I need to hear from some high school biology teachers!!!

[rluey29]

I'm 33 with two kids and have a Bachelor's Degree in Biology and Chemistry. I'm considering getting my FL teaching license in Biology but I would like to hear from some actual high school teachers. I hear there's a lot of not-so-nice things about being a teacher and I'd like to be well prepared. Also, I have the choice of getting a Master's first but I'd really like to start helping my husband out financially with taking care of the family. I would like to eventually have a job in Seminole County.

So what I need to know is:

Do you love being a Biology teacher?
Do you wish you hadn't gone into teaching?
Would you get your Master's if you could?
What are the things that you don't like?
Does it make you nervous with the violence in schools today?
Would you rather teach high school than mid or elem?

And anything else I should know will help. Thanks!!!

 

[abdmom]

I'm not biology, but I'm a high school chemistry teacher. I found it somewhat easier to find chemistry jobs, so if I were you, I'd get dual licensure.

I have a Ph.D. and I found it VERY difficult to find teaching jobs in the public school system in the U.S. I would recommend getting licensure and a job with just the bachelor's degree. Get the masters later.

I've taught middle school and high school. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Middle school students are less attentive, but are more fun and you can have more fun with the curriculum. High school is a more intensive curriculum and the students are a little more attentive.

I would rather do teaching than anything else in the world. And I tried 2 other careers before starting teaching and one other career in between teaching jobs.

 

[horseshowmom]

I'm 33 with two kids and have a Bachelor's Degree in Biology and Chemistry. I'm considering getting my FL teaching license in Biology but I would like to hear from some actual high school teachers. I hear there's a lot of not-so-nice things about being a teacher and I'd like to be well prepared. Also, I have the choice of getting a Master's first but I'd really like to start helping my husband out financially with taking care of the family. I would like to eventually have a job in Seminole County.

So what I need to know is:

Do you love being a Biology teacher?
Do you wish you hadn't gone into teaching?
Would you get your Master's if you could?
What are the things that you don't like?
Does it make you nervous with the violence in schools today?
Would you rather teach high school than mid or elem?

And anything else I should know will help. Thanks!!!

I'm not a Biology teacher, but I can answer some of your questions since I've been in education for a long time. If you have many small, rural schools in your area, a teacher who is dual certified is a very marketable commodity so I would get both the Biology and the Chemistry. Small, rural schools also tend to have less violence.

 

[princessmom29]

I am certified in composite science, so I can teach any high school science. If FL has that option that is the way to go IMO. Biology is a regular science everyone takes. Chemistry is an honors course. You will get a better caliber of student there and fewer behavior issues. You have abetter chance getting into the system with a biology job, and then moving up to teach chemistry and physics. I won't lie to you, the first years were ROUGH. I have been cussed out, spit at, broken up fights ect. It took me 5 years to get to the point that I was teaching all honors classes, but I LOVE my job now and wouldn't trade it for anything. My kids are great and for the most prat really want ot be there and learn something.

 

[rluey29]

Thanks for the replies, they are helpful!!!

 

[Cinderella94]

Biology is a regular science everyone takes. Chemistry is an honors course. You will get a better caliber of student there and fewer behavior issues.

That depends on the school system. We have both Honors and Regular biology, as well as Honors and Regular chemistry.

 

[DenMig]

I am a high school chemistry and physical science teacher. I have been teaching 15 years. I started out as a biology teacher but I found I enjoy teaching physical sciences much more due to the types of labs, demos, and problem solving skills I can help nurture and build.

Do you love being a Biology teacher?
Do you wish you hadn't gone into teaching?

I love teaching science and am glad I am a teacher. I have had some tremendous classes and some that made me want to smash my head into the wall. However, the good outweighs the bad.

Would you get your Master's if you could?

I am working on my Masters now at 41. I waited until my kids were a bit older. I really wish I would have done it awhile ago as it is very time consuming now. However I am learning a lot and can translate what I learn into my teaching. I suppose it can make it more difficult to land a job w/ a Masters because they have to pay you more, but I have seen schools take the best candidate regardless of where they fall on the pay scale.

What are the things that you don't like?

Some of the hoops you have to jump through from the administration. When things like NCLB take away from creative teaching and you are forced to "teach to the test".


Does it make you nervous with the violence in schools today?

NO

Would you rather teach high school than mid or elem?

I prefer high school, though I've never taught middle school. I like being able to teach a more in depth science such as honors chem and AP chem.

I love teaching. I love seeing the excitement in my students. I have a lot of ex students who have friended me on facebook and I feel like I have made an impact in their lives. It is rewarding.

 

[epcotprincess]

I
So what I need to know is:

Do you love being a Biology teacher?
Do you wish you hadn't gone into teaching?
Would you get your Master's if you could?
What are the things that you don't like?
Does it make you nervous with the violence in schools today?
Would you rather teach high school than mid or elem?

And anything else I should know will help. Thanks!!!

Not a bio teacher but a former and hopefully in the future high school teacher (currently SAHM to my dd).

Do I love teaching? YES
Do I wish I hadn't gone into teaching? Sometimes-- the job market here sucks, but that's the only reason.
Masters? Working on it.
Things I don't like? Helicopter parents. Bureaucracy. Working during your off hours. Only vacationing during school breaks. Most people thinking teachers hardly work at all, due to the summer. Having to be so super careful with every single thing you do or say.
Violence? I worked in a very violent district in my last job. I was slammed against a wall and told I would be raped, and I was intentionally shoved in the gut at 6 months pregnant. That said, I do not fear violence in most schools, and these experiences taught me to a.) never be alone and b.) never get in the middle of a fight. Those were things I should have known anyway. My district was one of the worst in the state for sure, so for most schools, NO, the violence is usually controlled by administration these days, and I do not fear returning to the classroom.
High school vs. lower elementary? YES. They get it. They are ready to make big changes in their lives. I believe lower el has a lot of benefits, but I really love upper el. I love working with so many different kids, having a different set each hour really helps me through the day. I love working with the older set.

I would highly advise the following:
a.) observe in someone's classroom
b.) substitute teach.

If you decide after doing these things that teaching is for you, then:

a.) find out what the job market is in your area
b.) sub as much as possible, make as many contacts as possible, and
c.) get dual certification for better marketability, and do this prior to your masters.

Good luck! It's a hard, but very amazing, job.

 

[rluey29]

How much paperwork is involved? I keep hearing that there is quite a bit. Also I have subbed at the elementary level before. My husband teaches PE at an elementary as well but he doesn't know what the other teachers have to go through because he doesn't have to do all the testing.

 

[princessmom29]

How much paperwork is involved? I keep hearing that there is quite a bit. Also I have subbed at the elementary level before. My husband teaches PE at an elementary as well but he doesn't know what the other teachers have to go through because he doesn't have to do all the testing.

In general, there is a lot more paperwork in elementary school. My sister teaches elementary and easily does 3-4 times the paperwork I do. It also depends on the district and the school. We are a low paperwork school. I know of others who are asked to do a lot more.