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Re: Teaching in Nebraska rural schools
Posted by rural profe... on 3/02/08
I teach in a small parochial school in exactly the area
you're looking at (not Valentine, but nearby). What you will
find, especially with the elementary schools, is that every
teacher has a rotation of duties (like supervising lunch or
recess) on a daily or weekly basis. Pay is not great, but
since the cost of living is quite low, you can live
comfortably on what you get paid.
You'll also find an obsession (even as early as 5th or 6th
grade) with sports, sports, sports!! Not to say that we
don't have fine arts, because we do, but the school play
and the band concert don't usually get quite the same level
of support that the Bball team does from parents and
community.
You won't find much cultural or ethnic diversity, and
children are often quite isolated from exposure to people of
different cultures/racial groups. Sometimes this is
frustrating for me as a teacher, because they seem to think
the world drops off at the county line.
But on the positive side, crime is very low, violent crime
even lower. I'd say the worst crime problem we have is
recreational drug use, and that's primarily amongst adults,
not kids and teens. Most kids out here come from families
that are stable and supportive. Fights in school are a
rarity. Life is pretty calm out here--calm to the point of
boring, but it's all good. The discipline issues I face with
my kids are nothing compared to what my friends who teach in
the inner city deal with.
I don't know where you're moving from, but if you're from a
big city (by which I mean somewhere with a population of
25,000 or more, LOL), realize that it will be a VERY long
drive for any sort of shopping and some specialized medical
care. Your food and household necesities are available
locally, but you may not have a large choice of brands.
There is not a lot of entertainment, and if you "ain't from
around here" it may take a while to find friends--but since
good teachers are hard to find, once you establish yourself
as a caring teacher, most parents will appreciate you and
try to keep you in the community. Rural Nebraska has its plusses and minuses, just like any
place, but if you're looking for a slower pace in life and
don't mind some inconveniences, I think it's a pretty decent
place to live.
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