Opinions on Teaching?

[AGDee]

I'm not a teacher but several of my friends are and they have told me that the best route (here in Michigan) is to get a second bachelor's and not a Masters. The school districts here don't want to have to pay you what the teachers make with a Masters. You have to get 20 credits towards your Masters within 5 years to keep your certification in Michigan. If a district can get away with paying you only $34,000 a year at first instead of $60,000 a year, they will!

[PrettyGirl03]

I majored in business, and went back to schol to get a degree in education. I completed my student teaching, and now I want to work back in business.

For me, teaching is boring. It didn't challenge me much, and I dealt with a bunch of idiots who thought they knew something, but didn't know enough to figure out they actually had to do the work to get a grade for it.

A lot of my time was spent disciplining kids. The "good" kids were left to fight for themselves.

But check out the alternatives to a teaching degree. With a degree in Economics, you can teach business education. There may be a program that allows you to teach with a provisional certificate, while you take the necessary classes to complete education certification.

Your story may be different. Sme people love it, some people like it, some people hate it.

[PrettyGirl03]

Also to find out about your alternative routes to teaching, go to your state's department of education site.

Many alternative routes require that you complete some advanced level courses, even if you are teaching. They tend to be classes like instructional strategies, diversity in education, special needs and laws in education...basic courses that every teacher should know about.

However, should you choose to get a Master's, and not just certification, then you can delve into classes that will make you more marketable.

[adpiucf]

Some pvt. schools have a lot more relaxed standards than the public school systems and don't require all the certifications that public schools will require of teachers, let alone a BA in education-- for some a general BA is sufficient. Check around.

Good luck.

ETA: as far as my opinion on teaching a profession, you couldn't pay me enough...

[AchtungBaby80]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I'm not a teacher but several of my friends are and they have told me that the best route (here in Michigan) is to get a second bachelor's and not a Masters. The school districts here don't want to have to pay you what the teachers make with a Masters. You have to get 20 credits towards your Masters within 5 years to keep your certification in Michigan. If a district can get away with paying you only $34,000 a year at first instead of $60,000 a year, they will!

Yes, that's why it's a good idea to check with the state about exactly what the requirements are. In some states, you don't ever have to get a Master's. Here in Kentucky there's the same problem with schools not wanting to hire teachers with Master's degrees because they have to pay them more, but Kentucky requires that teachers get a Master's if they want to continue to hold their certification. That means that it's easier to get a job when you're fresh out of undergrad, but once you get your Master's, they pink slip you. I can't believe that teachers in Michigan make $60,000 with a Master's! Do you know what it is here? Well, if I started teaching right now, today, I'd be making around $33,000. And that's with a Master's degree and full certification. If you work for 20 years or so, you might make $60,000, but it takes a long time and probably more education.

[AGDee]

It's all about the unions up here. I have a friend who teaches in Kentucky and she was floored too. But, the average salary of the Detroit Public School District (who have been on strike for two weeks now) is over $70K.

Most do go on to get the Masters because they already have 20 credits toward it and with the Masters they get another raise. I believe the standard is Bachelor's +10 credits= raise, Bachelors + 20= raise, Masters=raise, Specialist = raise, PhD = raise. I know a lot who get the Specialist, but few who go for the PhD.

But yeah, it's all about the unions. (And, I don't think you could pay me enough to work in the Detroit Public Schools as a teacher.. most say they need hazard pay.. Suburban schools, sure, whole different ball game!)

[BetteDavisEyes]

Here in CA, there is a never-ending need for qualified credentialed teachers regardless of grade level.
The problem is that you'd have to work at some of the worst schools & the pay isn't that great in a lot of districts.

[orchid2]

There is so much valuable information here. Thank you to everybody that has contributed to this thread! I have been out of town for the past week so I apologize for not coming on here sooner.

I wish I had known about the Knowledge is Power program early in the summer... that's something I would have been interested in doing. I've also considered doing some substitute teaching to get "real life" classroom experience.

Thanks again for the wonderful suggestions and ideas!

[DeltAlum]

Mrs. DA is a former high school teacher. She loved teaching, but it was a tough job and long hours.

Slightly off the subject, you find some really interesting people teaching.

One of the analysts on our network is a former All American and professional football player (center).

He is probably 6'3" and around 250-275 lbs with a shaved head and FuManchu (I don't know how to spell that, obviously) mustache/beard.

I just found out that he teaches 4th grade.

The good news is that he's a really nice guy and one of those "gentle giants," but can you imagine what a little 4th grader must think the first time he/she meets the new teacher?

[CaliSA]

Originally Posted by AchtungBaby80

You can do what I did and get a Master's degree with initial teaching certification. A lot of colleges have programs for this now, and even though it's an "alternative certification" route, you end up with your Master's as well so it's nice. Check with the colleges you're interested in and see what their requirements are--most of the ones I contacted had restrictions on what specialty field you could enter. For example, I couldn't just choose to enter the English master's program, because I have a bachelor's in fashion merchandising. If you wanted to teach English, you had to have a degree in either English, journalism, or something related. It was the same with math, science, and social studies. If it just so happened that you were hell-bent on teaching something totally unrelated to your bachelor's, though, you could do that...but you'd have to take some more undergrad classes to compensate for your deficiency in that area.

A word of caution, though--make sure it's what you really, really want to do. And make sure you choose a subject area that you could actually find a job in, because as some others have mentioned, there's an oversupply of certified teachers for certain areas. Be aware that teaching is more of a lifestyle than a job--you don't put in your 8 or 9 hours and then leave. There's faculty meetings, parent-teacher conferences, professional development, and other "extra" responsibilities that will require your time. Those summers off that you hear so much about are usually spent doing professional development, and if you need to take a sick day, you still have to make sure you have all the sub plans ready. I knew all of this going in because I have family members in the school system, but one thing I wasn't prepared for was the school environment--mainly, how teachers really have to watch what they say and do, and often aren't supported by the administration when something goes wrong. Those are things you have to be prepared to deal with. I've often heard it said that teaching is a "calling"--you really have to be dedicated to pull it off, and I completely agree. That is why I am a claims analyst now instead of an educator. I'm not saying all this to put you off--by all means, if you've thought it through and truly believe that teaching is what you want to do, go for it! Many of the Master's programs for teaching are designed to take less than two years if you go full-time, and with some (like the one I went through) you are eligible to teach after you complete the first two education courses so you could be in the classroom in a relatively short time span. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you choose to do.

Well said Achtung. I'd also like to add that even if teaching seems like a calling, the non-stop administrative micro management, the standardized tests, the apathy, the illegal activities (in high school), the lack of resources, the constant knocks (when kids have a bad day, they make the period all the more difficult to reach), and the generally questionable district-wide approaches to learning = desire to move out of the classroom. It's worth a try but even the most well-meaning teacher might find that the field is just not what she had hoped it would be.

BTW....I feel so guilty when I think about the mission of public education and my good students. As much as I think about continuing on "for the children" it's like punishment round 2. Nevertheless, for the right person, this career can be amazing. Go in with an open mind but expect all the stereotypes about public education to be more true than you ever imagined.

[RioLambdaAlum]

My advice...never work at Head Start....or at least in Lima, OH unless you want to go insane by the people they allow to be supervisors.

[HeavenslilAngel]

75% of my family (immediate and extended) are in the education field. Teaching is great. Go for it! But I refuse to follow my family's footsteps. I am kid-less right now and therefore my philosophy on kids is "The best kind of kids are the ones that aren't yours". You can get your "kid-fix" and then give them back