Gina
Armadillo
Every second is a highlight.
Posts: 203
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Post by Gina on May 31, 2011 19:21:09 GMT -5
I have always wanted to teach; I can't remember ever wanting anything else out of life. ;D I'm hoping to teach at the high school level, preferably Honors English 2 or AP Lang.
As for things I wish I would've learned, I will get back to you on that one! I can't really think of anything off the top of my head.
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Post by tastyink on May 31, 2011 21:40:02 GMT -5
I've thought about teaching off and on for a while. But then I remember that I would have to deal with high school aged kids again and I don't think I can handle that.
Like others have said, I wish we had learned how to write a proper research paper. One that wasn't 90% in text citations. I also wish we would have done more grammar. Grammar was always the most boring lecture, but it would have been so beneficial. I've been marked off for mistakes that I had never even heard of before.
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Post by onlyaworkingtitle on May 31, 2011 21:44:27 GMT -5
Solution to wanting to teach, but not to deal with kids:
Step 1: get a BA (check!)
Step 2: get an MFA (Step 1.5 is "save money for MFA")
Step 3: be qualified to teach at the university level!
Huzzah for the MFA being the highest degree in creative writing!
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Post by cyanea on Jun 1, 2011 2:18:37 GMT -5
I'm ALSO going to get into teaching, though I'd like to do it at the community college level preferably. Not really fond of kids, and university teaching positions seem to involve very little "teaching".
If there's one thing that stuck with me from English in school is...let your students read what they want from time to time. I credit my social studies teacher in middle school who had this massive bookshelf full of fantasy novels in the back of the room that she let students borrow for getting me absolutely hooked on reading. Before that, it wasn't something I was too terribly interested in, but when she loaned me her copy of The Belgariad, I was hooked. She eventually talked with my English teacher to let me do a book report on that series of books instead of the curriculum assigned ones because I found them so boring and they didn't want to, as she put it, "kill my interest in books before it even started".
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callmeishmael
Young Armadillo
Believe it or not, I use this username on other forums as well.
Posts: 66
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Post by callmeishmael on Jun 1, 2011 2:30:13 GMT -5
I'm ALSO going to get into teaching, though I'd like to do it at the community college level preferably. Not really fond of kids, and university teaching positions seem to involve very little "teaching". The plan is to become an author, and open a tea shoppe, but this was always my back up. Community College is given much too hard a rap. If I taught, there would be no question about where I would want to teach. The professors there actually can interact with students on a much more personal level, and there are students that WANT to be there. |
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Post by cyanea on Jun 1, 2011 2:52:10 GMT -5
Agreed.
I spoke with a professor of mine at Rutgers, and from the way she described it...teaching is a very minor part of what she does. The bulk of her day is taken up with research, writing, chairing meetings, and more research. Tenure at big name schools depends on doing that. I just want to teach.
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callmeishmael
Young Armadillo
Believe it or not, I use this username on other forums as well.
Posts: 66
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Post by callmeishmael on Jun 1, 2011 3:00:25 GMT -5
Mhm. In addition to actually teaching for a career instead of researching, you get better benefits and pay at some community colleges than you would even at some great universities.
At the higher levels, they pay you less because you're already given the prestige of researching at such and such institution. If you aren't researching, there's always someone else who can teach in your place.
Community College is the way to go.
