Done with teaching. What next?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, former teacher, also FARMS, voicing my support. Some crazy responses here, out of left field. Are you teaching elementary or secondary, and if secondary, what's the subject area?

OP here. I am an elementary ESOL teacher. I worked in the social work world before I went to grad school to get my masters in teaching. My only teaching certification is for ESOL but I'm certified K-12. I'm thinking that a change of scenery may just be what I need. I've been at the same school for 10 years. There are a lot of positive things about it, but as I stated previously, having my own kids became a game changer in that it's not fair to them when I have used up all of my patience during the school day on other peoples' kids and very little is left for my own.

Honestly, it's the behavior issues that get to me most right now since I've had my own kids. I have many lovely students with lovely, involved families but it's the select few that take up most of my patience. I could probably even deal with the behavior issues if the little time I have without students during the day wasn't micromanaged beyond belief due to one new initiative or another. To the posters who are ready to pounce on the FARMS issue--I don't even know who is FARMS and who is not (that info is confidential), so please don't use my personal experience as "evidence" to support your agenda when the students I'm referring to may not even be FARMS.

I've been thinking about what else I'm interested in and really the only jobs that fulfill me are in the helping professions. I would love to become a curriculum writer, but those jobs in my system rarely become available. Thank you to the posters who have shared BTDT experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Sadly most of the U.S. teachers come from the bottom half of their high school graduation class with SAT scores well under 1000. Entry into education colleges are just not at all competitive. One way to turn our education system around is to mandate a higher bar into the profession.
[Report Post]"

Nice try....nope. I had high SAT scores, and I have extensive graduate school degrees and continuing ed.
Have you taken the Praxis for certification?Clearly you weren't aware of the standard.You and the "disdain"poster need to get off this thread. Both of you are not teachers,not in the field, not helpful!

One of the main reasons teachers are leaving is exactly this attitude...people have no idea what goes on in a school.

Just because YOU had high SAT scores (and by HIGH, I'm sure you mean 1500+ out of 1600, right?) doesn't mean that all of, or even MOST teachers do. Just because you go to a lot of training classes doesn't mean that you are an effective teacher. It just means you go to a lot of training. So, nice try in trying to sound like you're the best thing since sliced bread and that parents should be honored to have you teach their children.

Praxis - HAHA - the standard is set quite low. Most education colleges have a 100% pass rate. Obviously the standard is too low and supports the point to raise the standard of who teaches. You obviously didn't know that as you try to make the Praxis exam sound like it is as strenuous as the MCAT.

Check out FACTS published by Time and others: Less than 25% of new teachers come from the top third of their college classes; By contrast, In Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, 100% of educators come from the top third.
Nearly 50% of new U. S. teachers come from the bottom third of their class. (You know where these four countries stand on the TIMSS exam, right?)

What is the #1 indicator for a child's success in school? It's not class size. It's not high spending per pupil. It's not SES status or poverty. It's not access to technology. It's not the number of workshops attended by teachers. It's the effectiveness of the teacher and clearly Finland, Singapore and South Korea know that top students make top teachers. Why hasn't the US realized this?????

Clearly teachers are a big part of the problem but sadly, they won't admit it.
Stop drinking your union Kool-Aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out FACTS published by Time and others: Less than 25% of new teachers come from the top third of their college classes; By contrast, In Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, 100% of educators come from the top third.
Nearly 50% of new U. S. teachers come from the bottom third of their class. (You know where these four countries stand on the TIMSS exam, right?)

Why should someone graduating in the top of their class go into a profession that pays pennies, the public looks down on, and is physically exhausting?

I followed money out of school, to a cushy desk job that paid me nicely and allowed me to repay my school loans. It wasn't until several years down the road that I realized money wasn't all that important to me and I could actually do what I wanted to do.

[Anonymous]

To the toxic person with the high SAT score, high class ranking, and high opinion of herself/himself:
do you think the quality of life is better in the countries you list with the impressive TIMSS scores? Do you think the high scores are a reflection of class ranking and SAT scores of teachers? What exactly is your point? You come off as a narrow-minded ass. With a high SAT score of course!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, former teacher, also FARMS, voicing my support. Some crazy responses here, out of left field. Are you teaching elementary or secondary, and if secondary, what's the subject area?

