Student Teachers - ACCIDENTLY DELETED THREAD

[StarTrekCaptain]

I am an early childhood education major and I am student teaching in a kindergarten class at a private school.
I get so mad when I hear people complaining about being teachers and not getting enough pay, or whatever. Actually i get mad when people complain about any job they have. Be glad you have a job, and be glad you are physically capable of finding another. Be glad we live in a country where you are not told from childhood what you have to do with your life.
For example::
My cousin is a teacher and that's all she ever talks about. I finally just told her, "Look, if it is so bad, then why don't you go back to school and get a different degree?"
I think if she's going to teach, she should teach because she loves it and wants to make a difference in the lives of children. If it's not the kind of pay she wants, the she has a decision to make- does she want to stay in it because she loves it, even though she won't make enough money, OR does she want to get out of it and do something she might not love that will make her more money?
I always just think she should have realized the money issue BEFORE she chose that as her career. I mean she could have found out what the average salary of a teacher is, and then thought, 'Hmmm, I want to be a teacher, but will I be able to live happily on this pay? No? Then I better not be a teacher!'
It just bugs me when she complains about the system- it's like, either try to change the system or just find another profession- just stop complaining!
Nobody forced her into being a teacher. She chose it on her own, so she should either do something to fix it or do something esle, but don't keep complaining about it.
I wonder if she puts as much time into her lesson plans and the actual kids as she puts time into telling everyone how hard it is.
I'm sorry but it just bugs me so much when people complain about teacher's not getting enough pay.
In my opinion it is fine if it pays poorly. I am prepared for that. I accept that. I am sacrificing the chance to live more comfortably because teaching is what I feel passionate about and what I have been led to, and I am afraid if it pays a lot you are going to start getting people who want to teach for money, instead of it being their true calling. That already has happened, and if the pay is raised I fear what that would mean for children's education.

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ March 24, 2005 01:05 PM: Message edited by: StarTrekCaptain ]</font>

[dianasmama]

Star Trek Captain,

I appreciate what you're saying here as far as your cousin should have known going in etc. I think it also happens that we change our minds about our career choices midstream or down the road, or sometimes the changes get made for us due to downsizing, etc. But, I still think we should pay our teachers more. Notice I said, our teachers, not necessarily the administration. I don't worry that we'll get people only in it for the money, I think it is more important that we show respect for our teachers, and in this society, respect sometimes equals dollars.

I found it very interesting that when I was in college I had a history professor tell me that if you looked around at the male teachers they were all of a certain age. He flat out said he became a teacher to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam war as were many of the male teachers who were his same age. He said he ended up being quite happy with his decision, when I knew him he had already been teaching for 20 years. But he stayed in college to avoid the draft. I also had an excellent high school male teacher who had already retired from the Navy and teaching was now his 2nd career. I always wonder about him and hope he achieved his dreams. While in the Navy he had married a woman from one of the Polynesian islands, and it was his dream to take both his Navy pension and teaching pensions and they would sail their boat back to that Polynesian island to retire. I really hope he made it, he was a great teacher.

Laurie

[StarTrekCaptain]

I don't mean to be rude, but I guess I am being rude, I don't know...but it sounds almost as if you admire this man, someone who got into an important career only in order to avoid doing their duty to their country? Talk about wrong reasons to become a teacher, as well as not giving back to your country.
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<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ March 24, 2005 01:38 PM: Message edited by: StarTrekCaptain ]</font>

[dianasmama]

Because sometimes we don't always get to "choose our own opportunities". He might not have looked at teaching as his own career choice, but due to societal pressures at the time, it seemed a viable option for him. As I said he was quite happy with his decisions in the long term. It was also interesting that the history class I took from him was on the Vietnam war, and he was really an excellent lecturer.

I can also attest to the "personal opportunities" issue myself. As you may know, my daughter is adopted from Russia. Was that my first choice? Sorry to say, but no. It was only after we exhausted all other biological means that we turned to adoption. Of course now, I only shake my head and wonder why? I would not give up the opportunity to have adopted her up for anything in the world, she IS my world. It is the same for DH. So, something outside of our control brought us to adoption, but just like that teacher of mine, I don't regret my decisions at all, and now feel that it was God making those decisions for us. Why didn't I come to it sooner? I've always wondered that too, but my only answer is because Diana was not yet born and waiting for us.

I don't think it negates my teacher's decision or our adoption decision either. I'm at peace with it all.

[StarTrekCaptain]

I don't think I really understand what you're syaing. I mean, he had a choice. Do his duty to his country when his country called upon him, or back out and ifnd a way to get out of it. He made a decision, it was his choice. He didn't have to do what he did.

But as for adoption, I don't really understand how adoption has to do with that? Can you explain it again or something.. I don't mean to sound slow but I'm not being able to make a connection here LOL
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[Amy Pavlic]

Not to take this thing OT, but I didn't know your daughter was adopted from Russia. What a wonderful thing you and your DH did. I'm sure she is absolutely the most wonderful thing in your life. Sometimes life takes us where we never expected we would be, and we're better for it in the end.

[dianasmama]

Sorry StarTrek, but I'm not going to explain any further, the two highest ranking men in the current US government also did not serve their time in Vietnam either, and I don't want to turn this into a war/military service issue. This is not the place for it, even if it is OT. Vietnam and the 60's were an entirely different world than the one we live in now.

I think Amy just said it best that sometimes life takes us to other places that we never though we'd be.

And Amy, thanks for your kind compliment, really it wasn't that we did such a great thing though. It is God's gift to us that he gave Diana to us to be our daughter, we couldn't be any happier or luckier.

Laurie

[judiaci]

You never really know where life will take you. Laurie, I hear you on that!!

Thanks for responding to this thread after I deleted it! Hopefully, when the two student teachers who are having doubts about their futures come back online, they can explain the thread further.

[Ds9jullian]

I have been at school all day and as the person who ogrinally started this post I would just like to say that I love kids and I love my subject area. My lack of motivation stems from the fact that I am $41,000 in the hole with student loans, I have no CC debt. And as a starting teaching in the state of Colorado I will make only $30,000 which is not enough to buy a home. It isn't even enough to rent a small house and pay off your loans at the same time because living expenses are so high. I am unmotivated because I am worried that I will be unable to pay the rent on a place to live, while still maintaining a vehical and paying off my loans. I don't expect to get rich teaching and I don't expect to live an extravigent life style, I just want to be able to pay the bills and enjoy life a little. We are all scared that we will never be able to own our home or buy a new car, we are worried about the basics not luxary cars or big screen tvs.

I lack of motivation all stems from the fact what you as parents see is not what is really going on. The public face of a school and the reality are too very differnt things. Go ask a teacher what the conversation at lunch was today and I bet that it wasn't what you thought it would be. Today my lunch conversation concerned job interviews and who was looking for what position elsewhere and for what reason. I am serious. You should see the paper work I have to do each week.

Today I had to deal with the network being down which meant I had to change all my plans at the last minute. We are in the middle of the state assessment tests so I don't even have all my student at one time because a quarter of them are off taking the tests, and I still have another week of testing to go.

Ashley

[Ds9jullian]

Something I forgot. Abby and I both would like to start families but we know that if we marry fellow teachers we will NOT have the option to stay home with our children because a single teaching salary will not cover that choice.

And don't even get my started about NCLB. All I will say is "We use to just be shooting ourselves in the foot, now we are aiming at the heart."
100% profiency . . . LOL, LOL, LOL. Are you crazy name one thing that is 100% perfect.

Ashley