I've finally decided what career I want to go into: I want to be a high school English teacher. It's almost time for me to apply to a four year school (I attend a two year community college), and I'm starting to look at schools that have good education programs. However, in deciding to be a teacher, it's also important for me to be a good teacher. I don't want to be that teacher that everyone walks all over, but I also don't want to be the teacher who everyone hates because she is unreasonable. Studying it is great- hell, I'm going to be observing teachers teach about teaching! But it's also really important for me to have some feedback from parents. You, probably even more than your kids, are able to see the results of the stupid things and the good things teachers do. I know a lot of you home school, but I really want to hear what you have to say. What do you think makes a good teacher? What do you think makes a bad teacher? Do you have any advice as to what you think I should do that would give students a better learning experience? I'd really appreciate your input. You have not idea how big of a help it would be.
Choose your university wisely. My mom got her teaching degree at the University of Wisconsin Madison. That was a long time ago, but the program was so freaking excellent. They studied real history. It was radical and real. My kids' teachers are my mom's age and older and I don't know where the hell they went to school, but they are so fucking ignorant that I can't believe that they're allowed to spew forth this bullshit and call it fact. The 'history' they're feeding my kids is so bunk, that I have to deprogram my kids when they get home. So, pick a good school! Also, I think that good teachers understand that different people absorb information in different ways, and make an effort to present the same material in different ways. Sadly, here in California, students are just taught to pass the STAR test so that the schools can avoid getting their funding cut. So, it's not about real learning, it's about test scores. It's so shitty.
The schools I'm hoping to get into are Brooklyn College or The City College of New York. They're both public colleges, which makes them significantly less expensive (I just can’t afford to spend $30000 a year on a private school), but they’re also selective schools with good reputations. I’m also going to apply to Binghamton, Albany, and possibly Stony Brook. Brooklyn College is my preferred school, but it doesn’t have student housing, and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to afford an apartment in the city. But anyway, I strongly agree with you about being able to understand that children learn in different ways. I had that struggle in school. A lot of teachers seem to want to have everyone think exactly the same way, because it makes it easier on their life, but the world just doesn’t work that way.
You also might want to consider that teaching in public schools, you'll be severely limited in the scope of what you teach. Because of the standardised tests, mostly. I actually had a teacher QUIT because she wasn't allowed to teach poetry or very much actual literature because they weren't required for the standardised tests. So, as important as your education is, if you're wanting freedom to teach what's actually important, then you'll also have to really consider which school you'll be teaching in.
Wow. I'll answer your first question later. My oldest dd, Sunshine, is 19, just finishing at a Community College, and is going into teaching. It was just weird to read your post, as first I was like, "Sunshine better not be on this site!" LOL! Good luck. Good teachers listen to the parents and listen to the children, and NEVER make parents sit in those TEENY TINY chairs for parent teacher conferences.
That's great, teaching is such a valuable but underated profession. Best of luck with it. My high school English was the coolest person ever She always took the time to pay attention and get to know us as individuals, to nurture our interests, trying to put an interesting slant on possibly dull/difficult stuff (like explaning all the sexual innuendoes in Romeo & Juliet, lol we were 15), being positive and passionate about the subject, and letting us get to know her as a person rather than just a teacher. We respected her because she respected us.
Yeah, my 10th grade history teacher was tough. And some kids absolutely couldn't stand her class. But everyone had respect for her, because not only did she respect us, but she pushed us. She knew that we could learn and put all of her passion into teaching us what she thought was absolutely important. And now, after not having had her class in 4 years, most of the students can still remember most of what she taught us. Truly wonderful, she was.