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Post by mapachita on Jun 1, 2011 14:23:26 GMT -5
Hopefully, in two more years I'll be an EFL teacher (English as a Foreing Language)  I'm very nervous about it; everybody hates English teachers in Chile because, you know, "English is so useless in a spanish-speaking country" (?). Guys, at least you were taught how to write essays! When I was in high school nobody taught us that! Then, university teachers ask you to write a paper and no one knows how to do it. I was introduced to the classic and horrid five-paragraph essay in my second year, when I took the "Introduction to Literature" class :S You shouldn't be nervous! Also, have you looked into possibly teaching abroad? I'm sure people have positive/negative assumptions about English teachers over here in America as well. Honestly, I'm not sure if I love how writing is taught in public schools period--although that is something that teachers themselves will not be able to change. When I got to college myself, my expository writing teacher had to teach us how to write at the "college" level. It wasn't difficult, to say the least, but it was hard to get out of the high school mindset of only writing an essay the "correct" way. There are many ways to write a paper! I've thought in the possibility of teaching abroad, although I had the idea of teaching spanish rather than English, considering I'm not a native speaker [of English]. However, I'll see how everything goes here first; maybe I'm the chosen one to change education here, who knows! XD |
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Post by embonpoint on Jun 1, 2011 14:33:57 GMT -5
It is also difficult to focus on what you're teaching or trying to teach with discipline problems as well. That was a huge focus for me during my own student teaching experience. You can plan out an entire class, taking up 4 hours of your time, but when you get to finally teach your lesson plan, it could completely blow up in your face because of power struggles in the classroom! UGH!  That's the main reason I'd teach at AS/A2 level rather than general secondary school. At my college, we don't have anyone really who's disruptive (sometimes people are chatty, but that's it); the main obstacle is getting everyone engaged. In my English class, I'm pretty much the only person who answers questions and there are 24 of us. Whereas at school, even in the top set (our English/maths/science classes were separated by ability/grades) you got really disruptive people who made it impossible for everyone else to learn. |
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krista
Young Armadillo
Warrior of Words
Posts: 52
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Post by krista on Jun 1, 2011 21:56:15 GMT -5
If there's one thing that stuck with me from English in school is...let your students read what they want from time to time. I credit my social studies teacher in middle school who had this massive bookshelf full of fantasy novels in the back of the room that she let students borrow for getting me absolutely hooked on reading. Before that, it wasn't something I was too terribly interested in, but when she loaned me her copy of The Belgariad, I was hooked. She eventually talked with my English teacher to let me do a book report on that series of books instead of the curriculum assigned ones because I found them so boring and they didn't want to, as she put it, "kill my interest in books before it even started". That was so wonderful for your English teacher to do that for you! I hope I'm also allowed to slightly deviate from the curriculum but its not as easy in my state. During my second interview at a potential middle school job today, I found out that they have opened up their holocaust unit to include 5 book choices. While it is still confined, I still feel that it is better that the students will be allowed to choose what they want to read, rather than being forced to read certain texts. |
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krista
Young Armadillo
Warrior of Words
Posts: 52
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Post by krista on Jun 1, 2011 22:00:31 GMT -5
It is also difficult to focus on what you're teaching or trying to teach with discipline problems as well. That was a huge focus for me during my own student teaching experience. You can plan out an entire class, taking up 4 hours of your time, but when you get to finally teach your lesson plan, it could completely blow up in your face because of power struggles in the classroom! UGH! That's the main reason I'd teach at AS/A2 level rather than general secondary school. At my college, we don't have anyone really who's disruptive (sometimes people are chatty, but that's it); the main obstacle is getting everyone engaged. In my English class, I'm pretty much the only person who answers questions and there are 24 of us. Whereas at school, even in the top set (our English/maths/science classes were separated by ability/grades) you got really disruptive people who made it impossible for everyone else to learn. In that aspect, I'd love to become a college professor. My only concern is the lack of available jobs throughout the nation as a whole, not just from state to state. I suppose this would not be a problem as I get older but I'm trying to stay as local as I can right now with my job hunt. I had to deal with that in my own college classes. I remember my Lit Study class being so awkward because there were only nine of us in the class and it was hard for everyone to communicate effectively...as in, I believe that half of the class either didn't do the readings or didn't care. Luckily, as I took higher level classes, the amount of communication greatly increased! |
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krista
Young Armadillo
Warrior of Words
Posts: 52
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Post by krista on Jun 1, 2011 22:03:12 GMT -5