OP here. I am an elementary ESOL teacher. I worked in the social work world before I went to grad school to get my masters in teaching. My only teaching certification is for ESOL but I'm certified K-12. I'm thinking that a change of scenery may just be what I need. I've been at the same school for 10 years. There are a lot of positive things about it, but as I stated previously, having my own kids became a game changer in that it's not fair to them when I have used up all of my patience during the school day on other peoples' kids and very little is left for my own.

Honestly, it's the behavior issues that get to me most right now since I've had my own kids. I have many lovely students with lovely, involved families but it's the select few that take up most of my patience. I could probably even deal with the behavior issues if the little time I have without students during the day wasn't micromanaged beyond belief due to one new initiative or another. To the posters who are ready to pounce on the FARMS issue--I don't even know who is FARMS and who is not (that info is confidential), so please don't use my personal experience as "evidence" to support your agenda when the students I'm referring to may not even be FARMS.

I've been thinking about what else I'm interested in and really the only jobs that fulfill me are in the helping professions. I would love to become a curriculum writer, but those jobs in my system rarely become available. Thank you to the posters who have shared BTDT experiences.

Op..what about going back to school to become a guidance counselor? One of my burnt out ESOL teacher friends did this.

[Anonymous]

Sadly most of the U.S. teachers come from the bottom half of their high school graduation class with SAT scores well under 1000. Entry into education colleges are just not at all competitive. One way to turn our education system around is to mandate a higher bar into the profession.


And the cited source for this piece of wisdom is? And 1/2 of the American population graduated in the bottom half of their high school class. Entry into some education colleges is no competitive, just like entry into some colleges in general is not competitive. You have a lot of generalizations in your statement.

The PP is misreading an old study, if they even bothered to read it. There is a single old study that concludes that incoming college freshman who designate education as a major have lower SAT scores than incoming freshman who designate other majors. There is nothing in the study about high school rank, actual SAT scores or "education colleges". Now interestingly, students who major in education as undergraduates score as well, statistically, as all other majors on the GRE, which can be thought of as an exit exam, according to another study. Therefore, the scores of incoming freshman are irrelevant to the quality or effectiveness of teaching or of undergraduate education programs.

Praxis tests are given at the end of a teacher education program, so if there is a high pass rate, the teacher education program is apparently doing its job. I agree that Praxis 1 tests are not as rigorous as they could be (more difficult than the SAT but slightly easier than the GRE) but Praxis 2 tests are solid.

Most jurisdictions now prefer or require master degrees. There is no study that concludes that any entrance exam for teachers into these programs are different than any other field's entry exam.

So, basically, the whole discussion of the SAT scores of education students is meaningless.

[Anonymous]

After burning out teaching high school I now teach ESl at a community college. Love it- rewarding but not as draining. Big pay cut though .

[Anonymous]

I am also an elementary ESOL teacher and it is exhausting. I just finished writing my lesson plans for tomorrow and I still need to go in an hour early to get everything ready. We work our butts off and are always blamed when our students don't make miraculous gains. All of my students make the expected gains but their peers have a 5 year head start in English. Apparently the 5-7 years it takes to master a language must be miraculously shortened by me and my colleagues. The paperwork is enough to make you cry. I enjoy teaching kids but all of the other BS sometimes makes me want to quit. I can't because I'm a single parent. How about teaching overseas OP? I did that for a few years pre-kids and LOVED it. I keep my eyes open for jobs overseas myself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Sadly most of the U.S. teachers come from the bottom half of their high school graduation class with SAT scores well under 1000. Entry into education colleges are just not at all competitive. One way to turn our education system around is to mandate a higher bar into the profession.
[Report Post]"

Nice try....nope. I had high SAT scores, and I have extensive graduate school degrees and continuing ed.
Have you taken the Praxis for certification?Clearly you weren't aware of the standard.You and the "disdain"poster need to get off this thread. Both of you are not teachers,not in the field, not helpful!

One of the main reasons teachers are leaving is exactly this attitude...people have no idea what goes on in a school.

Just because YOU had high SAT scores (and by HIGH, I'm sure you mean 1500+ out of 1600, right?) doesn't mean that all of, or even MOST teachers do. Just because you go to a lot of training classes doesn't mean that you are an effective teacher. It just means you go to a lot of training. So, nice try in trying to sound like you're the best thing since sliced bread and that parents should be honored to have you teach their children.

