Who'd be a teacher these days? (Maybe me?)

I know we have a few people on here who made who have made the transition from journalism to education, and others -- including me -- have expressed interest in doing so. What sort of questions should we be asking before making that switch? What would you have wanted to know prior to becoming a teacher?

Both my parents were public school teachers, and I have great respect for the profession. I was a good student and I like to think I'd bring lots of content knowledge to the job, but of course content knowledge is only part of the game. There's also effectively transmitting that knowledge, course design, classroom management, administrative tasks, and all the other responsibilities that come with being entrusted with young minds and the bodies to which those minds are attached.

There's no shortage of stories about the low pay and respect, people leaving teaching, the politicization of education, etc., and that certainly factors into my thinking. Even so, kids deserve to get a good education from teachers who care about their work and their students. I still remember the teachers who inspired and motivated me, as well as those who clearly didn't give a damn -- all history teachers who were also sports coaches, come to think of it. I know I have a tendency toward catastrophic thinking and am only getting a partial view into the life of a teacher from the outside, so hopefully those of you who are in the job can provide a fuller picture and an idea of what the teaching-curious would be getting into.

 

As noted elsewhere, I walked out of the newsroom and into the classroom 10 years ago today, and I've never looked back.
It'd do it again in a heartbeat. I don't consider the pay low. I make more than double what I did my last year as an assistant sports editor, and I don't have to work 65 hours a week to do it.
That having been said, many of us are quite frustrated right now because of the nut jobs, disrespect, and politicization. I don't know of anyone really considering getting out, but I know many - including the one I see in the mirror - who are falling into a funk of slipping from top flight teachers to guys who go through the motions because no matter what you do, you are going to get shit on.

 

IMO, not personal experience, it's (1) classroom management... are you disciplined enough yourself to discipline others swiftly and effectively, then (2) upward support from administration. How have they pushed back toward asks from local and state boards? I think if you even consider teaching as a profession after working in another field, you're pretty self aware that you know the content and can transmit that knowledge. Just reflect on #1, because it can be a hell hole, and research #2, because reasons. My source is my adult child who has been teaching 13 tears total in two different state public school systems.

 

I don't have any first-hand knowledge of working in or running a classroom, or handling a roomful of students. I'd guess a lot would depend on the ages, skill levels and curriculum of said students.

But if you think you want to do it, you should take the plunge and try teaching. Despite all the potential problems and very real headaches that I'm sure are/would be involved, there are still few professions in which a person's impact on another can be so direct, influential, long-lasting, and, potentially, transformative.

I'll use a couple of examples from within my own family:

I was always a pretty good student, but mostly because I'm conscientious and I have a good work ethic --traits that appeared early in my life and have influenced it thr0ughout. I'm pretty bright -- smarter than the average bear, as my boss at work has commented a couple of times -- but I'm not crazy-gifted smart, like my youngest brother -- he of the 157 IQ -- is. I did well because I was willing to work hard for my good grades and other academic achievements. Nevertheless, I was influenced specifically by a few memorable teachers, whose names and efforts have stuck with me to this day.

So, here's a tip of the cap to a couple of my best teachers: Mr. Valdez, my high school trigonometry teacher, who made a point of coming to school and being in his classroom two hours early three days a week so that he could be available for one-on-one tutoring for students who needed it and/or wanted it, or for kids who just needed a good place to study and do homework, with the instructor available should questions arise. No appointment necessary. You just had to show up, because Mr. Valdez would be there. And, sure enough, with Mr. Valdez's goading/challenging, encouragement and subject-matter help, I went from a D grade in the first quarter of that year to a B+ in the last. It wasn't the A's I was used to getting in most of my classes, but I always felt good about that improvement. It was a class in which I definitely felt like "a student," but I went from feeling like a bad student to actually being a decent one -- one who knew I'd earned and learned what I should in it, and who had done the best that I could.

When it comes right down to it, what more can a teacher, or a student, ask for?

There were also a couple of history teachers -- I had good ones in Mr. Davis in high school, and in Mr. Gonzales in college. I always liked history, so perhaps they had it easy with me, but I found them interesting, motivating and inspiring, just like the subject matter. I looked forward to their classes, and did well in them. But I was never bored largely because they presented the material so well, and because they loved it themselves, and encouraged their students to do the same. Well, they should know that they passed on that enthusiasm to me, at least. Mr. Gonzales, not a journalism teacher, was the one who even turned me on to the book, "All The President's Men," and, when he realized how much I loved it, and how interested I was in it, then encouraged me to read "The Final Days."