I think I went to 9 different schools growing up, and the teachers that I still remember and respect were at an alternative school. Instead of being fed the same crap over and over, we learned new stuff, read contemporary authors, did math at our own pace. Unfortunately, I think a lot has changed. I think everyone, even the passionate teachers, has to teach to those stupid tests to get funding for their school. It's all part of that No Child Left Behind bullshit. But back to Stillravenmad's question, yeah, don't make the parents sit in those little seats! And this might seem really obvious, but learn unusual names correctly. Don't assume everyone has 2 parents. Don't hold kids accountable for their parents' irresponsibility. (My daughter's 3rd grade teacher tells her classmate to make sure his tweaker parents do this and that. Poor kid.) I think one of the most important things you can do is not be judgemental. I mean, how many of us had asshole, uptight, judgemental teachers? My daughter's teacher actually asked me if my parents were on drugs when they named me Govinda. Then he asked me if they work and acted shocked when I said that they do indeed work and are college educated. Stupid dickhead. It's so important for a teacher to be a good example of tolerance, respect, and open-mindedness, IMO.
I studied education for a couple years in college... Until the head of the education department took me aside and told me they didn't want me to be a teacher, because I was making straight A's in the education classes. She told me they only want mediocre students teaching the kids. She said it was for several reasons, first being that the administrators want the job security that having incompetent underlings brings, and second being that they don't want teachers who are bright enough to realize how oppressive the public school system really is. She talked me out of being a teacher, even though she admitted that I'd make a great teacher. She told me I'd have a really hard time finding a job in public schools, and you have to have connections to get a job in the private schools around here. There was never any doubt in my mind that when I had kids, they would be homeschooled. Think about the teachers you have had. Who made the biggest impression on you? If you are like me, it was the one or two teachers who actually cared. The one or two teachers who didn't play favorites, and who let the rules slide a little. Those who encouraged students to talk in class, instead of making everyone be completely quiet and raise their hands before they could speak, those who allowed discussion rather than stood in front of everyone reading straight from the book.
OMG Mamaboogie! That explains A LOT! It's discouraging, though. I mean, it does seem like my kids' teachers are not the brightest bulbs on the tree, you know? And it seems to happen so often that it couldn't just be coincidence, but now you're telling me that the bright people are asked to leave in college?!?! I thought maybe I was being paranoid, or maybe it was just this stupid town, but now you tell me this. I don't know what to think. I would be horrible at home schooling. My poor kids. I'm just going to have to keep supplementing their public education. My mom got her teaching degree at UW Madison in 1990. The program was so great. I can't remember if Howard Zinn actually lectured in one of her classes, or if they just used A People's History of the United States as their text. I was going to an alternative high school and we both got credit at our schools for making a documentary about a school on an Indian reservation together. The UW program was just so freaking great. And when really interesting speakers came to the campus, I'd go with her. Well, my cool, radical mom has never had a job in the 15 years since in a regular public school. She's never had a job with benefits. She's taught at a community college, an alternative high school, she's taught ESL to migrant workers and Buddhist nuns, but she can't get one of those secure jobs with benefits at a public school. And that kind of sucks. She's a great teacher. Her students tell me so. I have suspected for a long time that she just didn't seem dense enough at the interviews, but now I know it! That sucks. Stillravenmad, maybe you're too smart to be a teacher.
One of my favorite teachers got her teaching degree at UW Madison as well, but that was about 20 years ago. She liked it, but mainly because she got to spend 2 years in Spain (she was a Spanish literature major). Binghamton is supposedly a GREAT school for teaching. Don't hold me to it, but I've heard it was the best teachers school in the entire US. Another one of my favorite teachers both studied and was a professor of philosophy there. I would highly recommend it if you can afford it (not too sure how expensive it is). Anyway.. in my opinion, the best teachers are those who can meet the needs of all students. This is my first year in a "regular" class due to my school's lack of honors classes and strange AP scheduling, so for the first time I've been bored out of my mind. Public school makes it hard for teachers to accomodate both the lower level students and higher level students in the same classroom, but it's something you have to learn to do. My teacher fails miserably at it and there are about 5 kids out of my class of 25 who finish our work in 10 minutes and then have nothing to do for the rest of the 90 minute class. Other kids struggle the entire 90 minutes and don't know what's going on. The teacher doesn't address it because he has no sense of the different levels within the classroom. Also, the best teachers have been passionate about what they teach. I had a Spanish teacher who once read a Lorca poem out loud the the class and almost started to cry. He also had the room dark and a poster on the board of Lorca with candles surrounding it. It left a deep impact on me. Also, when teaching us about Spanish art, he put up posters of different paintings around the school and walked us around as if he was an art curator in the Prado in Madrid. We also once dressed up like Catholic pilgrims and did our own pilgrimage to Santiago de la Compostela as if we were in the 1400s. Very, very cool. Not to mention that each hit upon all different styles of learning. We were talked through things, we had visual aids, and we got to move around and experience things. Not only was he fun, but he was also very knowledgable and demanded a great deal of respect. Teachers are having a harder time finding a happy medium now with NCLB, but it's definitely not impossible. You just have to be creative and push the boundries.
