Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am certified to teach English Language Arts, 6-12 and will soon take the test to get certified in Special Ed as well. I have never worked as a teacher, and am looking forward to getting my first classroom.
As I studied for my exams, it occurred to me that those I really want to teach are the unidentified gifted--the kids who are really bright but who are underachievers for whatever reason. Kids like me (like I was). Kids with ADHD and they can't sit still for most of their classes or who live in such gang ridden neighborhoods that Shakespeare is just not going to sink in. Kids at risk for failure. Am I dreaming or is there a niche for me? Should I mention this in cover letters? How would the school board look upon such a request?
(I should mention that I already work as a parapro at a high school that has many of these types of kids--they're a bunch of little gangsters with their pants bagging down to their knees! All 2000 of them. )
My only advice is to be careful what you ask for. There is a lot more pressure as a teacher.
Sure and I know that, but there is a lot of pressure on a single mom trying to raise 2 DD's on a parapro paycheck too. And I work with enough teachers that I'm pretty sure i know what I'm getting into. I'm the TA that got knifed last year by one of the students and stayed on the job, so I don't think I'm a weenie.
You may be interested in teaching at an alternative school or juvenile detention facility. There are a surprising number of gifted youths in such circumstances.
Sure and I know that, but there is a lot of pressure on a single mom trying to raise 2 DD's on a parapro paycheck too. And I work with enough teachers that I'm pretty sure i know what I'm getting into. I'm the TA that got knifed last year by one of the students and stayed on the job, so I don't think I'm a weenie.
I'm sure you do.
My point is it becomes draining after a while. The lack of parent involvement, the pressure to improve test scores and the realization that you can't help/save everyone. Trust me physically I'm sure you're strong enough, but if you only are interested in the money then this is the wrong population for you. It is the emotional aspect I'm speaking of. I teach a very challenging population. It is hard not to become attached. Mind you I wouldn't trade my job, but it is draining. Of course you already know what you're getting into so don't worry about it.
You may be interested in teaching at an alternative school or juvenile detention facility. There are a surprising number of gifted youths in such circumstances.
...Plus, there are usually advertised job openings in these settings. Your SpEd credential will make you very marketable in such facilities.
Best of luck as a new teacher, stepka. Your experience as a TA will be invaluable. Those kids will be lucky to get someone who wants them!
My point is it becomes draining after a while. The lack of parent involvement, the pressure to improve test scores and the realization that you can't help/save everyone. Trust me physically I'm sure you're strong enough, but if you only are interested in the money then this is the wrong population for you. It is the emotional aspect I'm speaking of. I teach a very challenging population. It is hard not to become attached. Mind you I wouldn't trade my job, but it is draining. Of course you already know what you're getting into so don't worry about it.
Of course it can be draining and it sounds like you need a break--I mean that in the nicest way. Do you know the story of the boy on the beach who was throwing the starfish back into the ocean to save them and someone pointed out that he couldn't save them all, but he reminded the bystander that he could still save some of them? If we all stopped worrying about saving them all, and just did our part, we could save the world. And yet, I know what you mean--the girl who knifed me was a very low IQ girl of 16 who already had schizoid tendencies. She had intended to go after another student--one with ED, and that would have been so much worse emotionally for the student than it was for me--I was barely hurt, btw. Still, it broke my heart, because she was such a hard worker--to work so hard, and for so little gain--that just blew me away.
My advantage here is that I'm 50 yo and not burned out yet, and I have a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University, so I'm def not doing this for the money! If I don't get a teaching job soon, I'll have to go into business, and I just can't face that right now. Remind me later that I said this!
Maybe a KIPP charter school or one of the same ilk? Unlike some charters, the salary is typically equal to or above public school salaries in the same area, but you do have to put in extra hours in the classroom each day plus some Saturdays and a bit of time in the summer. People tend to have strong opinions on KIPP; however, it sounds like it might be something that would appeal to you. They used to focus mainly on middle school, but have been expanding to high school and elementary levels as well.
When you end up applying, I don't think you would necessarily need to express your desires in your cover letter, but rather might be able to address this more by where you submit your applications. Did you do a practicum and/or student teaching at the middle school/junior high level? Do you have a stronger inclination towards middle school or high school kids?
I would hope most teachers/schools would be able to identify an ADHD kid who is also gifted (just as they should be able to identify a dyslexic or dysgraphic student who is also gifted), so I don't know if I would include those in the "unidentified gifted" category. Have you considered getting an additional cert. in gifted education if that is offered in your state? Even schools in "gang ridden neighborhoods" typically have some type of gifted program, so that might be something that would work as well.
lhpartridge, that's a great idea about the alternative schools and juve facilities. I'll look into that.
Buffy, you raised some interesting questions, but I've never heard of KIPP. I'll look that up later when I'm not studying so hard for sped certification. Test on Jan. 9--yay! We do have a charter school here that has the longer hours so maybe it's the same thing, and I certainly don't mind working in inner city schools.
Here's the thing about my state though: we have no specific laws regarding the G/T kids, so it's always up to the school districts on how they want to handle it. I looked it up on our state website, and we don't even offer a praxis test for that--it seems to be somewhat lightly treated in the SpEd materials I'm studying right now. Well, I'll take your all's advice and direct my resumes at alternate facilities, and if I get a job at a normal district, maybe I can work my way in sideways.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