Praxis - HAHA - the standard is set quite low. Most education colleges have a 100% pass rate. Obviously the standard is too low and supports the point to raise the standard of who teaches. You obviously didn't know that as you try to make the Praxis exam sound like it is as strenuous as the MCAT.

Check out FACTS published by Time and others: Less than 25% of new teachers come from the top third of their college classes; By contrast, In Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, 100% of educators come from the top third.
Nearly 50% of new U. S. teachers come from the bottom third of their class. (You know where these four countries stand on the TIMSS exam, right?)

What is the #1 indicator for a child's success in school? It's not class size. It's not high spending per pupil. It's not SES status or poverty. It's not access to technology. It's not the number of workshops attended by teachers. It's the effectiveness of the teacher and clearly Finland, Singapore and South Korea know that top students make top teachers. Why hasn't the US realized this?????

Clearly teachers are a big part of the problem but sadly, they won't admit it.
Stop drinking your union Kool-Aid.

Take your elitist attitude underwritten by your skewed facts and consider :
All those countries you mentioned have homogenous populations. Stop comparing what goes on in Finland to what goes on here. I dare you to walk in an American public school classroom and try to make it through the day. And, yes, the parents of the kids I teach are lucky to have me as a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ignore the trolls.

Check out private/independent schools. I teach at one and love it. Lots more freedom. Still stressful but not in the same way. Helicopter parents vs. absentee parents. Not such a cog. Still with kids. Bright capable hopeful kids with opportunities.

Do not do this. If you are burnt out, private ain't gonna cut it. They kill you with meetings and all the demanding, entitled helicopter parents will make you want to put your eye out.

[Anonymous]

"Honestly, it's the behavior issues that get to me most right now since I've had my own kids. I have many lovely students with lovely, involved families but it's the select few that take up most of my patience. I could probably even deal with the behavior issues if the little time I have without students during the day wasn't micromanaged beyond belief due to one new initiative or another. To the posters who are ready to pounce on the FARMS issue--I don't even know who is FARMS and who is not (that info is confidential), so please don't use my personal experience as "evidence" to support your agenda when the students I'm referring to may not even be FARMS.

This. After over 25 years of teaching, I can honestly say this is the largest issue. I'm constantly putting out fires and really, it's the other kids that all lose out. I've learned that private school might be the way to go- no kid should have to sit through the nonsense all day long provided by the two to three to ten kids in the class with serious, unrelenting, and disruptive behavior problems. Admin does nothing as they have all been warned about excessive consequences. There are NO consequences..we are supposed to be therapists, psychologists, prison guards, and medicine givers. I am able to do very little teaching considering how much behavior I deal with. I would steer young teachers away from this as a career choice,as now teachers are accountable for so much they have no control over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am also an elementary ESOL teacher and it is exhausting. I just finished writing my lesson plans for tomorrow and I still need to go in an hour early to get everything ready. We work our butts off and are always blamed when our students don't make miraculous gains. All of my students make the expected gains but their peers have a 5 year head start in English. Apparently the 5-7 years it takes to master a language must be miraculously shortened by me and my colleagues. The paperwork is enough to make you cry. I enjoy teaching kids but all of the other BS sometimes makes me want to quit. I can't because I'm a single parent. How about teaching overseas OP? I did that for a few years pre-kids and LOVED it. I keep my eyes open for jobs overseas myself

Several of my former colleagues have done this after getting burnt out at the inner city HS we taught at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Sadly most of the U.S. teachers come from the bottom half of their high school graduation class with SAT scores well under 1000. Entry into education colleges are just not at all competitive. One way to turn our education system around is to mandate a higher bar into the profession.
[Report Post]"

Nice try....nope. I had high SAT scores, and I have extensive graduate school degrees and continuing ed.
Have you taken the Praxis for certification?Clearly you weren't aware of the standard.You and the "disdain"poster need to get off this thread. Both of you are not teachers,not in the field, not helpful!

One of the main reasons teachers are leaving is exactly this attitude...people have no idea what goes on in a school.

Just because YOU had high SAT scores (and by HIGH, I'm sure you mean 1500+ out of 1600, right?) doesn't mean that all of, or even MOST teachers do. Just because you go to a lot of training classes doesn't mean that you are an effective teacher. It just means you go to a lot of training. So, nice try in trying to sound like you're the best thing since sliced bread and that parents should be honored to have you teach their children.

