Would it be worth it to become a public school teacher in the US?

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by rabbit33

It's not a bunch of sweet little kids sitting quietly and raising their hands. You can expect every classroom to have one drooler, one screamer, one fighter at least.

I was courteous enough to save my teachers a bit of resource diffusion by being all three by myself.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by MrDee12345

I'm an American who currently teaches at an international school in Malaysia.

In a few years, there's a good chance I'll be moving back to the US and I've started the process of getting a teaching license in my native Massachusetts. Generally speaking, I'm open to teaching in MA, NH, RI, CT or Upstate NY.

Simply put, would it be worth it teach in a public school in those places (or other states)? I was just talking to a friend of my who had worked at a public school in a Boston exurb and she was telling me about the petty things that a teacher can be reprimanded for. Apparently, at least according to her, she said it was (she has since left the profession) to even discipline any students and local schools are at the mercy of parental complaints. She also complained that teachers always seem to be teaching towards tests, and that took away the joy of education for her.

Is what she is saying true? Would teaching students back in the States really be that unpleasant?

At our international school, we do follow a curriculum, but we also have some freedom. I can deal with unruly students in ways I see fit (and within reason, of course) and I do find considerable joy teaching from day to day.

Will I still have that joy if I come back home to teach?

My mother and sister were public elementary school teachers in the US. My mother taught 30 years in San Francisco and sister about the same in Dallas.

I spent 23 years teaching ESL p/t at universities in Japan. I taught on ave. 28 weeks a year. The pay was decent enough, the work easy and I was pretty much left alone.

However, it was the fantastic paid vacation which kept me there. After each semester I would get a 10 week holiday and return to the US.

I would have never lasted teaching in an inner city US public school. Too much micromanaging by the administration.

Give me the name list of the students in my class and then leave me alone. That's the way I liked it

[john3232]

But to answer the question: Is it worth becoming a US public school teacher

Ans: All depends on where you teach.