Is anybody here a teacher?

[karamazov80]

pretty much everyone at one time was a student and saw the time off that teachers have so if you weren't smart enough to aim for that rewarding career and get it sucks to be you.

But that doesn't mean people won't be bitter because they don't have the same perks. It pisses me off, frankly, but that's the nature of things in my observations. People will wish ill of others out of jealousy and spite.

I don't know about the Canadian system, but in the U.S. our education system is flawed and has its issues, including bad apple teachers who make everyone else suffer when they fail to treat their work with the level of seriousness and professionalism that it warrants. However, I know it is not nearly as bad as many paint it to be, and I think those who want to de-fund education and to take away the existing benefits that teachers have (much less trying to expand on them to attract good candidates like Ben) are extremely short-sighted. Education reform should not be accomplished by cutting teacher benefits and rationing budgets.

 

[Hew]

But that doesn't mean people won't be bitter because they don't have the same perks. It pisses me off, frankly, but that's the nature of things in my observations. People will wish ill of others out of jealousy and spite.

I don't know about the Canadian system, but in the U.S. our education system is flawed and has its issues, including bad apple teachers who make everyone else suffer when they fail to treat their work with the level of seriousness and professionalism that it warrants. However, I know it is not nearly as bad as many paint it to be, and I think those who want to de-fund education and to take away the existing benefits that teachers have (much less trying to expand on them to attract good candidates like Ben) are extremely short-sighted. Education reform should not be accomplished by cutting teacher benefits and rationing budgets.

That's going to be tricky, especially with many states budgeting concerns and the new-found focus on the federal debt.

I don't have any anecdotes, like everyone else, but I think you cannot build anything on a weak foundation (in this case education). Teaching kids to respect education is very important, approaching school in terms of what it can do for them is not emphasized enough IMHO. It's a multifaceted problem that's a cultural issue--education really is taken for granted.

 

[gibby]

I really wanted to be an educator, but lately I've been leaning toward a degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering.

I was always a good student through high school and college. I had a 3.9 GPA in high school and 4.0 in college, but I'm kind of worried about the loss of math and science skills after being away from it for a few years. Hopefully it'll come back to me if I decide to go down the engineering path. It'd also take a really long time to finish, but I guess ever semester I wait to decide, it's that much more time I'm wasting.

If you were good with math and science, it should be like riding a bike.

If you're good with math, though, why don't you start learning how to invest (and potentially daytrade)? At least you can try to get some supplemental income while you're going to school, or better yet, secure a nest egg for retirement.

 

[Boba Ben]

If you were good with math and science, it should be like riding a bike.

If you're good with math, though, why don't you start learning how to invest (and potentially daytrade)? At least you can try to get some supplemental income while you're going to school, or better yet, secure a nest egg for retirement.

I might eventually do some minor investing here and there in the future. Although, my knowledge of the stock market is little to none at the present. I have a 401K through my employer that I contribute to, but it's been kind of weak lately. Day trading might be a little too risky for me. I know the reward can be pretty high, but I have to keep my hands on any money I can save for college rather than risk it.

 

[The Ween]

But that doesn't mean people won't be bitter because they don't have the same perks. It pisses me off, frankly, but that's the nature of things in my observations. People will wish ill of others out of jealousy and spite.

I don't know about the Canadian system, but in the U.S. our education system is flawed and has its issues, including bad apple teachers who make everyone else suffer when they fail to treat their work with the level of seriousness and professionalism that it warrants. However, I know it is not nearly as bad as many paint it to be, and I think those who want to de-fund education and to take away the existing benefits that teachers have (much less trying to expand on them to attract good candidates like Ben) are extremely short-sighted. Education reform should not be accomplished by cutting teacher benefits and rationing budgets.

I can't speak for everyone, but the teachers here not only put a lot of over 8 hour days in, but also put in a lot of their own money towards their classrooms. There are also many, many meetings to attend and parents to deal with off hours. It's not like they punch a time clock and put in an 8 hour day and that's it and they get two months off for summer. It's not that cut and dry.

