Thinking about a teaching career

[mom2aredhead]

So nice to hear such positive things! I am considering teaching, but am worried about the job market, and the whole going back to school thing. Was thinking substituting would be a good starting point!

Good luck with your future career!

I speak from experience (mine and others close to me) when I can tell you this...unless you are willing to teach in Newark, Patterson or Camden, it is extremely difficult to get a teaching job in the state of NJ as an alternate route candidate unless you have a previous relationship with the district. And when I say relationship, I mean you have worked there for long stretches as a sub, and/or did so much volunteering there to the point that you are on a first name basis with the principal.

Traditionally educated teachers and administrators do not like alternate route teachers, especially in the elementary schools, extra-especially in the "good" districts. If you are serious about teaching, just go back to school and get your certification the traditional method. The time you will waste trying to get a job going through the alternate route program will be just as long as going back and getting a degree.

 

[StephMK]

Can someone clarify an "alternate route" program? Mine is geared towards career changers in that tuition is 1/2 price and 2 yrs but includes 2 hr labs 2x a week for each subject class. It's all the same ed classes a regular undergrad takes, just on a master level and includes all elem ed subjects plus development, multicultural and class mgmt. Then a full semester of FT student teaching.

You can't sub here unless you are a certified. But I know they are still hiring in NE if anyone wants to come out! Especially out in Western NE - they always seem to have ads. Hopefully things will still be in ok shape in 2 yrs.

For the poster that said to be sure, how do you know? That is one of my fears, because without ever being in charge of a full day class, how do you know certainly? I have taught Scouts & Sunday school and love kids, but that's not to say that translates over. My mom says I'd be great but well...she's my mom & a retired teach. I don't mind working hard and put up with enough crap in my old career that I think I could take the bad parts, just want to be challenged & go home feeling like maybe it's made a grain of difference.

Are you still thinking of trying it OP? Sorry for piggybacking questions on your thread but wanted to keep it in the current thread discussion.

 

[Bastiansmom]

I don't think you can be sure until you actually get in there and start doing it. I don't think you should rush into anything and should have a clear expectation of what the job entails (good and bad). Teaching is something you should be passionate about and go into wholeheartedly. Give it 100 %, but also be willing to accept the fact that it might not be for you, and it is fine to give it up it is not for you. I say this because I've had teachers who show absolutely no passion for their job or their students. It's hard to say "this isn't for me, I need to move on" because no one wants to see themselves as a quitter.

A lot of posters seem to be criticizing me (and others) for considering an alternative placement program. Let me repeat the fact that I am not trying to get certified to teach elementary school, which in my opinion is completely different from teaching high school. Student teaching like training is required through the AP placement program, it just goes by a different name, "professional eduacation." I would feel more confident teaching business with a business degree than with an education degree. Maybe its just me, but I prefer learning from someone with practical knowledge, and I believe students in a business class would feel the same way.

From my research, education based degrees are based on "how to teach" not necessarily brushing up on your knowledge of the periodic table, long division, and the Cold War. I look at teaching business in a completely different way.
I will do some in classroom training before I have a class of my own to learn the mechanics of "how to teach," but I have a business degree so I understand what I am teaching.

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far. I really appreciate your input.

 

[MM27]

For the person that asked about Alternate Route, I don't know if it is the same in every state, but in NJ it works like this.

If you have a Bachelor's degree in anything, you can go alternate route. You need to take and pass the Praxis exam and then you have to find a district that is willing to hire you (usually urban as someone has said) and you start teaching on day one. You take alternate route classes at night throughout the year. In NJ you pay $1000 for a mentor ($500 for traditional teachers) for your first year.

I'm one of those teachers that has a problem with Alternate Route. I understand that there is often a need in high school in high need areas like math and science. You can work in a science field, for example and have the content to take you into a high school classroom. However, the classroom management piece often drives even the high school alternate route teachers away. Just because you know your stuff does not mean that students are going to listen.

I have seen so many bad alternate route people in my district who got their jobs simply because they had an "in" in the district. When there are teachers waiting for jobs, who went through a teacher education program, they should not be hiring alternate route people first.

There is another option. You can get a Masters of Arts in Teaching to get certified. With this option, there is still a student teaching portion that prepares you for the classroom.

 

[Feralpeg]

I know the hours aren't "exactly" the same... but what hours do you normally work? My grandma was a teacher for over 30 years and she told me the "rule" was to be there 30 before the students and stay there 30 mins after. Is this typical? I do realize that there will be days when I work longer hours. I just want to get an idea.

