Teachers?

[polyhymnia]

I am considering getting my certification to teach middle school math and science. Math would be my area of preference.

I would love to talk to current teachers about the frustrations and delights of being an MDC-minded teacher. I would like to hear from parents of public schooled students (I may work in private schools at some point but for now assume I will be teaching in public schools) about the qualities you love in your middle school teachers.

I can't pinpoint exactly what I meant by "MDC-minded teacher" - but I do see ways in which my beliefs and thoughts, which are somewhat shaped by participation in this group, may influence my teaching style and methods.

I am not sure how much I will be limited by the school district depending on where I teach but I expect to encounter resistance or an inability to do things fully "my way" - for example there is a state achievement test that will need to be considered.

Before I embark on a year-long training course and really commit myself to this career I would love to hear from others!

[nameisrio]

I teach 1st gr. in CA. You are definitely bound by state rules and standards but depending on the school, you are left to interpret a lot of it on your own, as long as you complete certain things by the end of the year. Being a mom now definitely makes me more patient with my students. Sometimes dealing with a 2 yr. old and a 6 yr. old really isn't that different! Being a mom also has made me more compassionate toward students and understanding of parents. The whole gentle discipline thing factors into the classroom sometimes, but w/ 20 kids sometimes you just have to be more direct and to the point.

Public schools are far from perfect but I really do believe in them and the work we do. It does prepare kids for the real world (the good and the bad) and most teachers I work with are very talented and dedicated.

[imagine21]

I've been a public school teacher for 18 years (started in a junior high for 2 years and "graduated" to high school for the last 16). Be prepared to love the students, love the classroom and always feel that you are doing something worthwhile for kids and for the community. Be prepared to be unbelievably frustrated by the adults, administrators and bureaucrats primarily, but sometimes other teachers and parents as well. At first the love of students outweighs the frustration with the adults; as time goes on, the frustrations can sometimes get under your skin.

[SpringMom]

I agree with the pp. As a MS Math and Social Studies teacher in an inner-city school there is a lot of frustration and reward to go around. I feel I have definitely broadened my horizons on issues of homework, rewards and parent communication from reading these boards. I don't incorporate everything but I think it has changed some of what I do. As a teacher you will have the ability to influence the lives of hundreds of young people. It is an often thankless job and so worth it.

[polyhymnia]

Thank you all for weighing in! I guess I wonder if this is the right direction for me. I think I can be passionate about teaching and working with students, and I hope to be able to really inspire students to want to learn. But is it just too much to ask in this day and age of society?

Another thing I need to consider - in my state to get the middle school endorsement, it counts as a "secondary" endorsement. My primary endorsement needs to be either 'elementary school" (k-8) or "high school math" (6-12). I prefer elementary school, but I almost feel like the high school endorsement will be more practical when it comes to actually working in middle school. Can any of you address which you think would be more beneficial?

Basically for my student teaching I would be placed in a middle school but some of my observations and classroom learning would be geared to either k-8 or 6-12 rather than strictly 6-8.

[meemee]

i would go to the local high schools or elementary schools and be a volunteer tutor out there. if you have the time. and then see which age group appeals to you.

also i was really looking into teaching myself. trying to figure out if that was the right career for me. and i decided against it. as much as i love teaching and am good at it and enjoy the children, i would not be able to deal with the pressures of parents or the school administration.

i think that is one thing the training does not prepare you for - how much bulls**t is involved around teaching. maybe you can deal with it. i know i wont be able to. esp. when i see so many parents who dont really care.

keep your options open. so that if you are not interested in teaching your degree lets you have other job choices.

are you also willing to put in all those long hours.

i might sound jaded here, but i am surrounded by too many teachers who are really trying to leave the profession after many years teaching.

[GuildJenn]

I worked in a school between university and going on to do a B.Ed., for two years, and I decided it wasn't for me. Sometimes I have mild regrets about it though.

I highly highly recommend taking the time (if you can afford it) to get into a school for at least a half of a year, either volunteering or (preferably) working in some way. You get more information that way and for me it was a lot better than fighting through the B.Ed, going through the 3+ years of new-teacher apprenticeship, and THEN figuring out why it wasn't going to work for me.

[polyhymnia]

Originally Posted by meemee

i would go to the local high schools or elementary schools and be a volunteer tutor out there. if you have the time. and then see which age group appeals to you.

also i was really looking into teaching myself. trying to figure out if that was the right career for me. and i decided against it. as much as i love teaching and am good at it and enjoy the children, i would not be able to deal with the pressures of parents or the school administration.

i think that is one thing the training does not prepare you for - how much bulls**t is involved around teaching. maybe you can deal with it. i know i wont be able to. esp. when i see so many parents who dont really care.

keep your options open. so that if you are not interested in teaching your degree lets you have other job choices.

are you also willing to put in all those long hours.

i might sound jaded here, but i am surrounded by too many teachers who are really trying to leave the profession after many years teaching.

