TeacherERA |OT| Learn Something New Every Day

obin_gam · Dec 5, 2018

So... our Jr High doesnt have a principal suddenly...

We had a office party a few weeks ago and apperantly our principal groped several of our female colleagues during that. The school supervisor closed him off last week but didnt say why, and yesterday evening it was in the paper with all the details.
The organisation seemingly acted fast and responsible, so thats good, and it's no loss administratively either because he was never an effective principal to begin with - he only worked here since August and never even learned all our names.

LoveBug566 said:
I'm starting a D&D group with my Computer Science group.

We have a pupils choice tomorrow and I'm doing a D&D thing as well :D 7 pupils selected it so me and another teacher have been organising a room down in the school basement (wich looks like a dungeon) were we are going to be from 9am to 3pm tomorrow playing!

obin_gam · Feb 17, 2020

We the teachers got included in a mail that our Prinicpal (that we've had for this school year) sent to the municipality school board, in which he raged about the landlord company taking care of the school and that they lied about him (and he writes all this in caps as well...) about something he said about them being incompetent and possibly a police report... And also hinting that maybe we'll get another principal soon....

Jesus christ we have only 200 students in our building, it shouldnt be that hard to keep a job at our school. The other school in our town have trice the much, and their principal have resided there for about ten years... Our first principal got fired fall 2018 because he sexualy assaulted a female staff, and now this dude is likely to get fired because of his temper...

I miss when I worked at that other school haha!

WillyFive · Feb 17, 2020

obin_gam said:
We the teachers got included in a mail that our Prinicpal (that we've had for this school year) sent to the municipality school board, in which he raged about the landlord company taking care of the school and that they lied about him (and he writes all this in caps as well...) about something he said about them being incompetent and possibly a police report... And also hinting that maybe we'll get another principal soon....

Jesus christ we have only 200 students in our building, it shouldnt be that hard to keep a job at our school. The other school in our town have trice the much, and their principal have resided there for about ten years... Our first principal got fired fall 2018 because he sexualy assaulted a female staff, and now this dude is likely to get fired because of his temper...

I miss when I worked at that other school haha!

Sounds like bad luck.

The Awesomest · Feb 17, 2020

obin_gam said:
We the teachers got included in a mail that our Prinicpal (that we've had for this school year) sent to the municipality school board, in which he raged about the landlord company taking care of the school and that they lied about him (and he writes all this in caps as well...) about something he said about them being incompetent and possibly a police report... And also hinting that maybe we'll get another principal soon....

Jesus christ we have only 200 students in our building, it shouldnt be that hard to keep a job at our school. The other school in our town have trice the much, and their principal have resided there for about ten years... Our first principal got fired fall 2018 because he sexualy assaulted a female staff, and now this dude is likely to get fired because of his temper...

I miss when I worked at that other school haha!

Is this a private school?

obin_gam · Feb 17, 2020

The Awesomest said:
Is this a private school?

Nope, a municipal school (which is its own problem... But thats another story ). Our current principal has been moved around like 1 school per year, and this behaviour is probably why hahha

WillyFive · Feb 17, 2020

obin_gam said:
Nope, a municipal school (which is its own problem... But thats another story ). Our current principal has been moved around like 1 school per year, and this behaviour is probably why hahha

🤔

TheRizza7 · Mar 5, 2024

Mega bump, but don't know where else to ask. I believe that I'm in need of a career change and am thinking about becoming a teacher, primarily elementary. It wasn't something I'd ever think I'd want to pursue, but after working in a couple of different fields (media production and finance) I think it sounds like something I want to do. I'm looking for stability and the feeling of contributing and making an impact. I understand the challenges that have faced teachers and that the pay isn't always terrific, but I do feel like I'd be able to put those things aside to work with kids and actually feel like I'm doing something meaningful. I'm 31, I have a BA but not in education. So really my questions boil down to... Is this a good idea? What are the steps involved to land my first job? Is this going to take me 2 years? 4 years or longer? I appreciate anything anyone has to offer

The Awesomest · Mar 5, 2024

TheRizza7 said:
Mega bump, but don't know where else to ask. I believe that I'm in need of a career change and am thinking about becoming a teacher, primarily elementary. It wasn't something I'd ever think I'd want to pursue, but after working in a couple of different fields (media production and finance) I think it sounds like something I want to do. I'm looking for stability and the feeling of contributing and making an impact. I understand the challenges that have faced teachers and that the pay isn't always terrific, but I do feel like I'd be able to put those things aside to work with kids and actually feel like I'm doing something meaningful. I'm 31, I have a BA but not in education. So really my questions boil down to... Is this a good idea? What are the steps involved to land my first job? Is this going to take me 2 years? 4 years or longer? I appreciate anything anyone has to offer

Firstly, I'm glad you want to enter this world. Know that it isn't for the faint of heart, and you will have days that crush your soul and make you value your worth as a human. That said, this profession needs more people with the right heart and a mindset of constantly trying to improve, and you can certainly make a difference.

