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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA Warning to Young People: Don't Become a Teacher
Nothing I have ever done has brought me as much joy as I have received from teaching children how to write the past 14 years. Helping young writers grow and mature has been richly rewarding and I would not trade my experiences for anything.
That being said, if I were 18 years old and deciding how I want to spend my adult years, the last thing I would want to become is a classroom teacher.
Classroom teachers, especially those who are just out of college and entering the profession, are more stressed and less valued than at any previous time in our history.
They have to listen to a long list of politicians who belittle their ability, blame them for every student whose grades do not reach arbitrary standards, and want to take away every fringe benefit they have -- everything from the possibility of achieving tenure to receiving a decent pension.
Young teachers from across the United States have told me they no longer have the ability to properly manage classrooms, not because of lack of training, not because of lack of ability, not because of lack of desire, but because of upper administration decisions to reduce statistics on classroom referrals and in-school and out-of-school suspensions. As any classroom teacher can tell you, when the students know there will be no repercussions for their actions, there will be no change in their behavior. When there is no change in their behavior, other students will have a more difficult time learning.
more ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-turner/a-warning-to-young-people_b_3033304.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
MichiganVote
(21,086 posts)Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)Test-prep and stilted, constipated pedagogy like Danielson are not real teaching.
If there's no joy and if it's not fun for both teacher and learner, it's not worth it.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)lindysalsagal
(20,638 posts)A lifetime in a public school is no longer an expectation, but the private schools, without the union protections and tenure and pensions will be a bad option, sad to say.
I am a teacher, but I got in 30 years ago. I know many well-trained, experienced teachers in their 30's and 40's who can't get a job, except for assistants and subbing.
It's all who you know, not what you know.
OmahaBlueDog
(10,000 posts)Posted (sadly) by a Florida teacher
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)He has a blog. http://rturner229.blogspot.com/