Any high school English teachers here?

[Anonymous]

Would love to hear feedback to share with teen daughter who is interested in becoming a high school English teacher. Pros/cons, loves/hates...what has changed over the years etc.

With all the testing craziness, has your outlook been seriously affected? I feel education never seems to settle on a tried and true method, but just continued and never-ending trials of the latest "fad" methods, technology trends etc.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I am an elementary teacher....my advice....don't go into education. At least not at the k-12 level. It's just such a low-paying, low-respect, high-demands job IMO. Going into teaching was a huge mistake for me and now after 10 years as a SAHM I'm trying to figure out a new career path that will at least pay me well for the time I put in and be rewarding as well. I should have gone into nursing, at the higher level- PA, CRNA, NP, etc. Much more flexibility, higher pay, and a plethora of career opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the PP. Even if your daughter LOVES teenagers and LOVES English, she may come to regret being a hs English teacher.

I teach at a small private, so I don't have to worry as much about testing, and I have more freedom with my curricula. But, there are other issues. My school boasts about its rigorous college prep-- but fills spaces with students who aren't ready for that level program. I'm expected to get ALL my students ready to ace the SAT's. Hard to do if they come in unable to write a coherent sentence, or understand much of what we read.

Pros: There will always be jobs for English teachers. Sometimes you get to make a real difference in a student's life. Sometimes you get the great feeling of knowing you helped students gain skills important to their personal growth and future success. Sometimes you get to have exciting discussions of fabulous books.

Cons: You work a lot harder than your paycheck suggests. Many (even most) of your students don't want to learn anything you have to offer. You'll have to teach things that bore YOU rigid to kids who don't want to be at school in the first place (how to write a bibliography and anything about grammar, for instance). You have to read SO MANY ESSAYS, AND SO MANY OF THEM ARE PAINFULLY BAD. Bad like, you wonder how they managed to get to high school in the first place.

Grading student writing takes FOREVER. Students do not read your comments. They go straight to arguing about the grade.

They won't read the books. They won't do the homework. They won't listen to the discussions.

They WILL text in class. They will cheat on tests. They will turn in late, plagiarized essays. They will come to you the day after grades go in and ask if is too late for "extra credit."

Some of their parents will act like you are personally keeping their kids from getting into Harvard by not handing them A's. It doesn't matter if you sent daily messages explaining that their kid was skipping, sleeping, failing, or turning nothing in-- it is YOUR fault.

Teaching English is like trying to teach several classes in one class period. Grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, literature, writing-- EACH of them could easily be a class by itself, so good luck trying to make progress in 45 minutes a day.

I've had some wonderful times teaching hs English, but if I could choose all over again, I'd choose something else!

[Anonymous]

Don't do it. it's a nightmare. I switched jobs over 10
Years ago and I still have nightmares about stacks of ungraded papers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, I have to agree with the PP. Even if your daughter LOVES teenagers and LOVES English, she may come to regret being a hs English teacher.

I teach at a small private, so I don't have to worry as much about testing, and I have more freedom with my curricula. But, there are other issues. My school boasts about its rigorous college prep-- but fills spaces with students who aren't ready for that level program. I'm expected to get ALL my students ready to ace the SAT's. Hard to do if they come in unable to write a coherent sentence, or understand much of what we read.

Pros: There will always be jobs for English teachers. Sometimes you get to make a real difference in a student's life. Sometimes you get the great feeling of knowing you helped students gain skills important to their personal growth and future success. Sometimes you get to have exciting discussions of fabulous books.

Cons: You work a lot harder than your paycheck suggests. Many (even most) of your students don't want to learn anything you have to offer. You'll have to teach things that bore YOU rigid to kids who don't want to be at school in the first place (how to write a bibliography and anything about grammar, for instance). You have to read SO MANY ESSAYS, AND SO MANY OF THEM ARE PAINFULLY BAD. Bad like, you wonder how they managed to get to high school in the first place.

Grading student writing takes FOREVER. Students do not read your comments. They go straight to arguing about the grade.

They won't read the books. They won't do the homework. They won't listen to the discussions.

They WILL text in class. They will cheat on tests. They will turn in late, plagiarized essays. They will come to you the day after grades go in and ask if is too late for "extra credit."

Some of their parents will act like you are personally keeping their kids from getting into Harvard by not handing them A's. It doesn't matter if you sent daily messages explaining that their kid was skipping, sleeping, failing, or turning nothing in-- it is YOUR fault.

Teaching English is like trying to teach several classes in one class period. Grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, literature, writing-- EACH of them could easily be a class by itself, so good luck trying to make progress in 45 minutes a day.

I've had some wonderful times teaching hs English, but if I could choose all over again, I'd choose something else!

