The Ol' Catch 22

[emeraldsky]

I am primarily using the study guides. Pretty comprehensive. I'm also reading and referring to the documents themselves, and researching anything I need more info or clarification on, so I can better understand concepts or find examples to help me remember. (like ways in which the Constitution can be/has been changed other than by amendments, history of impeachment attempts to see how the process has worked, examples of the implied powers clause...)

Btw, I think these tests will be much easier than the PRAXIS. More straight forward. So I'm not sweating them much.

I did buy the study guide from the PRAXIS website. The downloadable one. For the 0011 Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment test. Only about $20 something. I think I'd prefer the 0014 content exam personally. I feel confident in the subjects themselves. Get excited about everything from the writing process, reading instruction, math (highly recommend the Singapore Math curriculum, filled with strategies that help children improve their mental math skills and solve problems quicker), science concepts/projects, etc. The 011 exam required by WY is more on pedagogy. I'm brushing up on theories/theorists at the moment (fun, fun) like Hunter (direct instruction), Johnson & Johnson (cooperative learning), Holaday and Clay (literacy development), Piaget, Bloom's Taxonomy, that kind of stuff. Personally, I think those concepts are best demonstrated in the classroom. Their premise is you need to know the info before you can actually put it into practice, which I do understand. Just think teacher's should be tested in the content areas more so, and that the instructional part is more instinctive.

Awesome job on your successful PRAXIS exams. You are bringing a lot to the table whether you opt for a traditional classroom or special ed.

[wyolady]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Firstly, don't be so sure that you can readily find a teaching job. The folks that are already here with credentials and substitute teaching are way ahead of you. From what I see in the school district postings, there aren't a lot of openings for new teachers each year throughout the state's school districts. There isn't a lot of turnover, or retiring teachers.

Oh my - I too have to disagree with you sunsprit. Not only can a special ed teacher easily find openings every single year in the state of WY, they can often find an opening in the exact school district where they want to teach. At the beginning of the school year last August, there were still 10-15 Special Ed opening unfilled across the state.

Wyoming Job Vacancies (http://www.wsba-wy.org/teach.html - broken link)

And as for no retiring teachers, again I'm not sure where you get your data. In my school district alone in the next 5 years, 1/4 of our teachers are eligible for retirement, and in the next 5 years, 1/5 teachers across the state of WY will retire. One of the reasons the state legislature has allocated more money for teacher salaries in recent years - they were anticipating these mass retirements and wanted to know they'd be able to fill the vacancies.

University of Wyoming has a yearly teacher job fair that you might want to check out.

experience.com

Also keep in mind, many vacancies aren't even posted until summer when many teachers do their relocating, etc.

Good luck!

[emeraldsky]

Thank you wyolady! You made my day again.

Thanks for all the helpful info and encouragement for snowpuppy and myself, and all the future potential Wyoming teachers.

I think it is truly a privilege to work with children, and I look forward to helping each child I cross paths with reach their full potential. Sometimes just knowing someone is in your corner rooting for you (like a caring teacher who respects them and listens to them) is half the battle. I love working with children. And I love education. I can't wait to be a full time teacher...

[DessertRat]

Originally Posted by snowpuppy

What has us concerned though, is the "ol catch 22" somebody wrote about in another post. Moving to a new place only to find 1.) You need a job to get housing, but 2.) Can't get a job if you don't have a local address.

Neither of those are necessarily true. Of course, it's easier to get housing if you have a local job and easier to get a local job if you have local housing, but if both were true across the board, no one would ever be able to move to another area, period. And that's obviously not the case.

The thing to do is to start talking to potential employers however you can. If you can afford to do this other than email, do it (as email is the most difficult form of communication for this). Phone calls are better than email, and visiting is even better. Just start talking to and getting to know a lot of folks as best as you can. If they don't seem to be friendly, if they aren't helping, or if they seem to be offering discouragement instead, then forget about them and move on to others--the folks who aren't helping aren't speaking for everyone. Someone will end up helping and giving you a chance. You just have to find them. Think of it as being similar to finding a spouse--when you put yourself on the market, not everyone is going to be interested, and some folks will tell you that your case is hopeless. It's not. You just have to learn how to take rejection in stride and when someone isn't helping, leave them by the wayside. But make sure that you don't overlook anyone who is friendly and seems to want to or be able to help.

[snowpuppy]

Thanks Wyolady for the links and the vote of confidence! I agree wholeheartedly with Emeraldsky in that it's nice to have people in your corner encouraging you. I was wondering if WY had a teacher's job fair- a job fair is how I got my contract to teach up in AK. Great info! Thanks again!

DessertRat~ Thank you too for your comments. I agree...email isn't the best way to connect with future employers. So many companies these days post jobs and provide links to apply online, but they don't seem to look at the online applications as much as they would, say, an application brought in person. Distance is an issue right now for us...so I can't apply in person just yet, but I definitely understand what you are saying. Thanks!

[DessertRat]

Originally Posted by snowpuppy

Thanks Wyolady for the links and the vote of confidence! I agree wholeheartedly with Emeraldsky in that it's nice to have people in your corner encouraging you. I was wondering if WY had a teacher's job fair- a job fair is how I got my contract to teach up in AK. Great info! Thanks again!

DessertRat~ Thank you too for your comments. I agree...email isn't the best way to connect with future employers. So many companies these days post jobs and provide links to apply online, but they don't seem to look at the online applications as much as they would, say, an application brought in person. Distance is an issue right now for us...so I can't apply in person just yet, but I definitely understand what you are saying. Thanks!

Right, I'm not saying you have to do it in person, either--just that in order of preference (and consequently increasing difficulty as we go down the list) it would go:
(1) speaking with potential employers and (networking) contacts in person,
(2) speaking with the same on the telephone, and
(3) communicating with them via email.

(3) is still worthwhile if that's all one can do, it just takes a lot more work and a much larger volume of communication to try to achieve the same affect. In your situation (which is pretty much mine at the moment, too), you should work hard at (3) while trying to do (2) for carefully chosen candidates (since you can't afford to do (2) too much, probably, but you can probably afford it a bit), and if at all possible, work slowly on trying to save to at least visit the area for (1) in the future. One of the categories you should focus on for (2) is anyone who responded positively to email contact. If you approach your job hunt as if it's a job, and do it in a very systematic, organized and focused way, it should work.

[rural lady]

What are some of the eastern towns that are affordable to live in, and do you know the housing costs?

[wyoman]

Check out the western side of the bighorns. Smaller less populated and a fine place to live. Your chances for what your needs are right now will be better there then in a boom town area already overcrowded and over priced, less competition for skilled jobs such as yours also. Good luck!

[rural lady]

Thank you, the more information I rec from you wyoming's is great. I appreciate it.