Thoughts and ramblings of TheDon - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

greazzer · #1 01-03-2015, 12:46 PM

Here's my .02 cents. If you enjoy (enjoyed) teaching, have you thought about a private school? Excluding one year for one child, all years for my kids were at Catholic School. I visited the public school and it was a zoo. I deeply regret subjecting my one child to the public school system for that year, and Richland County, S.C. supposedly enjoys some of the best public schools in the nation. IF that is the case, then I really feel bad for the rest of the nation. I can say you will generally not experience a bunch of hellions in private school, and one call to the parents will nip any issue in the bud.

I only teach 1 evening per week at a CCD class as a volunteer so I have nothing to compare against a full time schedule. I have a mix, with half the kids being really respectful, interested, participating, et cet., and the other half just waiting for the bell, with a handful who need to be told to simmer down, be quiet, get on track, et cet. every 10 minutes. Some years are better than others, but overall the same experience give or take.

Teaching is a super tough job IMO, especially in the public school system. Personally, I could not do it since I do not think there is any real enforcment mechanism. I went to a tiny inter-city Catholic school run by nuns who had really clever, almost sadistic methods to enforce the rules. All I can say is thank God for them. Now, I wonder what enforcement the public schools have for those who cannot shut their mouth, listen, and apply themself?

Good luck on teaching.

strelnik · #2 01-05-2015, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greazzer

Here's my .02 cents. If you enjoy (enjoyed) teaching, have you thought about a private school? Excluding one year for one child, all years for my kids were at Catholic School. I visited the public school and it was a zoo. I deeply regret subjecting my one child to the public school system for that year, and Richland County, S.C. supposedly enjoys some of the best public schools in the nation. IF that is the case, then I really feel bad for the rest of the nation. I can say you will generally not experience a bunch of hellions in private school, and one call to the parents will nip any issue in the bud.

I only teach 1 evening per week at a CCD class as a volunteer so I have nothing to compare against a full time schedule. I have a mix, with half the kids being really respectful, interested, participating, et cet., and the other half just waiting for the bell, with a handful who need to be told to simmer down, be quiet, get on track, et cet. every 10 minutes. Some years are better than others, but overall the same experience give or take.

Teaching is a super tough job IMO, especially in the public school system. Personally, I could not do it since I do not think there is any real enforcment mechanism. I went to a tiny inter-city Catholic school run by nuns who had really clever, almost sadistic methods to enforce the rules. All I can say is thank God for them. Now, I wonder what enforcement the public schools have for those who cannot shut their mouth, listen, and apply themself?

Good luck on teaching.

Since we're throwing in our $.02 coins, here's mine.
I've taught high school, college and industry, in English and in French, uin the US Canada and France.

If the public school sucks but you like teaching, teach in a private school or work as a tutor. I know people who make about 150/day tutoring high school kids after their regular job, so it's about 30,000 above work.

Check out whether you can teach adults. Like a GED program. The ones who are there always want to learn.

I am really surprised about the IT degree not being marketable. If you also have an A+ cert or a MCSE cert, which you can learn in two week cram courses -- studying for the test-- those guys with a cert and with a degree are doing ok over here.

Don't do welding as a job unless you really like it.We all do some work we don't like but that helps us appreciate the other stuff we do. It is a good trade, but it's also a trade where you have to unscramble most people's bad welding jobs. I say that because I know a guy who's the third generation in the welding business, the family has a fairly prosperous shop.

I hate the weather in Michigan but when I retire I'm not going to move everything, just take a 60-day vacation in the winter.

Whatever you do, suggest you talk about it extensively with the missus. Good luck!