And there are bad apples in every profession or job. And there are also a lot of jobs where people don't put in 8 hour days, five days a week but get paid a salary. How often is Congress out on break or some kind of vacation?

As for the debt, they like to put bandaids on huge wounds. Kinda like stopping the shuttle program to save money for the national debt despite that it's just a drop in the ocean. They just want to make it look like they're doing something. Same with the states. There are hundreds of ways they could save money, but cutting teacher's pay, etc. is their bandaid.

Our school system's bandaid is the lowest paid on the scale....classified employees. Spends thousands and save pennies.

 

[The Ween]

Uh oh........what did Devil do?

 

[Bodie The Cursed]

i have a teaching credential and a masters in education. never used em.

 

[The Ween]

i have a teaching credential and a masters in education. never used em.

Ahhhhhhhhh Bodie, what you could teach our dear children.

 

[Adoptedscot]

I didn't know that. Is that viewable by the general posting public somewhere?

No, when a post is deleted and we put a reason why it is deleted, only the mods/admin can see it. If it's only a soft delete (and they usually are, unless Dave does it) we can still see it but the rest of the peeps can't.

x

 

[eighthsamurai]

not sure about the current situation in the US (doesn't sound happy), but teaching in japan was one of the best things i've ever done. i had bad classes, but i had great classes too, and like others have said, it's the most rewarding thing in the world teaching someone something.

as for engineering, make sure it's really what you want to do. not for the money or the potential jobs or anything else, just for the interest of it. 4 years is a long time if you don't really want to be there. i went back to university to study 5 years ago, finished an undergraduate degree in 3, which felt like an age as an adult. then just i was all ready to leave i was offered a ridiculous scholarship to continue on a phd and i took it because all i could think was that it was too good to pass up. now everyday feels like a total chore because i just want to get it done and not really be here. i don't care about the qualification anymore, i just want to be out there working.

do what makes you happy, man. everything else tends to work itself out eventually. if you're doing what you love despite all the peripheral crap, you won't regret anything.

 

[eighthsamurai]

oh and don't worry about the maths. i was worried about the same thing, but with your gpa you shouldn't have any problems at all. i'd forgotten everything before i started, but it comes back fairly quickly.

 

[nash]

im a certified flight instructor

 

[BadMoon]

I can't speak for everyone, but the teachers here not only put a lot of over 8 hour days in, but also put in a lot of their own money towards their classrooms. There are also many, many meetings to attend and parents to deal with off hours. It's not like they punch a time clock and put in an 8 hour day and that's it and they get two months off for summer. It's not that cut and dry.

And there are bad apples in every profession or job. And there are also a lot of jobs where people don't put in 8 hour days, five days a week but get paid a salary. How often is Congress out on break or some kind of vacation?

As for the debt, they like to put bandaids on huge wounds. Kinda like stopping the shuttle program to save money for the national debt despite that it's just a drop in the ocean. They just want to make it look like they're doing something. Same with the states. There are hundreds of ways they could save money, but cutting teacher's pay, etc. is their bandaid.

Our school system's bandaid is the lowest paid on the scale....classified employees. Spends thousands and save pennies.

My wife is a teacher. She first started with high school and has moved on to 4th grade (her goal). She has her Masters and is pretty damned educated.

If I had her job I would quit in a second. I've asked her why she does it and quite simply it's what she wants to do. I never went to school and make more than her and don't have the student loans to pay back either. She has to constantly pay for things out of pocket and wait for her taxes to try to claim some of the stuff. She has to put up with crazy parents and kids all day. Does she have off during the summer? For a few weeks and then she volunteers for summer school. The amount of time grading papers during the nights is also nuts. There is so much BS teachers go through I can't even write it all down.

So in short, unless you REALLY want to do it, find something else to do.

To the teachers on this board, THANK YOU!

 

[nash]

To the teachers on this board, THANK YOU!

