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OT: Teachers of Boneyard...Back to School Time

I have missed 1 day this year. And had two PD days. Every day I'm absent we end up with 5+ suspensions. At this point if I'm sick they can just put me in the nurse with a mask and I can wag my finger at kids who misbehave from a bed
 
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Hey Adrien! said:
Same with our school ever since the return from winter break. About half of our kids are international students and many travel far and wide during vacations, so to quote my primary care doctor: "you work in a ******* petri dish."

Case in point, in my seventh grade math class, six out of thirteen kids have missed 12+ days of school so far.
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Anytime I see a kid put their hand to their mouth or a finger in their mouth I tell them the top two places for a kid to get a virus or bacteria are schools and hospitals. In the Lego Club that I lead, I had to tell a girl to wash and sanitize her hands a half dozen times in a half hour span because she kept poking her finger in to wiggle a loose tooth.
It's funny because the kids at my school really like me and want high fives, fist bumps and the rest and I may do an 'elbow bump' because I stand there watch all the gross things that they do.
 
Spaceman213J said:
There's a nasty flu going around the school I teach at. I've been lucky to avoid it so far, but it seems the kids who get it are out for at least a full week of school.
I'm getting over a bad cold (sore throat, head ache), and there is also a different stomach bug going around as well. Last month, strep was finishing its rounds.
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My wife is a Kindergarten teacher, my 2 year old is at a montessori school, the level of disease brought home and running through our householdthat have caused visits to the ER since Xmas have been a nightmare. around the New Year we all tested positive for Flu type A, My toddlers and mine escaltated to Bronchitis, my wife to pneumonia. My daughter then started finally getting better and went back to school for 2 days and immediately picked up an ear infection. They put her on antibiotics for 10 days, which she just finished on Monday, and yesterday she started coughing again and is running a fever. So here we go again. I am ready to set everything on fire and move into a concrete bunker and never go out in public again.
 
August_West said:
My wife is a Kindergarten teacher, my 2 year old is at a montessori school, the level of disease brought home and running through our householdthat have caused visits to the ER since Xmas have been a nightmare. around the New Year we all tested positive for Flu type A, My toddlers and mine escaltated to Bronchitis, my wife to pneumonia. My daughter then started finally getting better and went back to school for 2 days and immediately picked up an ear infection. They put her on antibiotics for 10 days, which she just finished on Monday, and yesterday she started coughing again and is running a fever. So here we go again. I am ready to set everything on fire and move into a concrete bunker and never go out in public again.
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Basically it's the same in my house old. Oldest kid had pneumonia around new years. Last week she had another fever around 102. Tested positive for Flu A. Gave it to my youngest. Both out of school for 2 days. 1 day goes by and I get the fever and chills and I'm out of school for 2 days.

2 more days go by and my oldest pukes in car waiting for bus. No fever, but pukes all day. I come home and my wife now has a 102 fever and is out of work for 2 days.

Many of my students have been out for 2+ days recently. It is crazy.
 
Curious to get some objective insight here. I'm 31 and getting pretty tired of my corporate job and debating a career change to teaching. I've always been interested in teaching even pre college but for one reason or another ended up going other routes.

Curious if anyone here has made that change, and beyond that if the teachers here think it's a worthwhile move. Not sure if it's too late to be making a move like this
 
navery12 said:
Curious to get some objective insight here. I'm 31 and getting pretty tired of my corporate job and debating a career change to teaching. I've always been interested in teaching even pre college but for one reason or another ended up going other routes.

Curious if anyone here has made that change, and beyond that if the teachers here think it's a worthwhile move. Not sure if it's too late to be making a move like this
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Depends on where you are located. I am in Indiana, but started school at CCSU before transferring to Purdue after I moved. If I would have known how teaching has changed in my 17 years of doing it and how the pay isn't keeping up with the work involved, I would have chosen something else. I'm halfway done with my career and the only couple saving graces are that summers off with my 2 young girls are awesome and being on the same schedule with them is pretty nice.

If you have a significant other and they make a decent amount, then I would say try it and if it doesn't work then get out and go back to something else. It isn't for everyone and you need thick skin nowadays.

Also depending on where you are you would need to take the Praxis subject test to get licensed in whatever subject and also have a teaching certificate if you don't already have one. In Indiana you just need to pass the Praxis subject test in order to teach.
 
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navery12 said:
Curious to get some objective insight here. I'm 31 and getting pretty tired of my corporate job and debating a career change to teaching. I've always been interested in teaching even pre college but for one reason or another ended up going other routes.

