Is anyone a teacher?

Question

If you are a teacher can you tell me about your job. Do you like/hate it? How hard was it to find or prepare for?

Answer 1

As a teacher, I have noticed several things about teaching that seem to be common at all the schools at which I have worked.
1. Most of the teachers seem to really enjoy teaching. Remember - teachers are the most over educated and underpaid profession. We must constantly undergo re-certification rituals, professional development, and yearly evaluations. So, we must be doing it for a reason. The reason that I do it is because I really enjoy it.
2. There was a time, when I worked at a school, that it seemed that most teachers did not enjoy being teachers. That was when we had a really SCREWED-UP principal. I did my best for the students for three years, but I am not going to stay indefinitely at a school where the administration is so flawed that it doesn't even realize it.
3. I left another career to be a teacher, because I realized midway through that career that I wanted to be a teacher. The job took so much of my time that going to college to major in education was out of the question. So, when my contract expired, I chose not to renew it. I just went to college and work a couple of meaningless jobs to make-ends-meet.
4. Remember that once you graduate college and have your initial teaching certification, that the pay will be quite low for several years, and that your certification is probationary. You will have to pass some evaluations on-the-job in order to receive your full certification.
5. What you should ask yourself is, "Why do I want to be a teacher?" So far, I have gotten out of this career exactly what I had planned and hoped. If you decide to become a teacher, I wish the very best for you.

Answer 2

I am a new teacher after 37 years as a nuclear engineer so I still have the full enthusiasm of a newcomer. I love it. There is nothing like seeing the light come on behind a student's eyes. As a new teacher, it is very hard to prepare for since I have no files to draw upon. I am usually up till about midnight preparing for the next day, only to get up at 5:30 the next morning. In order to obtain this position, I sent applications to about 30 school districts. Most do not even bother to reply. I had three interviews and two rejected me because of my obvious age. Starting teacher's pay stinks but if you stay on, you could earn a tidy sum. Many teachers after 37 years in the profession were earning more than I was as a nuclear engineer with the same experience time.

Answer 3

I am an elementary teacher. I have taught kindergarten, first, second, and third. There are things I really like about it and things I dislike. I like working with the students, planning, organizing materials, being creative in planning lessons and bulletin boards. I hate being caught between the administration and parents. I also dislike jumping through the hoops that the state sets up and having the hoops change when you are halfway through the course. That happens with recertification and in statewide testing for No Child Left Behind. I also don't like how the system is not always set up to help students.

Times have changed since I went to college and found a teaching job. When I started looking for a job, they were few and far between. I was able to get a job because of someone in teaching I had worked with while I was in college. I had assisted in her class as part of my college course requirements. Even though I had a job, I was pink slipped for many years because class sizes were low and it was a small district. Yet, each year I was rehired. It was not pleasant wondering if I would have a job or not over many summers. Thankfullly, I am past that point now.

Be prepared for long hours. Some of that will depend on what your building principal requires. If you have to list state standards in your lesson plans, have your plans detailed...well, that's going to take more time. You may have to document how you differentiate in your lessons for varying student needs.

You will also have to be careful to balance your job and personal life. The job can take away your personal life if you let it because there is always something to do.

Answer 4

I used to teach philosophy as a profession (1990-2000) before I moved to the corporate world. One cannot replace the other but each can compensate for the other. In my free time though, I do volunteer teaching to 7th Grade students (mostly) and have been invited to speak before students of different age groups in local communities. Do I like it? YES and I enjoyed it very much.
To teach one has to prepare and there is no subsititute for this. My usual analogy is that "you do not come to "war" without your ammunitions and protections, otherwise, the moment a shot is fired you will most probably be the first casualty." Preparation is half the battle. However, one should not overdo it. Be open-minded because one has to bear in mind that no one knows everything, everyone can learn and that we will always find some persons out there who are smarter than us. Be honest and accept one's mistakes. Doing this would teach the students that it is best to make an honest mistake and to be honest about it. Of course I often remind students that to commit a mistake once and commit the same mistake for the same reason twice is still forgivable. But beyond that one should shift from correcting the mistake to focusing on the person making the mistake.
Moreover, it is best to correct a mistake, no matter how tiny it is, at that moment it was committed than to go back to it at a later time when people might have already accepted it as "truth".
Teaching is more than knowledge sharing or transferring, it is opening up avenues for students today to take with them sometime in the future. Tomorrow will always come. The best legacy to students is your life.
I could share more if you wish. Just email me.
Cheers!