When I taught, we had to be at the school an hour prior to the start of school. Classes ended at 2:30 in the afternoon. I had to stay until 4:00. I often stayed until 4:30 or 5:00 grading papers or prepping for my next day of classes. Even so, I took a lot of work home.

I don't know about elementary, but secondary teachers spend a lot of time outside the classroom working.

In my area, there are no teaching positions to be had at this point. In the secondary schools, all but the essential curriculum (Math, Science, English, History) have had huge cuts. Be sure to check the situation in your area before you make the switch.

 

[luvmy2sams]

A lot of posters seem to be criticizing me (and others) for considering an alternative placement program. Let me repeat the fact that I am not trying to get certified to teach elementary school, which in my opinion is completely different from teaching high school. Student teaching like training is required through the AP placement program, it just goes by a different name, "professional eduacation." I would feel more confident teaching business with a business degree than with an education degree. Maybe its just me, but I prefer learning from someone with practical knowledge, and I believe students in a business class would feel the same way.

From my research, education based degrees are based on "how to teach" not necessarily brushing up on your knowledge of the periodic table, long division, and the Cold War. I look at teaching business in a completely different way.
I will do some in classroom training before I have a class of my own to learn the mechanics of "how to teach," but I have a business degree so I understand what I am teaching.

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far. I really appreciate your input.

If Oklahoma's alternative certification is used as intended, those alternatively certified teachers would be placed in secondary school classrooms and would be teaching in their area of expertise. I honestly don't have a problem with that. However, there is a big flaw in the system because it is all to easy to back into the elementary classroom via this route. For so many years there was a big enough teacher shortage that anyone with any sort of certification was hired. Things are changing, though. I realize that this is not what you are trying to do. I'm simply stating my reasons for why I have a problem with the alt certification system.

The education courses I was required to take for my degree focused both on the core knowledge of subjects and on developing curriculum options that encompassed all the required PASS skills for a chosen grade. Some professors focused more than others on "how to teach" a subject. More importantly, though, our discussions focused on "how to manage."

I wish you luck with whatever you decide. I still caution you, though, that there will be teachers and parents at the secondary level that will have a problem with your alternative certification. That doesn't mean that you don't know your subject matter or that you won't be a decent teacher. Based on my experiences teachers want someone who has received the proper training (done their time, so to speak) and parents want someone who is both knowledgeable in content and trained in classroom management so that Johnny and Susie don't get the shaft. It's just the nature of the beast.

Good luck!

 

[Snow Shoe]

Well I'm a retired Texas teacher with 23ys experience at the secondary level, high school, and 18ys at the college level. I am a vocational teacher that has a lifetime provisional teaching certificate from the State of Texas, and a endorsement in GT-Gifted and Talented. I've taught students from GT to main streamed special ed at the secondary level, and from the average college student to the absolute brilliant ones. I believe that you don't choose teaching, it chooses you. You have to have a burning, purple passion for it. Just knowing subject matter, doesn't make you a teacher. It's not just a job for a paycheck and to have the summers off.

I don't want to be rude here now, but I am in total disagreement with any alternative teacher certification program by any state by just taking a test. This does not make you a teacher. This is my reasoning. I spent four years preparing to become a teacher with classes in adolescent psychology, secondary ed classes dealing with classroom management, testing strategy, professional development, as well as my major field. I believe that making teachers in this way cheapens my certificate and the work I did to become a teacher. Again, just knowing your subject matter is not enough; that's the easy part.

If you are really wanting to become a teacher, go to all of the necessary classes to become the best one you can be.

Insert flames here.

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

Wow, what an interesting thread! I myself am a junior at Florida International University and majoring in Elementary Education. This is my 2nd degree, as the first one was in cardiovascular therapy. The benefits to teaching are great in terms of hours and time off. But I know from other teachers that this isn't enough to carry someone through life as a teacher. It wasn't until I actually did my first semester in field experience that I absolutely fell in lovek with teaching and the students. I found myself thinking about the students after I came home, about how I could help them in a certain subject, or even about their home life and problems. I am not a teacher yet so I don't have the expereince, but I think that you have to absolutely love it. Just as with any other job, if not, it will not work out.

I also did the long route and re-did a degree to obtain the correct beforehand experience and knowledge. I totally think it's worth it.

Good Luck!