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Any former teachers go into another field?
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Anonymous
Let's see- I don't actually teach any of the after school classes anymore. The first semester of classes, I co-taught twice a week with my business partner because we needed to "test" out the curriculum, problem solve, etc. so that we could come up with the right "formula" for the way our 1 hour classes run. I've always had college sitters 3 afternoons a week from 2:30-5:30. So, when I was teaching that is who would be with the kids. My kids were 20 months and 3 months that first September. I taught one class in the spring for an hour a week. All the email, packing art materials, etc. would take place after the kids went to bed. My business partner and I had some laaate nights. Starting the second year, neither my bus. partner or I taught regularly but we took turns being "on call" for subbing. I had 2 days a week and she had the other 2 days. We don't do classes on Fridays normally. My daughter was in preschool 2 days a week until 1:15 and my son did one day a week. Still had the college students 3 afternoons a week. Lots of work still taking place at random times during the day but mostly at night. We also hired someone 10 hours a week to work in my garage filling art bales which took a huge load off. This past school year, we had the same person working with the materials and hired another person to work from 2-5 doing office work and being the on-call sub. I still had my college students 3X a week in the afternoons but could use that time as more free time which was nice. My daughter was in school 5 days until noon and my son was at 2 different preschools until 1:00-1:15. It was CRAZY! I was all over the place and trying to squeeze work in, volunteer at all 3 schools, work out, etc. I had to work late at night a lot, too. Starting this Sept. both my kids will be at the same school and we are doing lunch bunch until 3:00. I am so excited. I plan on working during the 9-3 time but I also plan on taking a bit of time for myself. We are in the midst of hiring someone full time for the business and to be the on call sub. We also moved into a wonderful space so all the supplies are out of my garage, basement and my bus. partner's basement. I plan on being home with my kids after they get home from school. With camps- My kids who are now 3 and 4 came to my tot camps this year which made things super easy. The next 3 weeks are trickier. College sitter next week and then Tumbles camp for the other 2 weeks because our camps are for rising K and up. However, we have hired a terrific camp director and have amazing teachers at camp so I don't plan on being there the whole time. There are 40 pages of curriculum written for each week, supplies are packed nicely and ready to go and all the bases are covered, I think. I spent most of the end of June and early July readying. The kids were at camp from 9-1. I also have to add that I have a wonderful husband who helps me out with the kids as much as possible. He also will cook, do laundry, clean, etc. when things are really busy for me. He's got a high stress job but he does it all anyway. So I know I've rambled and rambled, but I hope this helps answer your questions. |
Anonymous
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OP here. What don't I like about teaching? Hmm. Well you are "on" all day, no breaks. No time to clear your head while you go pick up some lunch. You are under florescent light all day. We get about 20 minutes for lunch. An hour of "planning" time when the kids are at specials, but that is usually eaten up by meetings and is really more like 50 minutes. You have to stay after the kids leave to get anything done. In order to teach well, you should probably bring work home with you and on the weekends. I value my free time and personal life more than my job, and most "good" teachers live for their careers. You have to, because the pay sucks. You don't get any respect from the population in general and parents in particular. The politics of curriculum is BS. Policy and administration care about numbers and kissing ass, not really about the welfare of the children. You are micromanaged to death. Other teachers tend to be somewhat obnoxious. You don't choose what you teach, or even how you teach it. Behavior problems are ignored by administration. I could go on and on. Really, the love is just not there.
I've worked in several types of schools, from Title-I to the best elementary school in my district. I couldn't be more thrilled to be at home! |
Anonymous
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/07/AR2009080702046.html not that her truthful essay will have any effect on the public's view of teaching My friend, a former social studies teacher, hired a headhunter who found her a job in private industry - project manager of some sort. Because she's so efficient and not used to any down time, she puts her colleagues to shame. She's was promoted twice in the first two years. She enjoys her bathroom breaks, time to sip coffee, and the ability to shut the door for some quiet time. It's the little things that make her happy! So you may wish to invest in a headhunter. |
Anonymous
| Wow great article. Systematically undervalued and constantly deflated, indeed. I guess I fit into the category of, wanting to do big things and be valued for them. I'm also part of the 50% statistic--leaving after my 5th year. |
Anonymous
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I am not a teacher nor was I ever trained as one, but my mom was (SAHM until we started school, then she started subbing and still does) and my aunt was a teacher all her life so I know about the schedule, meetings, etc.
