Dak
mentat
Almost all my ethics tutees were prenursing. They had to see me because one teacher forced you to be able to apply concepts, so you had to understand it, not just memorize lists.
The "Education" Thread
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Almost all my ethics tutees were prenursing. They had to see me because one teacher forced you to be able to apply concepts, so you had to understand it, not just memorize lists.
Baroque
Active Member
Standing on its own? Fairly satisfying. I've settled into the teacher role fairly well. I can make jokes and introduce my own thoughts on things, not just from the book. I've had some very good students that far outweigh the bad ones. Teaching college is much better for job satisfaction than grade school I believe. Some things I'm not satisfied with: The Pay, inability to pick which classes I teach, inability to get a full time job at 1 school. Things I'm satisfied with: the schedule, the academic freedom, and the students for the most part.
Politics and grading.
Having summers, weekends and all holidays off.
Again the schedule has to be best. I work 2 semesters of 16 weeks each. That's 16*2*5=160 days of work per year if I worked 5 days a week. Usually I only work monday through thursday. So that's 128 days of work per year, and some of those are cancelled due to holidays means I only work about 1/3rd of the year. Of course this doesn't include my graduate studies and internships and so on. But teaching by itself is great for time off.
Worst, the pay, and commuting to different schools. Dealing with administrators who think they know what your class needs better than you.
Einherjar86
Active Member
Of course, and I don't blame my students for being fixated on grades. I blame our dog-eat-dog capitalist culture!
crimsonfloyd
Active Member
I teach high school and I would say it's by far the most satisfying and fulfilling thing I've ever done. Every day, even on a week like this when I'm sick as fuck, I wake up excited to go to work because I love what I do and I love my students. Nothing compares to seeing a student realize that they can do something they previously doubted they could do, see a kid make that "jump" or the "light flick on."
In one respect, the hardest part is the grading. It's so much that it's difficult, but that it's very tedious and redundant. Strictly speaking, the hardest part is differentiating (making the content accessible for students in the classroom) , but I find it to be a fun and intellectually engaging challenge. However, I find the real hardest part is when you do everything you could for a kid and it still wasn't enough. I know my first year teaching, it was very hard for me to leave work at work and it was very emotionally burdensome. In time, I've developed a better balance between giving a damn while learning to accept that I am limited in what I can do.
The worst aspect of the job is that it's very time consuming to do it right. Office hours, meetings, professional development, tutoring, parent meetings, lesson planning, grading, etc. It takes a lot of time to do it right. However, the best aspect is that all that time really pays off. You build amazing relationships with your students and seeing them go off to university and succeed is priceless.
There is definitely a need for skilled math teachers in general, so my recommendation would be to look in to a TA position and see if you like it. It's definitely not a job for everybody and you should test it out before committing to the career.
Carpe Mortem
Benevolently Batshit
- Aug 21, 2013
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Is the pay really that garbage? I always thought it was starkly average in the range of 50K-ish. And is that including all that time off too, which would be a great opportunity for a temp job? Also I assume nobody gets vacation pay for how often it comes up.
crimsonfloyd
Active Member
It depends. I think as someone who has no kids, the pay is fine. I can afford my cost of living, have a few hobbies, travel twice a year, and save a little for retirement. However, I'm also not a super fancy person. I don't go out to eat a lot, I only go out to bars a once or twice a month, and I don't need have a new wardrobe every season or a new car every two years.However, for someone who had kids or expesnive tastes, I could see the pay feeling low.
One of the best things you can do is become National Board Certified. It is a several year process and involves numerous tests, but can ultimately lead to your anual salary increasing by 15k. I plan on starting as soon as I clear my credential (next year).
One of the best things you can do is become National Board Certified. It is a several year process and involves numerous tests, but can ultimately lead to your anual salary increasing by 15k. I plan on starting as soon as I clear my credential (next year).
Dak
mentat
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...rom-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html
Top 5 Colleges for the 1%:
NYU
USC
Penn
BC
Venderbilt
BU
Top 5 Colleges for the 1%:
NYU
USC
Penn
BC
Venderbilt
BU
rms
Active Member
where'd you get that top5 part? read that yesterday and didn't see it
i'm curious about their data via tax returns though, my alma mater was filthy rich and ranked pretty low in terms of hiring 650k+ students (CU Boulder)
i'm curious about their data via tax returns though, my alma mater was filthy rich and ranked pretty low in terms of hiring 650k+ students (CU Boulder)
Dak
mentat
Einherjar86
Active Member
Almost wrapping up my first year of grad school and it has gone well. It has gotten hectic from time to time, but I'm glad that overall I've managed it pretty well. I've had quite a few reservations about following the career path as a history professor over the last few years, but lately it's seeming more and more like something I can see myself doing. I went in to grad school thinking I would ultimately prefer teaching over research. That's been reversed since then. TAing is ok. The level 100/200 crowd of students isn't exactly the most fulfilling group of students to work with. Still, the good students make it worth it.