What state are you in? Many colleges offer 1-2 year graduate programs that give you a teaching certification as well as a masters degree. Look into that.

Watershed · Mar 6, 2024

TheRizza7 said:
Mega bump, but don't know where else to ask. I believe that I'm in need of a career change and am thinking about becoming a teacher, primarily elementary. It wasn't something I'd ever think I'd want to pursue, but after working in a couple of different fields (media production and finance) I think it sounds like something I want to do. I'm looking for stability and the feeling of contributing and making an impact. I understand the challenges that have faced teachers and that the pay isn't always terrific, but I do feel like I'd be able to put those things aside to work with kids and actually feel like I'm doing something meaningful. I'm 31, I have a BA but not in education. So really my questions boil down to... Is this a good idea? What are the steps involved to land my first job? Is this going to take me 2 years? 4 years or longer? I appreciate anything anyone has to offer

You can likely get into a master's in teaching program that will have you graduated, certified to teach, and have a master's degree at the start of your career in under 2 years. Having your masters will start you in a higher pay lane. Depending on your state and district, your salary might be pretty good, especially if you are in a dual income household and especially if you don't have kids.

If you are able to, I suggest you do some volunteering in a school or get some other related education work experience before deciding to sink a lot of time and money into a teacher prep program. Find a way to dip your toes into the pool before diving right in.

A couple questions:

1. I understand the desire for a more impactful or meaningful job or a job that contributes to society or has some element of service to it, but why teaching?

2. Why elementary? In my experience, elementary teachers are a special breed of educator and elementary definitely isn't for everyone. What draws you to elementary specifically?

3. What are your biggest concerns or questions?

TheRizza7 · Mar 6, 2024

The Awesomest said:
Firstly, I'm glad you want to enter this world. Know that it isn't for the faint of heart, and you will have days that crush your soul and make you value your worth as a human. That said, this profession needs more people with the right heart and a mindset of constantly trying to improve, and you can certainly make a difference.

What state are you in? Many colleges offer 1-2 year graduate programs that give you a teaching certification as well as a masters degree. Look into that.

Thanks for the reply! I totally hear that and I'm aware of how challenging it could be. I have a friend who works in special education and she tells me all of the challenges she faces, but also how much joy it brings her too. I really do have the mindset of wanting to do better and making a difference especially in a kids life. I'm currently in Maryland, but am moving back to PA soon. I'll definitely look into that, thank you for the suggestion!

Watershed said:
You can likely get into a master's in teaching program that will have you graduated, certified to teach, and have a master's degree at the start of your career in under 2 years. Having your masters will start you in a higher pay lane. Depending on your state and district, your salary might be pretty good, especially if you are in a dual income household and especially if you don't have kids.

If you are able to, I suggest you do some volunteering in a school or get some other related education work experience before deciding to sink a lot of time and money into a teacher prep program. Find a way to dip your toes into the pool before diving right in.

A couple questions:

1. I understand the desire for a more impactful or meaningful job or a job that contributes to society or has some element of service to it, but why teaching?

2. Why elementary? In my experience, elementary teachers are a special breed of educator and elementary definitely isn't for everyone. What draws you to elementary specifically?

3. What are your biggest concerns or questions?

Thank you for the reply! I do live in a dual-income household so I think we can definitely make it work, we've been saving a lot too and hopefully moving soon to a cheaper area. That's definitely a great suggestion and something my partner suggested too. I just wasn't sure if I need some sort of certification or degree before I was able to do something like that.

So for your questions- I believe teaching feels right to me right now for a few reasons. The education field feels more impactful to me. Having been a coach and summer camp counselor in the past, I always felt so good being able to work with kids and see them learn new things or work through something. Young children are where I feel like I'd excel at and be the best working with. I love reading with my nephew right now and watching him try to figure something out or teach him something new! I wasn't the best student and I was going through a rough time at home specifically during elementary school, but I had teachers who I felt helped me through those times. I would love to be able to do the same for kids who are going through the same stuff I did. I want to be a part of something that contributes to a kids life or even society as a whole. It sounds aspirational, for sure, but I feel like it would give me what I'm missing in my life while also giving to someone else's. My biggest concerns right now would be burn out and how much time I'd be away from my family. I work from home right now and so does my partner (that also might change soon though) so we'd definitely see each other less. With burn out, I've seen how much of a toll teaching takes on others so would I be able to take that? I do think so, but I'm just starting to get the ball rolling on all of this.