My parents are both really smart people, and both are teacher/principals. My mother is 55, and has continued her education in Education since she convicated at 24. This past year she got her doctorate, and is a highly respected teacher, administrator and woman. The kids love her (the number of adults who come up to me to tell me that my mom is there favorite teacher ever is amazing), as well as the parents. What makes my Mom a great teacher? She listens to the kids. She knows everyone's name that attends her school. She is fair, but tough. She respects both the parents and the kids, and demands respect in return. She will always make time for a student who needs her. She smiles, laughs and basically REALLY enjoys her job. Good luck!
It depends on the college. There ARE colleges who do value good smart teachers. My kids have had a lot of great teachers (and some not so good ones.) I know in Illinois, Loyola (my alma mater) U of I, SIU, National College of Education, DePaul, NIU at DeKalb (Bear's alma mater) and are all REALLY good schools for education. I have freinds who are teaches and are very smart people, and none of them got the talk you did, mamaboogie. My guess would be, the womyn who talked you out of teaching was jealous of your intelligence, and was intimidated. When your babies are older, going back and getting that teacher's certificate would be great (unless you decide to go into Lactation Consulting, which I personally think you would be good at) for you. You are older now, and able to stand up for yourself. Going to a different school, where they really value education is a must to get a good teaching degree. I am so sorry you ran into such a bad teacher. We NEED smart teachers. This womyn was wrong, the good schools and the good professors value smart students. When your babies are older, go to a good schoo, as you would be an asset to any school you decided to teach at.
Yeah, I agree with Maggie Sugar. It sounds like this woman was more jealous than anything else. Perhaps I am naive, but I would assume schools would be competing to hire someone with such potential to be a great teacher as you do.
If you have a passion for teaching, you should go for it. But, you have to prepare yourself for lots of setbacks. Some of the best teachers I have ever known have changed careers recently after struggling with standardized testing and NCLB regulations. I truly believe that those tests will only show us who is really good at taking tests. I don't think it is a good indicator of learning. I am planning on teaching full time next year and I really don't know how long I will be able to do it. I wish you the best of luck.
mamaboogie, That is just so SAD. I've forwarded this thread to several of the folks I know who are not members here. I really don't know what to say. Teaching used to be an honored profession here, and it still is held in high esteem in some cultures, Japan for instance. It should call for the best and brightest, but in my experience, what you say is often the case. By the way, I'm a teacher, too. I've recently given up a lucrative consulting business to teach at the university. My Mom and Dad were both teachers, and most of their friends are teachers. My GF works with teachers, and used to teach preschool. My Mom would often complain about the intellectual capacity of her co-workers. The situation you describe is just another sad manifestation of a large subculture that exists in the education establishment. I'd like to think that we're not all like that. By the way, mamaboogie, it looks like you've got great kids!
Damn, that really bites. I hope it's not like that in New York, because I plan on raising kids here... I had some pretty damn fine teachers, though. Not a lot of great elementary schools teachers, but some great high school teachers. So hopefully, that's a good sign. The New York State Regents System is bullshit, though. I wont let it stop me from becoming a teacher, but I already know it's going to drive me nuts.