Then, there was the case of one of my older brothers, who wasn't a good student, didn't like school, and sometimes struggled with it. He actually found a genuine mentor in Mr. Newlon, a young-ish junior high school teacher of social studies, and also, wood-shop at the time, if I remember correctly. My brother -- quiet and certainly no other instructor's favorite student -- had him for both classes, and was taken under his teacher's wing.

Well, he is still there, in a relationship that has stood the test of time and has now lasted into Mr. Newlon's 70s, and my brother's early 60s.

Suffice to say that, even outside of school, the two developed a rapport, and then, a friendship, that we in the family have always marveled at. These days, such a student-teacher relationship would, frankly, probably be frowned upon and even disallowed. But, way back then, Mr. Newlon often fed their mutual interests, taking my brother to antique-car shows, and working on cars with him, inviting him over to his house for barbecues, and just generally taking an interest in and caring about a young teen who didn't like much about school, and yet, somehow, found a friend for life.

When my brother got married, Mr. Newlon was invited, and came to, the wedding. He sent condolences when our father passed away. The now-retired teacher and his former student still live in the same city, keep in periodic touch, and have run into each other around town throughout the years. Last year, my brother went over to his teacher's house again, this time at Christmas, to see an incredible holiday yard scene that was set up, complete with a running, passenger-carrying train that circled around the property, and to talk about old times and catch up on current ones with someone who, as a teacher, truly made a positive impact on a student.

I think my brother was lucky, and I know he thinks he was, too.

 

Teachers are heroes.

 

Both of my parents were teachers, though my father only toward the end of his career and mainly as a substitute. My mother taught level three in the public schools, often kids who had just gotten out of juvenile detention. She had a red phone on her desk that she simply had to knock off the cradle for it to summon security and the onsite police officer. I saw her get threatened in public. I also received messages after her death from kids who said how much of a positive impact she had on their lives. I still run into her former students and they relate positive memories of having her as a teacher.

She had the patience of Job. I do not and I would make an awful teacher.

Teachers earn their summers off and are truly societal heroes.

 

So happy I jumped into teaching and left journalism.

The pay is so much better than my newspaper gigs. I mean a lot better.

Classroom management is beginning and end of being a teacher. If you are confident there, the rest of it is just organization. Kids are assholes but they respect consistency and fair play. You won’t get all of them but if you can get them behaving so you can teach, you’re there.

The credential program is best for how to plan. Activity ideas, things that work or don’t. But the day-to-day you need to be in the room. Get a good mentor and glean off of them.

Oh and tomorrow is a new day. Always.

 

I should add I had a former student from my first year teaching run into me last June. He immediately brought up the time I helped him become eligible for basketball because we sat in the office finishing his work and I graded it on the spot. He never forgot it.

It’s him and so much more like that which make it all worth it.

 

Your point about classroom management is extremely important. If a person can't see themselves enjoying working with young people, and that includes discipline, they need to do something else.

 

Not me. I don’t have the patience.

 

I was a lawyer in a big NY firm, and left many years ago to teach full time in a private girls high school. I always say I miss it twice a month (1st & the 15th). In some ways my job is very different than public school teachers (I'm on from 8-5), but some things are universal. While my hours away from home are much better now, I bring way more work home now than I did in my former life. There are always tests to write or grade etc. So that is stressful. Part of my job is also talking to students and extra-curricular learning, which is also great. A few things I've learned:
- Loving your subject matter is important, but not alone a reason to go into teaching. I remember in law school, my worst professors were often the most brilliant and expert. You need to love helping young people understand your subjects.
- As others have said, patience is really, really essential.
-The most important skill to have and/or develop is the ability to find something you can genuinely admire and like about each student, so you can sincerely become a fan and advocate for her. I can't say I'm batting 1.000, but I come pretty close, with some challenging students. That's the magic formula.

 

I briefly considered becoming a teacher, but my state’s transition program would have been a considerable amount of work, so I decided not to.’

One piece of advice that I found somewhere was to consider become a substitute teacher if one was unsure of becoming a teacher. That way, you could get in front of a classroom at first to get your feet wet without having to make a full-blown commitment.

My wife subbed for a couple of school districts for a few years. One was a wealthy district, which she enjoyed. The other was one poor district, and the kids there were so rough on her and the principal was zero help that she refused sub calls for them after a couple of years.