Anybody Ever Thought of Being a Teacher?

[Padawanbater2]

I've given this a lot of thought, and I seriously think it might be the perfect career for me.

I think the education system is is the roots, the foundation, that's where it all begins for people. This is the best place to start to make any kind of difference in the world.

I remember going through school, the best teachers were the ones who were enthusiastic and emotional about the stuff they taught. I feel like that about dozens of subjects.

What kind of salaries to teachers these days pull in? I mean, do they struggle to survive? I wouldn't be in it for the paycheck, but I'd like to be financially secure enough to focus on other things.

How do you go about doing this? Go to college, earn a degree - in what? Teaching credentials? Then just go to the local high school and be like "hey, you guys need anymore teachers?"...

I'll look more into this of course, just curious if anyone from the boards ever had a similar interest or had any insight.

 

[SimplySmokin]

Thats my "PLAN B".., 9th grade science... I have a degree in agronomy..

 

[cmt1984]

my best friend is a first year teacher, he teaches high school chem....he is also a big stoner. he says he loves it, he cant wait to go to work everyday...plus the vacation time is a plus.

teachers can make a nice living depending on the school. my friend teaches in one of the richest suburbs in the country so he makes some nice money, plus real nice benefits. college professors make a lot of money...plus you can teach multiple colleges. my sociology prof taught at 2 brick and mortar schools and 3 online schools, pulling in 5 salaries...gotta love that.

you earn a degree in what you want to teach. the longer you go to school, the better the job options.

 

[mwowner15]

Where im from NYC i would not recommend anyone being a teacher. If your going to teach in a non-ghetto location then i suggest you do it since teaching civilized kids is a great thing. But if you live in a urban ghetto society with a bunch of low class citizens like myself i think you should rethink career your choice. Personally i would not want to teach any of these kids because its like talking to the wall. Kids these days are so self centered and so materialistic. In fact I hate kids lol tbh maybe its just my personal feelings about being a teacher in a urban city. If your going to teach in a non-ghetto community or at least a decent school which do not except street kids then i suggest you do it. Please note that i am From NYC and i had the worst experiance of my life in these schools, it felt as if i was in prison. We had to go threw metal detectors, bunch of gang bullshit and the segregation is just horrible, the fights that go on constantly, even the windows had bars. In fact all these things that i listed are the same characteristics of a prison. And the food is crap also. The teachers have to pay 5-7$ for some grade "D" food. I cant even stand the kids right now when i see them walking home from the Local high school that i went to. Maybe its just me or maybe its just my horrible experience with the public education system in NYC but i wouldnt be a teacher in these schools at all, only if it was the last resort, and i would probably be put to jail because i would knock out one of these kids because i cant stand the way these non civilized people act.

Sorry to be harsh but this is just my 2 cents. I hope you don't live in NYC lol =)

 

[Total Head]

i thought about being a teacher when i was younger. for some reason i can muster a lot of patience when someone is trying to learn and i can actually get through. then i realized i practically hate children and i would hate their parents even more. not for me after all. but around here teachers earn between 30k and 75k depending on the county and district.

 

[StonedPony]

Alot pressure on Teachers today........spend more time trying to be PC and careful of what you say and say it to and god forbid you really are serious in helping an oppisit sex student.........that can blow up in your face.........man Teachers have all my respect......I truly mean that....what you have to contend with and teach too....I couldnt do it...........I know there are alot of happy teachers out there but it still has to work on your nerves..........MAY YOU BE REWARDED SOME HOW FOR YOUR DEDICATION

 

[smokecat]

Money is decent, but you might start low around 35k, but it goes up quick and caps out @ about 80k where I live. If you are needing extra dough you get paid to after school detention, summer school etc. The thing is though high school kids are HORRIBLE now, 9 out of 10 is so fucking pampered my mommy and/or daddy - they won't hesitate to say the most unbelievable disrespectful bullshit and their parents won't back you up on anything. If you don't want mad stress the elementary, junior high or college prof is the way to go.

 

[Shmulster]

hey dude im an english teacher. i teach adults through esl programs. i can tell you from knowing teachers also from around Europe and the us that the pay will almost always suck if you teach for a school or a company. if money plays a big part - go private and find something you can specialize in - start with helping out with homework and such until you get the feel of the material and build your own curriculum with levels and such.
teaching is amazingly satisfying - as i study now to be a biologist i dread the day i will have to give it up. To teach someone is best way i know to gain self respect and the respect of others in your community. good luck man.

 

[Padawanbater2]

Yeah, junior high school and about 9th grade is where I really got interested in learning. The spark develops early on, before high school. Then at the college level, those kids are paying to be there, and most of them realize the importance of the education they're receiving, so they tend to pay more attention from what I've seen. I would agree with that.

Nah, I live in California, school out here was overall a positive experience, I just know a lot of things can be improved, and it wouldn't take much to do it.

 

[smokecat]

Yeah, junior high school and about 9th grade is where I really got interested in learning. The spark develops early on, before high school. Then at the college level, those kids are paying to be there, and most of them realize the importance of the education they're receiving, so they tend to pay more attention from what I've seen. I would agree with that.

Nah, I live in California, school out here was overall a positive experience, I just know a lot of things can be improved, and it wouldn't take much to do it.

Do it man. Plus rep for making improvements.

 

[Padawanbater2]

Like I remember going to class and just doing "busy work", they'd hand out worksheets with questions and pages to look up in the book, you'd sit there for 45 minutes and just memorize the stuff, not actually learning anything.

A big issue I also remember is they never told you the REASONS we were learning the stuff we were learning, like, why it was so important. In my opinion, THAT is what makes the actual process of learning so much fun. WHY I need to know this, not just the HOW'S.

I had a science teacher and an english teacher that I can honestly say changed the course of my life and the way I view learning and understanding things. I wonder how that would make them feel... Could you get a higher compliment? Damn... That's what I want, I want to change peoples lives for the better, get people interested in learning and knowing things. There is so much interesting stuff to learn, you have no idea until you actually get into it.

I thought chemistry was boring and a little tough in high school, but now that I'm out, and have read through books about it and how it works, the history of it, how they figured stuff out, I fucking LOVE it! It's like the closest thing to actual MAGIC you can get. It's amazing!

Anyway, thanks for all the replies guys, RUI is great.

 

[prototypeone]

I am in school right now to get my degree for elementary education right now. I will probably stay for my masters. I always think about the difference you can make in someone's life if you can just get them to love to learn. Thats my driving reason anyways