I used to tutor middle & elementary school in high school and college. i just signed up to tutor at the local library. Due to my current job I can't do any more than that right now. I prefer the middle school math/science topics, but of course I prefer the elementary school kids. I like the subject integration and ability for integration in an elem. class, but I also really enjoy the structure and specific remit of a middle/high school too.... so I think I'd be happy with either, really.

The hours will be better than my current job. I already have my bachelor's (in math/science) so I would just do a one year master's degree to get the teaching certification. My concern is the vacation schedule - I do not look forward to being stuck taking vacations only during school breaks, you know? I also hear of lots of teachers leaving and wonder about that. But honestly, I wouldn't be heartbroken to leave the field at some point either.

I worry about parents too. Around here I suspect a tendency for Helicopter parents over uncaring parents but I almost think that is harder.

Originally Posted by GuildJenn

I worked in a school between university and going on to do a B.Ed., for two years, and I decided it wasn't for me. Sometimes I have mild regrets about it though.

I highly highly recommend taking the time (if you can afford it) to get into a school for at least a half of a year, either volunteering or (preferably) working in some way. You get more information that way and for me it was a lot better than fighting through the B.Ed, going through the 3+ years of new-teacher apprenticeship, and THEN figuring out why it wasn't going to work for me.

Thanks for your input. I already have a BS, so I'd be doing an MIT (master in teaching). Unfortunately I work full time in an unrelated field right now but I have found a Junior Achievement program where I can volunteer in a local school classroom one hour a week which I am trying to get in to.

I wanted to teach, going into my undergrad etc, but was always told "you're too smart to teach" "don't waste your talent" so I didn't. Now I am in a different career field and I am just not content to continue doing this so I'm looking for a change.



For parents of school aged children: what do you like from your teachers?

[meemee]

Originally Posted by polyhymnia

I wanted to teach, going into my undergrad etc, but was always told "you're too smart to teach" "don't waste your talent" so I didn't. Now I am in a different career field and I am just not content to continue doing this so I'm looking for a change.

how about doing a masters in what you enjoy. or if you have it - pursue a PhD. then you can work at a job part time AND teach undergraduate level part time? i know it means a lot of time but it wont be a waste and you might enjoy both. definitely opens up a lot of career options for you too. just throwing ideas at you since you said you might mind not mind leaving teaching.

i am almost a TA in dd's school and that brought home to me how much i prefer teaching college level (TA here too). at least that is the combination i am looking at. working at a job and teaching too.

in the present economy i am thinking having different options means you are still covered even if you lose one job. plus i think higher education just allows you a lot more options than not.

[polyhymnia]

Originally Posted by meemee

how about doing a masters in what you enjoy. or if you have it - pursue a PhD. then you can work at a job part time AND teach undergraduate level part time? i know it means a lot of time but it wont be a waste and you might enjoy both. definitely opens up a lot of career options for you too. just throwing ideas at you since you said you might mind not mind leaving teaching.

i am almost a TA in dd's school and that brought home to me how much i prefer teaching college level (TA here too). at least that is the combination i am looking at. working at a job and teaching too.

in the present economy i am thinking having different options means you are still covered even if you lose one job. plus i think higher education just allows you a lot more options than not.

I have no desire for a PhD or a proper master's degree. No interest in academia as a career, or teaching undergraduate courses. That's part of my hesitation regarding choosing High School over Elementary as my primary endorsement - I am young enough (26) that I just don't feel I am "far enough" from those age groups to really interact well in an authoritative/teacher type role. Also I do not want to move and the unis in this area are highly competitive for both staffing and grad school entry. I just don't have any interest in that sort of thing. I studied math & physics for my undergrad and currently work in the financial/insurance industry - I will always have this as a fall back field. Plus with my prior experience and if I do end up teaching I will have tutoring, administrative assistant type work & nannying as possibilities also.

I feel like I would enjoy teaching middle school, and elementary school - not sure about high school although I know the need is great and I had some really inspirational HS teachers I would love to be like! I am just not sure if I will enjoy the "politics" of it, if that makes sense.

[Oriole]

I love my job. I taught math and science (6th grade/middle school) for two years, and now I teach 4th grade.

It's emotionally draining, it's frustrating at times, but I know there is no other feeling like it in the world to come in to a classroom full of students who are genuinely happy to see you. It's an unbelievable feeling, and worth all of the frustrations and heartaches. Despite all the tears and sleeplessness that you are bound to go through your first years of teaching, I know I found a place where I belong.

