New Jersey Nesties
JessiJane777
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Really annoyed: Teaching in NJ
When did teaching become the automatic fall back job? I don't see people saying, I'm not sure I like what I'm doing, I think I'm going to become a mail carrier/lawyer/florist....it's always teaching, like it's an easy job that has great hours and requires little work...ALL WRONG.
Being an educator is a tough job with little pay and not much gratitude...yet, everyone thinks they can do it. It's obnoxious because a good teacher, one that helps a student retain information, is hard to come by...And I find that moms who want great hours all of sudden think they can teach. And you can all hate on me, I don't care.
I truly believe this is why teachers get a bad reputation...
Re: Really annoyed: Teaching in NJ
Initially people thnk teaching is easy.... Then they student teach and learn it is a profession!
I get it even worse since I teach PE/health/driver education.... Even some teachers claim all I do is babysit... Good luck most people would not last thirty seconds in a gym with 90 kids!!
i don't think it's why teachers get a bad rep... i think sh!tty teachers in general cause that... but in general i think teachers have a GREAT reputation - MOST people really appreciate teachers.... but one crappy teacher can really ruin things for a child/family, that is for sure. I knew quite a few of those crappy teachers when I was teaching in new Orleans - it was sad.
I have told MANY people who are considering a career change to teaching that they really need to think about it- and spend some time in a classroom and talking to teachers about it... it's NOT for everyone - and it's FAR from easy. It was the hardest job I have ever had, that's for sure.
I don't think people consider it as a fall back job b/c they think it will be easy- I think they think they'll have fun with it... and enjoy helping children... and think it will be more rewarding to them - with intrinsic rewards... which most jobs don't give these days. And that is true- but you can't live off of intrisic rewards - which is why it gets frustrating for teachers... b/c after a while you need financial rewards, too.
I agree with this 100%. I know a few people who have tried to get into teaching as a "fall back" or for the supposed "convenience" - they have either given up on the way (dropped out of their teaching program) or eventually left the job. While it is annoying to have some people feel I'm in a career of never-ending perks (ha!) I do know that most people respect my job and understand the difficulties I face on a day to day basis.
While I see your point, I have to disagree that this is why teachers get a bad reputation.
Teachers get a bad reputation because there are those among us (and many of them) who give teaching a bad name. There are teachers out there who have been using the same lesson plans and handouts for 20+ years. There are many colleagues of mine who insist they don't know what to do with the English Language Learner in their classrooms yet 98% of our students are English Language Learners.
There are those that b*tch and moan about how low their salaries are and how their benefits are getting slashed, yet still leave on the dot at 3 pm and act rudely and unprofessionally at professional development sessions. These "teachers" complain all the time about the students but don't take steps to remediate the behavior that bothers them.
This, I believe, is why teachers get a bad rap. For as many good teachers as I know, I know twice the amount of bad ones. Is it fair to the profession? No. Is it fair to the students that are entitled to a good public education by law? Certainly not. Is it fair to those of us who work our *sses off every day to try to do a good job and improve as educators? No.
I think anyone who is interested in becoming a teacher needs to spend a week in an inner city classroom and shadow a teacher before enrolling in a university program.
I have the utmost respect for teaching as a profession. The way parents are today helicoptering every move in a "not MY kid" generation and all the red tape/disgusting disrespect from our governor, you couldn't give me a million dollars to do it. I think it's the hardest job of all.
If I'm sick, tired or whatever and I go to work I can slack and still do my job with some degree of success. If you're a teacher you're virtually "on" all day. No thanks.
I wish more people thought this way!
This and I know a few people (myself included) that consider it because we considered it originally and regret not doing it. And the reason I regret it is because right now I get paid well but my job isn't really life changing for anyone where as teaching pays crappy but can change lives. Does that make sense?
Fwiw, the reason I haven't changed is because I know it's not easy and I'm not 100% sure I'm up for the challenge.
Yes. Teach for America has shown that people who didn't start their careers in teaching can be successful. The process to join that program is intense. I think it inspired similar programs including alternate route programs in various states. I interviewed for Teach NY many moons ago and the process was no joke. I know they offer tons of support and mentoring for people doing alternate route, but nowadays, getting accepted to do this alone is no picnic.
But, I agree that not everyone has what it takes to be a teacher. I am an educator and wouldn't want to deal with classroom management on a day to day basis. I do think there are people cut out for it and people who aren't-- no matter when they decided to start teaching.
Agreed! It makes me feel so good when people outside of the profession feel this way.
I agree with this and Goldie's last paragraph. I didn't think the OP in the other post was "falling back" on anything and I think you are really over the top about her simple question. No one is saying they want to get into teaching because it is so easy and wonderful. But there aren't as many jobs that have the chance to make a difference like teachers potentially can. With that being said, I would not encourage anyone to get into the profession right now, especially in NJ.
I think alot of people turn to teaching because they're so familiar with it. Everyone has had teachers for about 13 years of their lives, so they feel like they know something about it. While advertising may interest me, I really have no clue what the average day for someone in advertising looks like.
While there are many challenges in teaching, it really bothers me how much teachers complain. I think of leaving teaching often, but when I think about not getting home until after 5 or 6, working all summer, and taking a pay cut (I don't understand why people complain so much about teaching salary), I'm wiling to put up with the extra stress and nonsense.