Curious if anyone here has made that change, and beyond that if the teachers here think it's a worthwhile move. Not sure if it's too late to be making a move like this
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Are you in CT? This is about as late an age as you'd want to make the switch. Gotta have it by 35-ish. You really need 30 years to get a decent pension here.
 
Minicoop69 said:
If you have a significant other and they make a decent amount, then I would say try it and if it doesn't work then get out and go back to something else. It isn't for everyone and you need thick skin nowadays.
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My fiancee is a teacher, so right now I'm that significant other lol. Which is definitely a big factor I have to consider
 
navery12 said:
Curious to get some objective insight here. I'm 31 and getting pretty tired of my corporate job and debating a career change to teaching. I've always been interested in teaching even pre college but for one reason or another ended up going other routes.

Curious if anyone here has made that change, and beyond that if the teachers here think it's a worthwhile move. Not sure if it's too late to be making a move like this
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If you pursue this, make sure to put a lot of time into researching where you want to teach. There are problem districts sometimes hiding where you least expect it.
 
The high-school I went to growing up cut music and fired (laid-off) the music teacher. This is one of the best public schools in one of the best states (Connecticut) in the country. I'm scared for the future of education in the US.
 
Travelman6 said:
The high-school I went to growing up cut music and fired (laid-off) the music teacher. This is one of the best public schools in one of the best states (Connecticut) in the country. I'm scared for the future of education in the US.
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When I started teaching in the 80s my middle school had wood shop, metal shop, print shop, drafting, two art teachers, cooking, sewing, technology, band, chorus, music, two pe teachers, and health.

There are more students now, with only one art teacher, one pe teacher, health, band, chorus, and technology.

Specials are now where students go when their academic teachers have meetings. I still find it odd that not one administrator had ever taught an academic class.
 
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navery12 said:
Curious to get some objective insight here. I'm 31 and getting pretty tired of my corporate job and debating a career change to teaching. I've always been interested in teaching even pre college but for one reason or another ended up going other routes.

Curious if anyone here has made that change, and beyond that if the teachers here think it's a worthwhile move. Not sure if it's too late to be making a move like this
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Have you considered independent/private schools? No certification needed and, depending on which direction you want to teach, your previous work experience can go a long way adjusting into the education field.

There are a lot of really good private/independent schools in CT, and, depending in your area, you can apply to the schools that fit the niche you are looking for. Quite a few teachers in the MS section of my school are on second/third careers as teachers. I've taught in the same PK-8th grade international school for 15 years and love it, although the pay is a little under the median salary of nearby public schools and no pension, but there are other perks, including matching 401k contributions. I'm dual certified in CT for 4th-8th English & Math, but I don't have a desire to leave even though I've applied to a few public jobs here and there. Feel free to PM if interested.
 
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Minicoop69 said:
If I would have known how teaching has changed in my 17 years of doing it and how the pay isn't keeping up with the work involved, I would have chosen something else. I'm halfway done with my career and the only couple saving graces are that summers off with my 2 young girls are awesome and being on the same schedule with them is pretty nice.

If you have a significant other and they make a decent amount, then I would say try it and if it doesn't work then get out and go back to something else. It isn't for everyone and you need thick skin nowadays.
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Pretty solid reply here. 22 years ago I switched from corporate to teaching in my early 30s. I thought I was going to LOVE it, and for the most part really do.

Stuff has changed quite a bit though, and generally not for the better.
  • we used to have a lot more control of our lessons, tests/quizzes, and curriculum. Now we have more layers of administration and coaches dictating this stuff. Not necessarily a bad thing, but when they force a shit math curricula like IM down your throat, it sucks.
  • pay just hasn’t kept up with high inflation. Teacher pay got destroyed by the recent high inflation, and we’re not getting it back. Govt data shows inflation and pay increased together in the private sector, but NOT for teachers over the past few years.
  • kids are a LOT different these days. They are very tuned into phones and instant gratification, and productively struggling to learn and deep thought are becoming a thing of the past for such a large portion of students. Fighting with kids to put their phones in a designated caddy, and the endless arguments over who is next in line for the lav takes its toll on you. EVERY day.
  • post COVID, kids are REALLY struggling with mental health, and that is hard to see. School learning can be secondary to just getting through the day … I guess it is good that we can be part of the support system, but it is hard.
  • there’s a lot of BS like mandatory passing (or retakes or minimum grades on tests) that are training kids to not be accountable.
  • Now that I’m 54 and my corporate friends are starting to make real $$$$, it is very noticeable.
  • my job is less about teaching math, and more about managing students behaviors, expectations, and rewarding those executive functioning skills that employers like. If I didn’t get to teach AP Calc once a day (math content is important, students behave like adults, …), I don’t think I’d still be around.

