I graduated in December of 2007. I was hired even before I graduated to
teach Spanish. I am currently working as a Spanish Immersion Teacher. I
have never been without a job.

I know that my experience is not the norm, but their are teachers out
there who do find jobs.

On 6/09/09, SpecEd Teacher wrote:
> I appreciate that you aren't arguing--thanks :) I hate to argue!
>
> I have had people argue w/ me on the subject and I just don't see it.
> News about the bad economy is everywhere and most teachers I know love
> to talk about it (maybe I just know f'ed up teachers :)). When I was in
> my teaching program, nearly every teacher I came across seemed almost
> delighted to tell me that I wouldn't find a job. Jesus--maybe I just
> seriously knew some messed up folks, now that I think about it.
>
> :)
>
>
> On 6/09/09, just curious... wrote:
>> I figured this would come up, so I'll respond to it...I don't mean
>> this to argue against you or anyone who says "well graduates should
>> have found out how tough it is...they are responsible for
>> themselves." I agree with that, everyone is responsible for their
>> own job search and choices...but I believe some people are not
>> given the "full picture" and thus making choices on information
>> they either don't have or don't have the full amount of.
>>
>> I agree, the INFOMATION on the teacher surplus is out there!
>> HOWEVER when its not publizied or talked about like it should be,
>> how would an inexperienced college student know, first off, where
>> to access that infomation? And how are they going to know they
>> need to find out about the surplus problem and go searching for
>> information if no one is telling them that there IS a problem! How
>> do you know to reserach a problem when no one had told you a
>> serious problem exists? Colleges aren't sharing it, and after a
>> through search for news articles on it I can count the total number
>> of them on one hand.
>>
>> I've cringed several times these past few months when I've heard
>> from recent graduates who didn't know HOW bad it was. But, looking
>> at it objectively...college students, even when they are doing
>> their fieldwork teaching, don't spend a TON of time in school
>> offices or lounges, and even if they do not many of the people in
>> there talk about the shortage - mostly because they are warm and
>> comfortable in their tenured jobs! And I doubt many college career
>> centers are sharing "full story" - mine certainly didn't! Neither
>> did any of my instructors, advisors, or student teaching
>> supervisors. Case in point: four years ago when I student taught,
>> my building principal sat a group (about 15) of us down and asked
>> us how many people we thought would be competing for the jobs that
>> we out there. Most people in the group said about 25...he
>> basically laughed in our face and said "Try 500!" That's how our
>> little cohort learned the truth...no one had told it to us. And
>> out of all the schools that small group went to (about 6) he was
>> the only principal who bothered to share it. In fact, not only had
>> we all visited our college career center, but we had JUST FINISHED
>> and a mandatory seminar on finding a teaching job and all we heard
>> was it would be "tough"!! Most of us knew it was "tough" getting a
>> job but were shocked to find out how tough...because NO ONE HAD
>> TOLD US THE TRUTH!
>>
>> I won't sugarcoat it..yes, the info was out there and me and my
>> fellow students could have gone searching and found out. However,
>> I doubt it would have been easy to find out the truth if it did.
>> One of the VERY FEW major news articles on it was published in 2007
>> in the DFP. Another recent article claimed that Michigan needs to
>> ATTRACT more teachers to the field! There's no database or site
>> (that I'm aware of - correct me if I'm wrong) that holds statistics
>> on Michigans high unemployment rate among teachers or tells how
>> many people you are competing against to find a job. So that's why
>> I've brought it out here...to get the truth out into the light so
>> MORE people can access it.
>>
>> Even some actual teachers don't seem to know how bad it is!!! A few
>> months ago I was told by a teacher (a 20 year veteran) I had just
>> become acquainted with that there *might* be a retirement in her
>> building. I told her I would love to apply for the position, but
>> knew how many applications there would be...and proceded to mention
>> just a few of the numbers I had encountered on my job search. She
>> was SHOCKED to hear that sometimes you have 1,000 of applications
>> for a few positions! She honestly had NO IDEA it was this
>> bad...and this is someone who has been working in Michigan schools
>> for over 20 years! I've encountered many such people who have such
>> a limited knowledge while subbing, not to mention the fact that
