulate themselves from Anglo culture--
read report in newspaper today of Catholic school back east--like Mass or something--where they were forbidding the speaking of anything but English in the school grounds--spanish-speaking students were using it to bully/frighten other students and to denegrate teachers w/o getting into trouble...
some complaints about lack of free speech and racist--but I know that happens cause I have heard it--and I speak Spanish--kids don't always know that however..so they would take advantage of it until I called them on it...
so if you are anticipating getting away from Latin influences when you come to north TX you can forget that...will be getting more influx of Spanish-speaking in years to come--high birth rates of legals and illegals...and they feed into the low-paying jobs that TX economy needs--like construction, landscaping, food service, agricultural...chicken processing plants...
think they are here to stay...
We have Spanish billboards, Spanish daily newspapers, Spanish signs, Spanish commercials on English channels, the marquees in front of schools are in Spanish in many schools because they are 100% Hispanic, most of the workers in fast food places and other restaurants are Spanish speaking, housekeepers, lawn guys, tree trimmers, cable repair guys, day care workers, receptionists, country club workers, all Spanish speakers. Almost all lower rent apartment complexes are full of Spanish speakers. Dallas ISD is majority Hispanic, I believe.
Texas is a border state, too, just like California.
We have Spanish billboards, Spanish daily newspapers, Spanish signs, Spanish commercials on English channels , the marquees in front of schools are in Spanish in many schools because they are 100% Hispanic, most of the workers in fast food places and other restaurants are Spanish speaking, housekeepers, lawn guys, tree trimmers, cable repair guys, day care workers, receptionists, country club workers, all Spanish speakers. Almost all lower rent apartment complexes are full of Spanish speakers. Dallas ISD is majority Hispanic, I believe.
Texas is a border state, too, just like California.
Before I start... I'm really not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to state the way I see life in and around Dallas.
I have to ask though what English channels have Spanish commercials? Yes, there are Spanish commercials, but on my TV that is because they are on Spanish owned stations.
At the day cares I checked out for my own child they have a very diverse population of employees. The daycares have African American, Anglo, Hispanic, Indian, Asian care givers. Unless you are in the heavily populated areas where one culture is you won't generally find "all" of anything at the daycares. Or at least this has been my experience.
The last repair person I had was Anglo with tatoo's. I honestly have to say I've seen all races in this line of work.
As for fast food restaurants... yep, I see a lot of Hispanics. I'm happy to see that they have responsible jobs. I see far too many other races slacking off or not wanting to work at "fast food" joints because it isn't good enough for them. ( I personally only have a problem if they can't understand enough English to take my order... this is a management issue though.)
Yes, I agree we have a lot of Hispanics in the Dallas area but honestly does that really matter as long as they are responsible citizens and law abiding?
My thinking and I've always been this way (Anglo that I am) is that it doesn't matter what the race of a person is as long as they have integrity and are law abiding etc.
Now for the topic, can a teacher make it in Dallas,Texas? I have been an educator for 22 years. It hasn't always been easy. I'm now a single mom with little to no child support. I make it work. It is just a matter of juggling the pocket book and planning well. It sounds like you guys have your head on your shoulders and have the ability to make good choices for your family. I wish you the best and somehow feel that you guys will make it work wherever you live.
Before I start... I'm really not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to state the way I see life in and around Dallas.
I have to ask though what English channels have Spanish commercials? Yes, there are Spanish commercials, but on my TV that is because they are on Spanish owned stations.
At the day cares I checked out for my own child they have a very diverse population of employees. The daycares have African American, Anglo, Hispanic, Indian, Asian care givers. Unless you are in the heavily populated areas where one culture is you won't generally find "all" of anything at the daycares. Or at least this has been my experience.
The last repair person I had was Anglo with tatoo's. I honestly have to say I've seen all races in this line of work.
As for fast food restaurants... yep, I see a lot of Hispanics. I'm happy to see that they have responsible jobs. I see far too many other races slacking off or not wanting to work at "fast food" joints because it isn't good enough for them. ( I personally only have a problem if they can't understand enough English to take my order... this is a management issue though.)
Yes, I agree we have a lot of Hispanics in the Dallas area but honestly does that really matter as long as they are responsible citizens and law abiding?
My thinking and I've always been this way (Anglo that I am) is that it doesn't matter what the race of a person is as long as they have integrity and are law abiding etc.
I wasn't complaining about Hispanics at all. I don't even have issues with illegal Hispanics. I was just trying to illustrate that Dallas is heavily Hispanic, too, and if someone is escaping California because of the increasing Hispanic population, Texas may not be the answer.
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