<p>If any of you parents are K-12 teachers, could you please offer advice? My 11th grade D has been very interested in becoming a teacher for a while now, and I think she probably has a good personality for it. She is not sure if she wants to teach younger kids or teach some math or science in the upper grades.</p>
<p>How do you like your profession? Is it rewarding? How are the job opportunities? Do you advise job-seeking with a bachelors degree, or going for the masters? Is there anything she could do to optimize her opportunities?</p>
<p>I'm a former middle school teacher. I'd suggest that your daughter find work in an after school program (if feasible) or go after a job this summer in a program that works with school age children. That way she can see if she enjoys dealing with children on a daily basis and what age group she likes the best.</p>
<p>Math and science teachers 6-12 are in shorter supply than early-ed teachers. I got my first job with just a BA, but that does vary by state. Having your masters increases your pay drastically (at least where I've taught).</p>
<p>My job is rewarding, demanding, frustrating, impossible, political, terrific, stressful and high-pressured. I teach kindergarten. Most of my kids come from extremely low-income families and their parents are often very young and very uneducated. Most have very unstable home lives, and almost all have had a parent or relative in jail or in a gang or doing drugs or mentally ill or all four, and most have moved several times in their short lives and move in or out of relatives homes as the rents become due or as family relationships stress and change. When you see my cute little darlings, you can't imagine their back stories (some just absolutely awful), and you probably are thinking right now that I am exaggerating. On top of my little ones deprived childhoods, they lack language and coping skills and communication skills and they haven't been taught how to behave nicely and they are expected to pass the same high-stakes tests as the kids in the upper-middle-class neighborhoods. And if they don't, it's obvious that it is the teacher's fault (MY FAULT) for having low expectations - and we all read about it in the newspaper editorial page when the high-stakes test scores are released to the general public. (And yes, we administer these tests 3 times a year, which takes a lot of time since they must be administered individually, and no, we don't take naps or watch tv, and yes, there are 22 children in my class, some who have - [edit out the details for student's privacy reasons]. I work at least 50 hours a week, and help out tutoring the 5th-graders so that they can pass the high-stakes test and so they can learn and succeed. The central administration breathes down our necks and micromanages every little meaningless detail (the wording of charts on the walls!) while not allowing us the time to teach the curriculum with depth and creativity. I work extremely hard and my job is very demanding, and most of my kids are successfully reading on or above grade-level when they leave my class, but it is HARD WORK and it is STRESSFUL and you have to be willing to commit to it 100% to do a good job.<br>
(edit; and I don't mean to sound bitter. I am not bitter! But I think the public really does not understand what it is like in the trenches at these very needy schools. It is a whole different ball-game than teaching at a school with children from middle-class or stable homes.) </p>
<p>P.S. You can earn $800 a year more if you have a Master's degree or PHd. :) P.P.S. If you want to be employable, get your certification as bilingual in Spanish, or special ed or both. P.P.P.S. To be a good teacher it helps to be organized, enthusiastic, realistic, hard-working, calm, firm, and collaborative.</p>
<p>At some point she will need to decide which way she wants to go as the requirements for elementary ed are very different from secondary ed. If she wants to teach at the elementary level, she will need to major in elementary ed in college. Elementary ed teachers are generalists who have to know a little bit about many things. The focus is on learning how to teach reading and math for the most part. Secondary ed teachers are specialists. They have to major in the area that they want to teach and then take courses in curriculum and instruction to help them learn how to teach.</p>
<p>It is easier for someone who didn't major in education to eventually become certified as a teacher at the high school level. In other words, it is a decision that can be delayed somewhat. As stated in the above post, high school math and science teachers, especially in the physical science fields are in demand. Elementary teachers have a much harder time getting hired. </p>
<p>I think most teachers who stay in the profession enjoy it. It is too difficult a profession for people who don't enjoy it. The people who are good at it are people who really enjoy teaching first, and are also passionate about their subject. Teachers who teach at the secondary level must be enthusiastic about trying to reach students who may not enjoy a particular subject or who really struggle with it. </p>
<p>People who know they want to teach usually get started teaching with a BA. They then start working on a master's degree while working. Some districts will help offset the expense of further education credits. Teachers with graduate degrees get paid substantially more. On the other hand, with budgets the way they are, it is often easier to get that first job when you are lower on the pay scale because you are more affordable to the district. </p>
<p>Your daughter can explore these things now by tutoring students at her high school or at a local elementary school. Summer programs with often hirer high school students for both academic and recreational programs so she can see how she likes working with elementary age kids. Once she starts college, she can probably volunteer or do work study tutoring high school students. It might help her focus in on what age group she is interested in.</p>
<p>I agree with Shennie. Smart teachers wait until they have a job to get the MA. My sister's district has paid for her to get 2 Master's degrees! She's now at the top of the pay scale and couldn't get a job in another district if she tried as she earns way too much money. Districts in her area would much rather hire newbies than vets because of the difference in salaries. Sis loves teaching and would never consider doing anything else. She has said on a number of occasions that Math and Science teachers are a prized commodity in Pennsylvania, where she teaches. Believe PA pays their teachers quite well due to the lobbying of their union. This may be a regional issue, but it seems to be true everywhere If your D has math and science skills/interest, I'd say 'go for it'. It's much easier to get experience with younger kids through summer camps, internships, etc., but I know schools recognize work with any age child as being valuable experience for future teachers.