I could have written this! Sooo true

[Anonymous]

I teach ESOL at the elementary level and I advise my own daughter not to go into teaching. It is just as much education as other careers but the paycheck is just disappointing and depressing. I am tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul most months. I don't want her to have to rely on a significant other to be able to live comfortably. My friend teaches English in middle school and she is also sick to death of grading papers. My grading is short, sweet and to the point b/c there is only so much 1st grader ESOL students can produce.

[Anonymous]

OP, if she wants to go into teaching, please let her explore the idea and don't discourage her. Teaching programs will require a lot of in-class observation and mentoring. She can decide if it's not for her.

We need good teachers. Don't dissuade her before she even gets a chance to experience what it would be like.

FWIW, I am a teacher (not English) and am very happy with my career choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if she wants to go into teaching, please let her explore the idea and don't discourage her. Teaching programs will require a lot of in-class observation and mentoring. She can decide if it's not for her.

We need good teachers. Don't dissuade her before she even gets a chance to experience what it would be like.

FWIW, I am a teacher (not English) and am very happy with my career choice.

This, exactly this.

If she is going into it with realistic expectations (she's not going to get rich or reach every kid, every day), then teaching can be a wonderful profession. I'm a career switcher, and I'm only on year 5 of teaching, but I wouldn't go back to my old career that paid twice as much. Yes, sometimes bills are tight, and yes, sometimes the standards I'm required to teach are seemingly pointless, and yes, it is often frustrating, but I really do love it.

Encourage her to speak to different teachers and talk to education majors and figure out if her expectations of the field line up at all with the reality. I would also recommend that she double major (major in English or literature or whatever AND secondary education, as opposed to secondary english education). That way if she ever decides to switch, she has a degree that is a bit more flexible than education. Friends who have left teaching have struggled to find a different job if their only degree is education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if she wants to go into teaching, please let her explore the idea and don't discourage her. Teaching programs will require a lot of in-class observation and mentoring. She can decide if it's not for her.

We need good teachers. Don't dissuade her before she even gets a chance to experience what it would be like.

FWIW, I am a teacher (not English) and am very happy with my career choice.

This, exactly this.

If she is going into it with realistic expectations (she's not going to get rich or reach every kid, every day), then teaching can be a wonderful profession. I'm a career switcher, and I'm only on year 5 of teaching, but I wouldn't go back to my old career that paid twice as much. Yes, sometimes bills are tight, and yes, sometimes the standards I'm required to teach are seemingly pointless, and yes, it is often frustrating, but I really do love it.

Encourage her to speak to different teachers and talk to education majors and figure out if her expectations of the field line up at all with the reality. I would also recommend that she double major (major in English or literature or whatever AND secondary education, as opposed to secondary english education). That way if she ever decides to switch, she has a degree that is a bit more flexible than education. Friends who have left teaching have struggled to find a different job if their only degree is education.

My DH is a high school teacher (not English) who really enjoys teaching. One of our children wants to be a teacher, and DH is supportive.

But teaching is harder and more time consuming than most people think. Otoh, there are some terrific benefits.

[Anonymous]

College English professor here and I agree with the pps. The whole "do what you love" thing is overrated when you're an adult and you're thinking about things like a nice vacation, quality daycare and a mortgage. It's great to do something that you enjoy, that gives meaning to your life,etc but it's also disrespectful of the time you put into training for that job and your intellect when that job pays a pittance. Talk to her about how her values might change when she's older, about other responsibilities, not just pleasing herself with a job that seems fun. I wish my parents had. I could have been equally happy as a nurse or other medical professional, made more money but also derived a lot of personal satisfaction. NOt to mention there are tons of PT schedule options that work when you have kids.

[Anonymous]

This makes me sad. Who SHOULD go into teaching then? Just people who can't get higher paying jobs?

[Anonymous]

Being an English teacher is great. You make real connections with your students, and help them to develop as readers, writers, and thinkers. I love being in the classroom and working with my students on these skills; it's really about seeing them grow as human beings, which is wonderful.

The workload is HUGE. It is significantly more for you than for your colleagues teaching other subjects (as they themselves have told me).

It's a solid career that keeps you engaged and excited, but it is very easy to burn out because of the workload. If you are not self-disciplined and do not set limits on the time you will put into it, it can become overwhelming.

But this is something you learn with time and practice. You really have to love it to stick with it.

[Anonymous]

21:04, I completely understand and agree with your concerns, but if you need help addressing some of them, I would happily work with you. There are easy solutions to some of the problems you describe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:04, I completely understand and agree with your concerns, but if you need help addressing some of them, I would happily work with you. There are easy solutions to some of the problems you describe.

Thanks for the offer. Why don't you post the solutions here, so we all may benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:04, I completely understand and agree with your concerns, but if you need help addressing some of them, I would happily work with you. There are easy solutions to some of the problems you describe.

Thanks for the offer. Why don't you post the solutions here, so we all may benefit.

Okay.

Didn't mean to sound patronizing btw. Just commiserating. Figured I'd share what I've learned over the years. Reply incoming!