I try not to dwell on state testing. I try to let go of arguments I can't win, and the overwhelming amount of paperwork that needs to be done despite its irrelevance to my students. It's worth it to me, because I know that teaching is my calling in life.

On a side note, I don't think anyone can tell you that this is the road you should be taking. I strongly suggest trying to either volunteer, or to find a position as an aid to see if this is a career you wish to follow. That's how I started.

[PlayaMama]

you just asked my question!!!

i was a ta last year but ended up teaching (illegaly due to nclb) biology, health and 8th grade math and science. the year before i subbed at all grade levels. i'm thinking about getting my credential and i'm trying to decide older or younger

imho being closer in age made the relationship with the kids better not harder. they'd always laugh when i said, "dude..." or if i said something "grossed me out" but they also respected me because i was serious about the subject and a little kooky about biology. you know, like, "check out this cool diagram of photosynthesis!! think about plants doing this every day!"

it made them like me more and consequently they wanted to work harder in my classes. they all thought i was 25 even though i was 30-31 at the time.

personally i think i'm going to go for science at the upper level. honestly, the lower levels were really hard for me because the kids are just getting "indoctrinated" and i'm so much more of a consensual living type person. i don't want to make them all line up and do math at 12:45 and then all switch to spelling at 1:05. at least at the upper levels they're already in the "system" and you just try to make it cool and fun and have them learn something.

seriously, my 8th graders thought i was the _coolest_ because i admitted that they probably wouldn't need to know the stuff we were doing in real life. honestly i hadn't had to factor an equation until i started teaching. but it didn't mean they didn't have to learn it, they hated that part

[polyhymnia]

Originally Posted by PlayaMama

personally i think i'm going to go for science at the upper level. honestly, the lower levels were really hard for me because the kids are just getting "indoctrinated" and i'm so much more of a consensual living type person. i don't want to make them all line up and do math at 12:45 and then all switch to spelling at 1:05. at least at the upper levels they're already in the "system" and you just try to make it cool and fun and have them learn something.

That's a very interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing it!

Good luck with your journey

[ecoteat]

I teach middle school science and math and it is absolutely what I am meant to do. I LOVE middle school kids, and I know a lot of teachers have a hard time with that age level. I've found that my best teaching age is very narrow--4th to 8th grade. I started in 6th and loved it, moved to 3rd/4th multiage and really enjoyed my new K-8 school and wonderful kids but had a hard time teaching some kids HOW to read and could not deal with little kid things like pee on the classroom's toilet seat. Then I had 4th/5th and was relieved I wasn't with 3rd anymore. Now I teach 6th-8th multiage science, 6th math, and 8th math. The science is a piece of cake for me, but math I am having a harder time making it both interesting and rigorous enough. I'm certified general K-8 and 5-8 science.

I have an excellent relationship with my students. I am very open with them; we all know each other very well. Most of my students I've had for more than one year--some kids I've been teaching for 4 years now! They know I'm that crazy hairy homebirthing hippie. They also know that I hate when kids' behavior forces me to take disciplinary action and for the most part they respect that. My crunchiness applies pretty well to teaching science. In class, we can build a greenhouse to grow organic food for the school kitchen, take field trips down the road to the ocean, maintain the school's nature trail, hatch salmon eggs for releasing into the local ecosystem, study climate change, etc. In fact, the reason I wanted to become a teacher in the first place is because I wanted to save the world.

Playamama, I totally agree with you. I love the freedom of older kids. Recess duty with the younger kids drove me crazy--the other teachers were always policing what the kids were wearing outside. If a kid was playing hard and took his coat off because we was warm, someone would always get on his case about putting it back on. I hated doing that. But the middle school kids we let make their own choices and deal with the consequences. Didn't wear boots in the snow and now your feet are all wet? Too bad--wear boots next time!

[karne]

My DH has been an educator for 20 years. Math/science is his specialty. He is hands down one of the best, most natural teachers I have ever known. He loves it, and hasn't gotten burned out, and is considered a "master educator" at this point in his career. What's helped him in the field of education is to keep a variety of experiences going. He's worked both public/private. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses for some of the Ed. schools, and has worked on projects/grants with some of the colleges that really stretched his abilities. His age range is broad-from preschool through junior high, and then college students, so there is a lot of variety there. There is also consulting work to be had at a certain point in your career. The field of education can be so broad. Math/science/technology is a really interesting place to be focused right now. At a baseline though is a real love of both the material and the students.

Good luck with your plans.