>> most people OUTSIDE the world of public schools have NOOOOO
>> knowledge of it whatsoever! I work a retail job and people get all
>> excited for me when they hear a school *might* be hiring...until I
>> burst their bubble by sharing the truth!
>>
>> So once again, I don't post this to argue with you, because I agree
>> that everyone is responible for their own choices when it comes to
>> choosing a career. But I do think the information needs to be
>> better publicized and available to our state's college students who
>> are *just* learning how to function in the world and will searching
>> for their first job!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 6/09/09, SpecEd Teacher wrote:
>>> I don't mean to blame the education students but...it's not hard
>>> to see that there are few jobs available in Michigan--it's not a
>>> secret. I went from college straight to law school and heard
>>> about how there were "no jobs" in the particular area of law that
>>> I wanted to practice, so I got experience in a bunch of things
>>> (of course, it's different in law than it is in teaching!!)
>>>
>>> When I switched careers to go into teaching, I was at first going
>>> to be a general ed teacher in Social Studies with a minor in
>>> Government & Speech. Within about a month of entering the
>>> program, I learned that there were no jobs in those fields. I
>>> switched to special ed and ended up loving it.
>>>
>>> I'm no smarter or more attuned than an average person, but I did
>>> pay attention and keep my eyes and ears open. While I do blame
>>> the teacher ed programs for this surplus crap that they throw
>>> around, I also have to hold the education student responsible for
>>> finding out about future job possibilities.
>>>
>>> That said, my district (urban public school) has a hiring freeze
>>> but even without it, I doubt we'd be doing much hiring. My
>>> special ed department has no openings and other than maybe the
>>> Autism Impaired program, I am not sure any departments do.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> I think univesity advisors are investing in their job security
>>>> by not telling the truth. Can't say I'd blame them in this
>>>> economy!
>>>>
>>>> What to say about it?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 6/09/09, just curious... wrote:
>>>>> Just curious as to what numbers people have heard this year
>>>>> regarding how many applicants there are for positions. I
>>>>> applied at a small district a month ago (1 opening) and
>>>>> what told by the principal they had over 150 applications
>>>>> so had a big task ahead of them!! My inner voice
>>>>> screamed" "That's all...try 1,000!" I have also read the
>>>>> posts about 13,800 applicants in troy....uggh...
>>>>>
>>>>> So what numbers have you heard, or better yet been told by
>>>>> administrators?
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't mean to bring this up to discourage people from
>>>>> seeking jobs or bring down morale. Personally this is my
>>>>> fifth year looking for a full-time classroom teaching
>>>>> Michigan job...I did a minimum wage position as an aide and
>>>>> went out of state for a while as well. I'm plugging away
>>>>> at resumes, and have applied to at least 300 Michigan
>>>>> schools/districts so far this spring (not to mention poured
>>>>> $$ into resume paper, printer ink, envelopes, postage,
>>>>> driving to deliver them, and driving to a few interviews).
>>>>> If I don't get a job I plan to go back to school and go
>>>>> into a healthcare field, I can perhaps find a job to
>>>>> actually support myself, since subbing is so poorly paid,
>>>>> plus you only get about 8 months worth of pay and can't
>>>>> file unemployment for the other months!
>>>>>
>>>>> I bring this up because I'm shocked to hear so often from
>>>>> recent graduates (some I've talked to on facebook, here and
>>>>> on other boards) who had NO IDEA the job market was this
>>>>> bad because university faculty just don't discuss it...I
>>>>> know we weren't told much when I graduated in 2004 (my
>>>>> student teaching building principal was the one who hit us
>>>>> with the stone cold truth) and that was five years ago, its
>>>>> soooo much worse now! And there has been vitually know
>>>>> media/newspaper coverage of the problem. I'm sure many
>>>>> students would (not all, but I know I would) have chosen a
>>>>> different career path had they know the truth about
>>>>> teaching in Michigan. I think the teacher "surplus" in our
>>>>> state needs more attention so our college students can make
>>>>> more informed decisions and not waste their money (as well
>>>>> as that of Michigan taxpayers) when they won't be able to
>>>>> find a job here in MI for years after they graduate.

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