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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My son's freshman English teacher this year was a former corporate lawyer from the Fortune 500 corporation where I work.  This was Honors English in a middling district not in DMV.

She wanted the kids to relate to her and be grateful to her for choosing teaching.  There were some disorganization issues (lesson plans, lost papers, etc.). From what I heard, there were some too obvious personality conflicts with students.  I think it's hard for mid-career professionals to deal with lippy kids. Because you can't sink to their level and it's very nebulous how to get them to respect you.

I definitely think subbing, even on your vacations, would be eye-opening.  Determine what level and type of school district you'd be willing to accept.  And investigate the likelihood of finding a role there.

If you genuinely love mentoring kids on the verge of adulthood, please consider planning to become a debate coach, model UN coach, student newspaper club sponsor, etc.  Student ECs really need quality guidance.  And those roles are also undersubscribed and not well-executed in my area.[/quote]

Career changer here. Yes, this was a difficult transition for me. I was used to being respected simply because I did my job well. That’s all it took in the corporate world.

Teaching is much harder. Many students force you to earn their respect. That can be a real challenge because what works for one kid will set off another kid in the class. I had to learn how to read my audience quickly, and I had to adjust my methods seat by seat. I’m great at it now, but it took about a decade of trial and error to get where I am.

OP, I recommend subbing. I also recommend looking into private schools where students are often held to higher standards of discipline. I’ve worked in both settings, and I felt more supported in private.

[/quote]

+1000

This is a fantastic point.  Teaching is a weird mix of humility and authority- you have to prove yourself every year to a new set of kids.  No one cares that you were a lawyer before- it depends on your skills and presence in the classroom.  You also have to authentic- kids can smell BS a mile away.[/quote]

So true. I was completely unprepared for this dynamic. I remember a 9th grader laughed at me during my 1st week teaching. In front of the whole class, he mocked me and called me out for being scared. Others joined in, and I had absolutely no clue how to respond. It was like a scene from a movie. I struggled the entire year with that class, probably getting 1/4th of a lesson in each day because there were so many disruptions. I cried regularly on the way home as a way to release the stress.

I confidently spoke in front of 250-300 adults when I was in the corporate world. Public speaking was a huge part of that job. But I was quickly taken down by 30 teenagers in a high school when I transitioned to teaching.[/quote]

That’s because those 300 adults would suffer real consequences if they acted like that teen.

In today’s public schools, kids act like that with impunity because even if you sent them to the office, they would be back in your class tomorrow. Admin caters to the whiny parents not the needs of teachers. [/quote]

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