Thanks to both of you for replying though and reading through this! It means a lot to me

Watershed · Mar 6, 2024

TheRizza7 said:
Thanks for the reply! I totally hear that and I'm aware of how challenging it could be. I have a friend who works in special education and she tells me all of the challenges she faces, but also how much joy it brings her too. I really do have the mindset of wanting to do better and making a difference especially in a kids life. I'm currently in Maryland, but am moving back to PA soon. I'll definitely look into that, thank you for the suggestion!

Thank you for the reply! I do live in a dual-income household so I think we can definitely make it work, we've been saving a lot too and hopefully moving soon to a cheaper area. That's definitely a great suggestion and something my partner suggested too. I just wasn't sure if I need some sort of certification or degree before I was able to do something like that.

So for your questions- I believe teaching feels right to me right now for a few reasons. The education field feels more impactful to me. Having been a coach and summer camp counselor in the past, I always felt so good being able to work with kids and see them learn new things or work through something. Young children are where I feel like I'd excel at and be the best working with. I love reading with my nephew right now and watching him try to figure something out or teach him something new! I wasn't the best student and I was going through a rough time at home specifically during elementary school, but I had teachers who I felt helped me through those times. I would love to be able to do the same for kids who are going through the same stuff I did. I want to be a part of something that contributes to a kids life or even society as a whole. It sounds aspirational, for sure, but I feel like it would give me what I'm missing in my life while also giving to someone else's. My biggest concerns right now would be burn out and how much time I'd be away from my family. I work from home right now and so does my partner (that also might change soon though) so we'd definitely see each other less. With burn out, I've seen how much of a toll teaching takes on others so would I be able to take that? I do think so, but I'm just starting to get the ball rolling on all of this.

Thanks to both of you for replying though and reading through this! It means a lot to me

I've been teaching for a good number of years now, starting to enter the "veteran teacher" territory and every year for the past few years my district has asked me to present to new teachers about the realities and challenges of teaching along with some small pieces of advice. I've also given similar presentations to aspiring teachers.

If you're interested, in the future, I could share similar advice with you in terms of what I think can be helpful strategies or mindsets to avoid burnout. Only if you are interested and keeping in mind I am just one teacher in a sea of teachers.

TheRizza7 · Mar 7, 2024

Watershed said:
I've been teaching for a good number of years now, starting to enter the "veteran teacher" territory and every year for the past few years my district has asked me to present to new teachers about the realities and challenges of teaching along with some small pieces of advice. I've also given similar presentations to aspiring teachers.

If you're interested, in the future, I could share similar advice with you in terms of what I think can be helpful strategies or mindsets to avoid burnout. Only if you are interested and keeping in mind I am just one teacher in a sea of teachers.

I would really appreciate that! Thank you so much for offering something like that. I'm still forming all of these thoughts, but when I'm ready I will reach out to you and hopefully, on your time, we can work something out. Really, thanks again

fzburner · Thursday at 8:02 PM

Does anyone have good advice on student teaching? I start a program in Chicago in June where I'll be student teaching and doing my masters for a year, but the income is pretty much just paying for the degree. Which is kind of terrifying me the closer I get since not earning any income for a year in this economy just sounds really irresponsible, but I don't want to drop out of the program since I love teaching.

The Awesomest · Friday at 2:27 PM

fzburner said:
Does anyone have good advice on student teaching? I start a program in Chicago in June where I'll be student teaching and doing my masters for a year, but the income is pretty much just paying for the degree. Which is kind of terrifying me the closer I get since not earning any income for a year in this economy just sounds really irresponsible, but I don't want to drop out of the program since I love teaching.

You get paid to student teach? I've never heard of anything so remarkable, and I live in a blue state.

Anyways, don't hesitate to ask about watching other teachers. Your master teacher's style may not necessarily work for you.

fzburner · Friday at 2:59 PM

The Awesomest said:
You get paid to student teach? I've never heard of anything so remarkable, and I live in a blue state.

Anyways, don't hesitate to ask about watching other teachers. Your master teacher's style may not necessarily work for you.

It's a funny option of you get 20k for the year and you can either use that for your master's degree ($20k) or for living expenses.

Thank you!

The Awesomest · Saturday at 2:46 AM

fzburner said:
It's a funny option of you get 20k for the year and you can either use that for your master's degree ($20k) or for living expenses.

Thank you!

Also try to get some extended amount of time teaching by yourself without your master teacher in the room. Some people (i.e. me) have trouble being authoritative without someone else in the room to fall back on. It's a good trial by fire.