Praxis - HAHA - the standard is set quite low. Most education colleges have a 100% pass rate. Obviously the standard is too low and supports the point to raise the standard of who teaches. You obviously didn't know that as you try to make the Praxis exam sound like it is as strenuous as the MCAT.

Check out FACTS published by Time and others: Less than 25% of new teachers come from the top third of their college classes; By contrast, In Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, 100% of educators come from the top third.
Nearly 50% of new U. S. teachers come from the bottom third of their class. (You know where these four countries stand on the TIMSS exam, right?)

What is the #1 indicator for a child's success in school? It's not class size. It's not high spending per pupil. It's not SES status or poverty. It's not access to technology. It's not the number of workshops attended by teachers. It's the effectiveness of the teacher and clearly Finland, Singapore and South Korea know that top students make top teachers. Why hasn't the US realized this?????

Clearly teachers are a big part of the problem but sadly, they won't admit it.
Stop drinking your union Kool-Aid.

Take your elitist attitude underwritten by your skewed facts and consider :
All those countries you mentioned have homogenous populations. Stop comparing what goes on in Finland to what goes on here. I dare you to walk in an American public school classroom and try to make it through the day. And, yes, the parents of the kids I teach are lucky to have me as a teacher.

I was just about to post a similar comment. How many kids in a Finnish school don't speak Finnish? How many South Korean children don't understand Korean? This country has unique educational challenges, for better or for worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Sadly most of the U.S. teachers come from the bottom half of their high school graduation class with SAT scores well under 1000. Entry into education colleges are just not at all competitive. One way to turn our education system around is to mandate a higher bar into the profession.
[Report Post]"

Nice try....nope. I had high SAT scores, and I have extensive graduate school degrees and continuing ed.
Have you taken the Praxis for certification?Clearly you weren't aware of the standard.You and the "disdain"poster need to get off this thread. Both of you are not teachers,not in the field, not helpful!

One of the main reasons teachers are leaving is exactly this attitude...people have no idea what goes on in a school.

Just because YOU had high SAT scores (and by HIGH, I'm sure you mean 1500+ out of 1600, right?) doesn't mean that all of, or even MOST teachers do. Just because you go to a lot of training classes doesn't mean that you are an effective teacher. It just means you go to a lot of training. So, nice try in trying to sound like you're the best thing since sliced bread and that parents should be honored to have you teach their children.

Praxis - HAHA - the standard is set quite low. Most education colleges have a 100% pass rate. Obviously the standard is too low and supports the point to raise the standard of who teaches. You obviously didn't know that as you try to make the Praxis exam sound like it is as strenuous as the MCAT.

Check out FACTS published by Time and others: Less than 25% of new teachers come from the top third of their college classes; By contrast, In Finland, Singapore, and South Korea, 100% of educators come from the top third.
Nearly 50% of new U. S. teachers come from the bottom third of their class. (You know where these four countries stand on the TIMSS exam, right?)

What is the #1 indicator for a child's success in school? It's not class size. It's not high spending per pupil. It's not SES status or poverty. It's not access to technology. It's not the number of workshops attended by teachers. It's the effectiveness of the teacher and clearly Finland, Singapore and South Korea know that top students make top teachers. Why hasn't the US realized this?????

Clearly teachers are a big part of the problem but sadly, they won't admit it.
Stop drinking your union Kool-Aid.

Take your elitist attitude underwritten by your skewed facts and consider :
All those countries you mentioned have homogenous populations. Stop comparing what goes on in Finland to what goes on here. I dare you to walk in an American public school classroom and try to make it through the day. And, yes, the parents of the kids I teach are lucky to have me as a teacher.

I was just about to post a similar comment. How many kids in a Finnish school don't speak Finnish? How many South Korean children don't understand Korean? This country has unique educational challenges, for better or for worse.

Regardless of how homogeneous Finland and South Korea are, they do a fine job educating their population. I say let's raise our teacher quality and see what happens since it's proven to work elsewhere. Make it more competitive to enter teacher colleges and financially reward great teachers.

Oh wait - unions...

[Anonymous]

If you're up for going back to school, my recommendation would be to study something like occupational or speech therapy. I work in early intervention and love it -flexible schedule, decent pay and you can make a big impact in the lives of families.