Does anyone ever address this topic in your undergrad or grad programs? There seems to be this perception that teachers have this great schedule but as the OP pointed out, you are on all the time, you get a 20 minute lunch break, you have to stay after for meetings and activities often, and a lot of teachers do stuff over the summers. It's a shame that people are leaving the field, given that we obviously need good, experienced, non burned out teachers. |
Anonymous
Yes. My graduate professors (my initial teaching degree was a Master's) talked about developing "teacher kidneys" because bathroom breaks may have to be several hours apart and gave us a very frank assessment of the additional hours the very best teachers put into preparation throughout their careers. They also emphasized that it is irresponsible to try to prepare while students are working independently because they benefit from more active supervision and guidance during these times, too. My eyes were open, at least after I borrowed large sums of money to train for the profession. I also left after becoming a parent because the balance of exertions and rewards was no longer favorable. |
Anonymous
So true. I'm a former college professor and I have often been in awe of how K-12 teachers manage to function under such conditions. While the college prof gig has its problems, at least you get some autonomy, flexible hours, an office, and more respect in the community. |
Anonymous
This is SO true. I am a teacher in high school and have just spent the summer home with my kids. I go back to work in a week and a half and am dreading it. I loved having all the freedom and flexibility to do whatever I wanted all summer. Yes, I was busy with 2 boys under 5, but just having the freedom to spend more than 1/2 hour eating lunch or go run errands during the day with my kids was great. While teaching does have its perks with summers off, decent breaks during the year, etc, when you are actually working it is really a grind. Some days I would kill to just run out to Starbucks and have a cup of coffee for a 1/2 hour - something my non-teacher friends/family can do at if they choose to. And like the OP, I agree that I am probably not the best teacher I could be because I do value my personal life more than my job. There are teachers at my school who are always there late after school or on weekends, but when I look at their lives, most of them are either single or have no kids or their kids are grown. There are very few teachers at my school who are like me with 2 small children - it is just not worth it monetarily, personally, and professionally for most teachers to continue working when they have a young family. And I am finding more and more that the actual teaching of students comes last in my school. I have very little time to plan good lessons for my classes because I am busy with meetings, committees, conferences, etc. during the day. Because of that, the planning for the students has to come last. It is not my choice to do this - it is expected of all teachers to participate in a variety of things outside the classroom. So, I too am considering leaving teaching after 10 years. I love the students (most of them anyway), but I don't like all the other "stuff" that comes with teaching. But like the OP, I am not sure what I would do instead. Good luck OP - let me know if you figure something great out! |
Anonymous
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Interesting thread guys.
I was a teacher for 6 years, left to get my Masters in School Counseling, and have since realized I hate that job, and prefer teaching. BUT, between the crap pay and my kids being so little, everything is on hold. I do not know WHAT to do later, b/c I was an English teacher in a private 6-12 school and the grading and planning were BRUTAL. I would never take that on now...all night grading? Forget it. Well, OP, I dunno. The counselor in me suggest seeing a career counselor if you want a fresh start and some perspective! It can REALLY be helpful, and you do not need to necessarily act right away. You can let the different info you get marinate a while. I went to Hopkins and they have an excellent career counseling center. |
Anonymous
| Could you do something still in the field that requires less work? Like, opening something like a Gymboree? Or starting a summer camp, that way your children could attend also? Could you start a music/arts/dance/tumbling program that travels to daycares instead of a standalone building like Gymboree? Could you open a before and after program that would feed from your own children's school? Could you tutor? I'm not a teacher but my mom was and these are some of the options her peer group pursued after leaving teaching. |
Anonymous
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Whoa. Not to hijack, but I'm seriously bummed by this thread. I was actually planning to run screaming from my current crazy job (high stress and ridiculous hours) to teaching. I wasn't even going to think twice about giving up my current salary, which is astranomical in comparison to a teacher's salary. I clearly have a naive view of teaching as a career and thought it would be more fun for me. The irritants you've described, though, would really get to me, particularly the lack of any down time, which I hadn't really thought about.
Sigh. I guess it's time to proceed to plan C... |
Anonymous
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PP not all teaching jobs are as OP describes.
I taught for 9 years before SAH and I loevd my job, at least 80% of the time. I felt appreciated and supported by the principal and the other teachers were the BEST. However, it was a great school. Not all schools are like that. After 9 years, I was on the top of my game and did not need to sacrifince home time, although I will say I didn't have kids, so it was easier to stay after when needed, work extra if needed. But, most often I was out on the dot of 4, and showed up 30 minutes before the kids did. I DID manage to do a good bit of prepping, assessing, grading etc. while the kids did independent work. I also learned to streamline streamline streamline. I didn't do an activitiy if it didn't have an educational purpose and if an activity had an educatinal purpose, I assessed it and recorded the assessment. I organized my lessons and taught what I was supposed to and didn't stress out so much that I couldn't teach whatever I wanted. Sometimes the lessons weren't all that creative, but they were adequate; they got the job done. We only got a half hour of official "planning" time during the day and I jealously guarded that time; tried to have meetings via email whenever possible. I did NOT get much respect from the rest of the world as an elementary education teacher -- seems like high school teachers get a little more. On the other hand, being a SAH mom doesn't get you diddly so I guess it's all relative. 
I'd happily go back to work, but I am looking for something part time now and that isn't so easy to find when you are a teacher. |
Anonymous
definitely! plan C! Good luck! Signed, high school teacher |