You're welcome

 

[Mr. Green]

I really wanted to be an educator, but lately I've been leaning toward a degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering.

I was always a good student through high school and college. I had a 3.9 GPA in high school and 4.0 in college, but I'm kind of worried about the loss of math and science skills after being away from it for a few years. Hopefully it'll come back to me if I decide to go down the engineering path. It'd also take a really long time to finish, but I guess ever semester I wait to decide, it's that much more time I'm wasting.

Its a bad economy. Almost every field have problems. In my previous career, being a quality control in manufacturing, engineers have problems too. I've worked next to them. Just because they study engineer doesn't mean they do real engineering work. One of my co-worker does newsletter among other things. He turned down or frown upon a production supervisor position. His friends are unemployed. And this is before the recession. You'll need at least a 3.5 GPA to have a good chance. I worked next to chemist before. They're temporary employee just like me. Biologist? Forget it.

Since then, I went to college and graduated with honors. Long story short, I managed to switched career to IT. Gained a few years of experience but I got lay-off 2 months ago. I've decided to stick with this career.

What ever you do, I hope it works out. Don't be a career students; student loans are a killers.

 

[DarthNeil]

No, when a post is deleted and we put a reason why it is deleted, only the mods/admin can see it. If it's only a soft delete (and they usually are, unless Dave does it) we can still see it but the rest of the peeps can't.

x

My bad-- I thought that info was visible to all.

 

[King Darkness]

I have to teach dumb ass truckers how to do their log books every freaking day! And teach them the finer points as to why you shouldn't drive around with flat tires, inoperative brakes, inoperative lights, missing emergency equipment, loose or shifting loads, etc etc etc....... .......

Can I call myself a teacher too?

 

[The Craw]

i would love to be a teacher. but i need a job that i can i show up to with a hangover about 3 days a week. i don't think being a teacher would work for that cuz i need to sit and space out for the first 3-4 hours while my head clears.

 

[karamazov80]

i would love to be a teacher. but i need a job that i can i show up to with a hangover about 3 days a week. i don't think being a teacher would work for that cuz i need to sit and space out for the first 3-4 hours while my head clears.

In some schools and school districts, I don't think this would be a problem.

 

[The Mike]

I'm a teacher and I love it. Paid Summer Vacations are a little joke between teachers just to piss off those who aren't and have to work right now. In reality in all the districts around me, if you want "paid" summer vacation you get 15% removed from your check every month, saved up and then redistributed to you in June for it to last until October 1 which is the date we get paid again.

Teaching isn't for everyone, you really have to like it to deal with those little _______s day in and day out. Not to mention what is really tough is all the politics and bull____ that occurs between other teachers (seriously it's like being in ____ing junior high again), between you and the principal which can be tough and especially amongst district folks, whose head is so far up their ***** that they look like floating "O"s moving around.

I will say this, it's all about tenure. I have a Masters in Education and I'm one of three in my entire department. There was a teacher with a doctorate in Education with specific emphasis in the grade levels she teaches. She was letgo this year because it was the end of year 2 and if she walked into a classroom in August she'd have a job for life. That ____ doesn't fly in the private sector, they'd keep the highest educated employee without a doubt but here its how long you've been at the party and who you know, another teacher buddied up to the principal, went out for beers, etc and had just a bachelors with a credential and he was kept because "he worked better with the chemistry of the school."

The education system is corrupt and needs a rehaul drastically. Unions who are supposed to be looking out for teacher's best interests are off picking fights with the district and principals just for something to do. Teachers who are lazy are being kept because they have tenure, principals are working the system and ejecting based on what benefits them and not the kids. Be thankful you're not in it right now, I guarantee you within the next five years the public education system will undergo an amazingly violent shake-up that'll have people on their *****. Hopefully at the end people who actually care and like to teach will be left behind instead of those who just made good enough friends.

Also here is some threads with interesting points on the matter.
https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47504&highlight=teacher

https://www.sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72467&highlight=teacher