Just found out a few days ago that I won a Fulbright grant to Germany. I can't wait. I'm going to fly to Berlin two months before the grant commences to get my German up to scratch, so I'll be in Germany for a total of 12 months. The grant will go a long way in helping me get into an elite program after I finish my MA at Syracuse. That and I'll have an additional year to put together a solid dissertation proposal for my applications. I know approximately what my topic is, but I need to catch up on the literature and really delve into the philosophical theory with which I'll be using as the framework for my dissertation. Can't wait!
Just found out a few days ago that I won a Fulbright grant to Germany. I can't wait. I'm going to fly to Berlin two months before the grant commences to get my German up to scratch, so I'll be in Germany for a total of 12 months. The grant will go a long way in helping me get into an elite program after I finish my MA at Syracuse. That and I'll have an additional year to put together a solid dissertation proposal for my applications. I know approximately what my topic is, but I need to catch up on the literature and really delve into the philosophical theory with which I'll be using as the framework for my dissertation. Can't wait!
Einherjar86
Active Member
That's amazing, congrats! Fulbright's a big deal--an awesome research opportunity and great for your CV. Make sure you take advantage of being abroad. Obviously your work's important, but the Fulbright also affords you the chance to travel. Make the most of it!
Dak
mentat
@Black Orifice I don't even have the time to travel 100 miles (tl;dr jelly). If I had been single as an undergrad I would have probably pursued a summer abroad option as a German minor or something. Congrats!.
My semester is kinda sorta winding down but also going to ramp back up for the home stretch in a week or so. Fortunately mostly take-home finals. Been trying to punch out my thesis proposal in between everything else but the work feels so unpolished. I just need to get the proposal through/ball rolling so I can sit back and polish the front half while the data rolls in.
My semester is kinda sorta winding down but also going to ramp back up for the home stretch in a week or so. Fortunately mostly take-home finals. Been trying to punch out my thesis proposal in between everything else but the work feels so unpolished. I just need to get the proposal through/ball rolling so I can sit back and polish the front half while the data rolls in.
My semester is finishing this month and it's gone pretty well. I thought that my first year in university would have been a bit hectic but overall, my professors are good and my workload isn't too bad.
I'm glad that my finals don't stretch into May like they do for other people though. If anything, a lot of the "important" assignments and assessments in the classes I've been taking this semester were due at the end of March so having successfully finished them, it's a relief not having to worry about the end so much.
I'm glad that my finals don't stretch into May like they do for other people though. If anything, a lot of the "important" assignments and assessments in the classes I've been taking this semester were due at the end of March so having successfully finished them, it's a relief not having to worry about the end so much.
As it would happen, one of my buddies is going to be in Paris this summer and I'm going to fly to Europe a few days early to hang with him there!
rms
Active Member
if you can get another city i'd recommend getting away from Berlin. Too americanized for me IMO and far as hell from anything awesome
I went to Berlin over the winter for four weeks and loved it, but I see what you mean. Berlin around New Years is nuts though. The place is like a warzone. I'm planning to spend two months there this summer for language classes because the cost of living is low, but I'll be elsewhere for Fulbright.
Dak
mentat
@Einherjar86 Had a speaker today from BU. I didn't realize the BU psych department had such influence in the field of respectable psychology (as in, not psychodynamic or parapsychology). David Barlow is highly respected and I knew his name, but didn't realize he was at BU (he wasn't the speaker though).
Einherjar86
Active Member
Cool. I didn't know that either.
From what I gather about the more established departments at the university, BU attracts a lot of heavyweights. In part, I think it has to do with being a regional participant with schools like Harvard, Tufts, and MIT; but I also think it has to do with BU's ability to pay its full-time faculty really well, especially once you make full professor (i.e. not assistant or associate professor).
From what I gather about the more established departments at the university, BU attracts a lot of heavyweights. In part, I think it has to do with being a regional participant with schools like Harvard, Tufts, and MIT; but I also think it has to do with BU's ability to pay its full-time faculty really well, especially once you make full professor (i.e. not assistant or associate professor).
Baroque
Active Member
the feeling when so many of your students answered incorrectly that you start to question if you yourself answered correctly
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