Probably 96% of students in my high school are nice and likeable. But so many are disengaged from learning for any number of reasons. It is EXHAUSTING at times.

You need thick skin, and you GOTTA LOVE TEACHING/INTERACTING with your age group. I love that part, and it is still exhausting. Every now and again the personal rewards are incredible. Summers off are also incredible.

Get certified to sub (easy), and go check it out by subbing a bit. Or tag along with someone like me for a day.

Good luck!
 
navery12 said:
Curious to get some objective insight here. I'm 31 and getting pretty tired of my corporate job and debating a career change to teaching. I've always been interested in teaching even pre college but for one reason or another ended up going other routes.

Curious if anyone here has made that change, and beyond that if the teachers here think it's a worthwhile move. Not sure if it's too late to be making a move like this
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I started teaching public schools in my 30s. No regrets after all said and done, but there were some really rough years towards the end.

Do you have a specific subject or grade in mind?

I agree with Adrien: consider private schools. Smaller class size and fewer behavior problems.

One negative is many private schools require teachers to coach a sport, which includes later hours, including Saturdays.

One big positive: most offer free tuition for the children of employees.
 
temery said:
I started teaching public schools in my 30s. No regrets after all said and done, but there were some really rough years towards the end.

Do you have a specific subject or grade in mind?

I agree with Adrien: consider private schools. Smaller class size and fewer behavior problems.

One negative is many private schools require teachers to coach a sport, which includes later hours, including Saturdays.

One big positive: most offer free tuition for the children of employees.
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I'd want to teach high school math, maybe middle school but preferably high school. I'll have to look into the private school route, that wasn't something I'd considered
 
navery12 said:
I'd want to teach high school math, maybe middle school but preferably high school. I'll have to look into the private school route, that wasn't something I'd considered
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'What's your undergraduate degree?
 
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navery12 said:
I'd want to teach high school math, maybe middle school but preferably high school. I'll have to look into the private school route, that wasn't something I'd considered
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Middle school math teacher here and I love teaching the IB-MYP approach of mathematics and I also coach the school’s Mathcounts team. More public schools are applying IB and it’s much more holistic and interesting than brain-dead rote stuff and doesn’t have the weird check marks of some common core standards. I’m the curriculum leader at my school, so I’ve basically created all of the curriculum and assessments and can freely adjust, when appropriate. To be honest, I can imagine it being hard/boring to teach middle school math in some district districts.
 
Hey Adrien! said:
Middle school math teacher here and I love teaching the IB-MYP approach of mathematics and I also coach the school’s Mathcounts team. More public schools are applying IB and it’s much more holistic and interesting than brain-dead rote stuff and doesn’t have the weird check marks of some common core standards. I’m the curriculum leader at my school, so I’ve basically created all of the curriculum and assessments and can freely adjust, when appropriate. To be honest, I can imagine it being hard/boring to teach middle school math in some district districts.
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I currently teach high school math and all levels including college courses. I am transitioning into being an engineering and CAD teacher at my high school.

I have taught MS math for my 1st 7 years of teaching and while it was ok, nothing compares, for me at least, teaching high school math. The maturity in HS vs MS is a vast difference and that is all I needed. My MS that I taught at had 1500+ kids and admin wanted to be more friends then having discipline and it showed with the students.ass turnover with staff every year.
 
Pm
navery12 said:
I'd want to teach high school math, maybe middle school but preferably high school. I'll have to look into the private school route, that wasn't something I'd considered
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There’s the Alternate Route to Certification, a program that gets you an accelerated teaching certification (8 weeks over the summer?). I did it … in 2002 and have been teaching since.
 
There is a varsity basketball job over the border in MA.. my buddy is engaged to the principal’s daughter I get it easily… I just don’t think I care anymore.

I gave 15 years of my life, ate slept breathed hoops, but maaaaaaaaan.. life is different, I don’t need the ego boost, the late nights, the drama.. I’ve become such a grumpy old man at 46
 
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M.S.G. said:
There is a varsity basketball job over the border in MA.. my buddy is engaged to the principal’s daughter I get it easily… I just don’t think I care anymore.

I gave 15 years of my life, ate slept breathed hoops, but maaaaaaaaan.. life is different, I don’t need the ego boost, the late nights, the drama.. I’ve become such a grumpy old man at 46
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Teaching and coachint sucks. I was at school from 7am-9pm 5 days a week during the season. Plus Saturday mornings.

Not worth it. I'll coach my kid's travel teams so they don't get some psycho parent.
 
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