She could teach Sunday School, volunteer at local agencies, work as a summer rec counselor for municipal summer programs, teach swimming lessons, even work at a day care center---anything that will provide hands-on experience..</p>
<p>My D thought about teaching science in high school and spent one summer with the Breakthrough Collaborative program, teaching enrichment science to low income 8th graders in Atlanta. The program has different locations throughout the country.</p>
<p>There is a small stipend and the program found my D housing with a family during the summer.</p>
<p>She decided that teaching was not her bag after her experience. But it was better to find out now, rather than later. </p>
<p>One thing that I've noticed in the experience of others who didn't like teaching in high school--knowing your material is only part of the skill set required--class control is half the battle.</p>
<p>The other thing I would suggest in choosing a college in the next year--I would be to get your degree with as little debt as possible.</p>
<p>Pay differential for bachelors vs masters vs 30 credits beyond the masters varies wildly from place to place. In my district, the differential is between $1000 and $1800 depending on where you are on the salary schedule. BUT a masters IS required in this state within 8 years of beginning teaching. Most school districts here do not pay the full amount of your graduate studies, but rather pay a %age based on the number of folks in the district taking courses...or sometimes by the grade you earn (varies by district).</p>
<p>Teaching is a great career. BUT in addition to the teaching, there are mounds of paperwork that must be done continually. I would suggest that the OP see if her daughter can shadow a teacher for the full week during spring break or at some other time. A day isn't really enough...but a week will give her the sense of what the job entails.</p>
<p>I don't have any advice for your daughter. However, I want to thank her and honor her for her desire to go into this profession.</p>
<p>Teachers are doing just about the most important job there is in the world. Every armchair "expert" out there thinks they can criticize the jobs our teachers do, and propose easy solutions for education's problems. I say teaching is a hard, hard job and under-appreciated.</p>
<p>I wish I could give all the Wall Street bonuses to my child's teachers.</p>
<p>I came to teaching after a career as a software engineer followed by 15 years as a stay-at-home mom.</p>
<p>I enjoy teaching. I like communicating with students. I know that for some I can really make a difference in their lives. I like that when my kids were in school we had the same vacations.</p>
<p>All the negatives are there - politics, exhaustion, and all the rest. But I like it well enough that I am currently planning to teach until retirement age.</p>
<p>As others have said, YMMV. I found that my own parenting style translated well into the classroom, so I have had few discipline issues, and the majority of kids "get" that I am someone who wants the best for them, and that gets us over the rough spots (I teach high school).</p>
<p>Like others I'd recommend volunteering regularly, starting now. My volunteer activities (Scouting, volunteering at school and church, plus homeschool study groups) were all involved with some kind of teaching and dealing with children, and really helped prepare me for the classroom.</p>
<p>Just to be specifical ;) Here's some of the "invisible stuff" Thumper mentions above. Just for THIS week, it is mandatory training for "TELPAS-Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System", which one takes online in one's leisure time at home, probably over the weekend. Monday, afterschool from 3:15-5:15p.m. is non-optional "Balanced Literacy Training" (which we get every other week.) Tuesdays are extended team meetings after school. Wednesday and Thursday are tutoring 3-4, so stay after work until 5 to finish the other stuff. Other "take-home" assignments this week are entering the scores for the state mandated TPRI and DRA tests, preparing for Parent Conferences (which are in 2 weeks), and Back-to-school math night. Oh, and Progress report are due (halfway through each 9-week grading session.) Not to mention lesson plans, yadda, yadda, yadda.. Not trying to turn off the OP, but.... better be AT work at 7:00 a.m. and be prepared to work through until 5, then take work home.