Answer 5

My husband and I are both teachers. We talk all the time about how we would never trade what we do for anything else. We are both anally organized and usually bring very little work home bacause we spend any break time we have at school getting our stuff done. We have 2 small children and our family time is more important than anything. That's one reason we love teaching. What other profession gives you the same schedule as your children and summers off? And the pays not all that bad. But like someone else said, you have to have a passion for what you do, no matter what it is. Don't go into teaching because you get the summers off. That's just an added bonus. The worse teachers are those in it for the wrong reasons!

Answer 6

I love it. It takes a lot of work, you give a lot of yourself and there are sometimes bad days but I honestly wouldn't trade it in for any other job. Its very rewarding. Seeing students grow intellectually and as people is an amazing process.

One of my friends is in law school waiting for a big paying job. She once shot down teaching as a "low paying job", I quickly told that the lack of the dollar amount on my paycheck is made up in hugs and "You are a fun teacher!" "I figured it out!" "You have done such a wonderful job with (child's name) this year." In reality, the pay is not bad at all.

I am a first grade teacher, in the past I have taught older children as well. Personally I find the younger ones to be more rewarding, but I know teachers who say just the opposite.

I didn't feel college was that rigorous, I graduated with honors. However I have always been one of those people who doesn't have to study much to do well in class, and have always enjoyed learning.

Answer 7

I was a teacher for a year at a health care software company.

HARD work. I redid the whole curriculum in a years time. I loved it though and everyone knew me in the company. I felt I made a huge impact on others success.

I still train now, in a process improvement job at a big hospital system. I do a lot of other things too...like having the variety and like having the opportunity to teach again.

I have a Masters degree, and yes, it was difficult to get through. Very glad I did though.

I may teach nursing on the side...just had an old friend offer up an opportunity. I may take her up on it.

Answer 8

Hi Hbug,

I'm a teacher and am honored to be paid to work with such talented and ambitious young children.

It is definitley not an easy program to get into while at university as the B.Ed program requires many prerequisites such as first year university math, english, art, science and courses within the social sciences (psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science). So if you are thinking about going into the program, think about taking a wide range of courses and being well rounded.

The other information admission officers look for are volunteer or paid experience that have required you to work with children or young people. These can range from teaching summer camp, working a crisis line call centre or a docent at an art gallery. Volunteer work in the area of children is perhaps one of the most important areas schools will look for to determine who is admitted.

After graduating, it is extremely difficult to find a position. I suggest going overseas to an international school as it is much easier to secure a first time teaching position in this manner. Most of the time, teachers have to first substitute before they are offered full time positions.

Hope this helps!

Answer 9

I've taught at the elementary and college level. I love teaching only because of the passion behind it. If you don't have the passion and drive, you probably won't like it.

I did "Teach for America" when I taught 3rd grade. A volunteer program that pays a full teacher salary and defers student loans.

http://www.teachforamerica.org/

You spend hours upon hours preparing. That's why I say you have to have passion, because your day does not stop when class ends. You can easily spend 3-4 hours preparing for each day. I understood TGIF!

Also, teaching was the best form of birth control!

Answer 10

my friend is a teacher and he told me that he loves the job because he gets to meet new kids and people. he said that only the 2 years were hard because you were new and u had to prepare how and what you going to teach but now after 5 years he uses the same papers and stuff and he loves the job. hope i helped u some how
Adam. bye