Solution to wanting to teach, but not to deal with kids: Step 1: get a BA (check!) Step 2: get an MFA (Step 1.5 is "save money for MFA") Step 3: be qualified to teach at the university level! Huzzah for the MFA being the highest degree in creative writing! Are you currently going for your MFA? If not, where are you interested in going to school for it? I wish you well on your journey! I'm currently trying to score a teaching job instead of going directly for my Masters because I've heard most schools help pay for your degree...and my current bank statement would appreciate the help.  |
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Post by onlyaworkingtitle on Jun 1, 2011 22:32:14 GMT -5
Solution to wanting to teach, but not to deal with kids: Step 1: get a BA (check!) Step 2: get an MFA (Step 1.5 is "save money for MFA") Step 3: be qualified to teach at the university level! Huzzah for the MFA being the highest degree in creative writing! Are you currently going for your MFA? If not, where are you interested in going to school for it? I wish you well on your journey! I'm currently trying to score a teaching job instead of going directly for my Masters because I've heard most schools help pay for your degree...and my current bank statement would appreciate the help. I'm currently exploring options... making spreadsheets, trying to decide which path I want most, weighing pros and cons, and seeing what pops up. (Honestly, mostly that last -- I'm a fan of the "Simple Gifts" approach.) An MFA is looking increasingly attractive the more it sinks in that I'm Done with College (ohsoscary). And I'm lucky on the financial front -- turns out my grandmother left me an education fund that my parents (in)conveniently didn't realize was available until a couple months ago (after my undergrad degree was all paid up!), and that'll cover a decent chunk of any further education I choose to pursue, should I so choose. |
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krista
Young Armadillo
Warrior of Words
Posts: 52
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Post by krista on Jun 1, 2011 23:37:34 GMT -5
Are you currently going for your MFA? If not, where are you interested in going to school for it? I wish you well on your journey! I'm currently trying to score a teaching job instead of going directly for my Masters because I've heard most schools help pay for your degree...and my current bank statement would appreciate the help. I'm currently exploring options... making spreadsheets, trying to decide which path I want most, weighing pros and cons, and seeing what pops up. (Honestly, mostly that last -- I'm a fan of the "Simple Gifts" approach.) An MFA is looking increasingly attractive the more it sinks in that I'm Done with College (ohsoscary). And I'm lucky on the financial front -- turns out my grandmother left me an education fund that my parents (in)conveniently didn't realize was available until a couple months ago (after my undergrad degree was all paid up!), and that'll cover a decent chunk of any further education I choose to pursue, should I so choose. You are my spreadsheet soul mate. I've been making those constantly during my job excursions now that I'm in the real world. I've listed schools I've applied to, their deadlines, and schools that have contacted me for interviews, second interviews, etc. They are also color-coded by first-choice schools and proximity from my house. Alright, I may be obsessing here... That's great to hear about your education fund! I definitely want to go to an affordable school for my Masters (since I have to pay for it myself completely) but I'm not sure I want to go back to my college that I went to as an undergrad. Financially, it would be a dream. However, my school caused me so many problems (including taking classes on time, not taking the right classes for my major/minor, taking too many GenEds, etc) that I almost don't want to go back to prove a point--their Office of the Registrar has the most appalling staff in the universe. |
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Post by onlyaworkingtitle on Jun 2, 2011 0:37:15 GMT -5
I'm currently exploring options... making spreadsheets, trying to decide which path I want most, weighing pros and cons, and seeing what pops up. (Honestly, mostly that last -- I'm a fan of the "Simple Gifts" approach.) An MFA is looking increasingly attractive the more it sinks in that I'm Done with College (ohsoscary). And I'm lucky on the financial front -- turns out my grandmother left me an education fund that my parents (in)conveniently didn't realize was available until a couple months ago (after my undergrad degree was all paid up!), and that'll cover a decent chunk of any further education I choose to pursue, should I so choose. You are my spreadsheet soul mate. I've been making those constantly during my job excursions now that I'm in the real world. I've listed schools I've applied to, their deadlines, and schools that have contacted me for interviews, second interviews, etc. They are also color-coded by first-choice schools and proximity from my house. Alright, I may be obsessing here... That's great to hear about your education fund! I definitely want to go to an affordable school for my Masters (since I have to pay for it myself completely) but I'm not sure I want to go back to my college that I went to as an undergrad. Financially, it would be a dream. However, my school caused me so many problems (including taking classes on time, not taking the right classes for my major/minor, taking too many GenEds, etc) that I almost don't want to go back to prove a point--their Office of the Registrar has the most appalling staff in the universe. Spreadsheets are fantastic. I'd love to see your grad-school-spreadsheet-art, if it's safe for sharing -- sounds like a thing of beauty. The novel I'm currently working on has 16 POV characters -- without the spreadsheet for outlining I'd be a total wreck. I am of the belief that all registrar offices are awful -- I know mine was. Plus, the woman in charge of it hated the students (and did nothing to hide this fact, let alone put any effort into actually helping us or, y'know, doing her job). |
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