Did I mention that the OP's daughter needs a bladder made of steel, and must be able to consume lunch in under 6 minutes?????? ;)</p>
<p>Another option is to look into a N-9 (nursery school to 9th grade) certification program ..... This would train you for elementary teaching, middle school and most programs require a major in subject (ie. science, math) that would also allow you to be certified for teaching secondary school as well... Something to investigate, if interested.</p>
<p>Many people go into teaching with the mindset that you make a nice bit of money to work form 8-3 and have a ton of holidays, 3 breaks and your summers off. Any educator worth their salt will tell you that there is no such thing as an 8-3 day. There are days that it can be exhausting, but there is also nothing as rewarding as being an agent for positive change in the life of a child.</p>
<p>In many places there are an over abundance of common branch (K-5) teachers so it can be harder to get a job in this area.</p>
<p>I agree with Shennie that the requirements for teaching 6-12 in a subject area has different requirements. Since there is a shortage of math and science teachers, some areas will pay for the teacher to do their graduate graduate work (keep in mind that anything over $5000 in tuition aid benefits is taxable income). She definitely needs to know the certification requirements for the area that she is interested in working.</p>
<p>In NYC a masters is required in order to obtain your permanent certification. 30 credits above your masters will increase your pay. for example, the starting salary in NYC for a first year teacher with a bachelors degree is $45,530. The starting salary in NYC for a first year teacher with a masters degree is $51,425 . The starting salary in NYC for a first year teacher with 30 credits above the masters degree is $57,320. You can also obtain a salary step for life experience.</p>
<p>Your daughter should also know that there are many paths to becoming a teacher. She could do Teach for America of the Teaching Fellows program (one of D's friends who was a non-ed major was recently hired for the Oakland Teaching Fellows program).</p>
<p>To the OP: I am an elementary school teacher. I LOVE my job. Yes, it is filled with stress, long hours, new rules and regulations from people who aren't in the education field, and an under appreciation from most of the public. (Teachers work from 9-3:30 and get three months off in the summer. Haha!) </p>
<p>BUT it is also filled with the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children--and sometimes even parents! I look forward to going to school each and every day, and I never say that I am going to work. I am going to school. I just pray that I have enough energy to keep going at the level that I feel is necessary in order to do my best for the kids. If I won the lottery, I would not quit teaching. I would buy more things for my classroom and hire a cook and a housekeeper for home! :)</p>
<p>Now, as far as the difference between elementary and middle/high school teaching:</p>
<p>I have the opportunity to be with the children all day,which helps me to better understand learning styles and personalities. The negative is that I have to prepare lessons for many different subjects, so I can't be an expert at each of them. (That does bother me at times.) </p>
<p>The middle/high school teachers have different students every so many minutes, so they don't have the chance to build the deeper relationships, but they are experts in their subject areas.</p>
<p>I would have your daughter look for opportunities to volunteer with both of these age groups. I would probably wait to get a graduate degree, but there are some programs out there (for instance, Ohio State) that require you to get an undergraduate degree in a subject and then you get the graduate degree in education. The state of Ohio now requires teachers to get a Master's degree within five years.</p>
<p>If your daughter wants to teach in a specific area (like near home or in a specific suburban area), do some research with school districts to see where there really are openings. Here in suburban Chicago, there is an overabundance of elementary teachers -- hundreds of applications for every opening. Much better idea to be in special ed, reading specialist, ESL, or math or science for older grades.</p>
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Do all schools pay for graduate work for their teachers? My guess is this varies greatly. True?
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<p>In NYC unless a person is part of the NYC teaching fellows or is in a shortage area (math & science, bi-lingual counseling) where the NYC Dept of Ed will pay for the masters (an have a service agreement) most students will have to finance their own masters.</p>