Thank you so much for responding to my post. I am currently
teaching in an inner-city school whose students are primarily
poverty-level, and who are from very dysfunctional families
who live in a dangerous, crime-ridden neighborhood. Although
I truly love my students, and all of the students at my
school, I am still hoping to find a teaching position in a
rural school My current position is in central Illinois.
As far as boring goes, I could use boring compared to the
hectic, fast-paced existence I am now living. Although I live
in a rural area just outside a village of 1200, I currently
have a fifty-minute drive into the city to work. I could use
some boring!
I have taught third grade and kindergarten (my current
position), and student-taught sixth grade, so I am pretty much
open to any grade level so long as it's in a rural area.
If you hear of any openings in your area, please let me know.
Again, thank you for your response.
Barbara
On 3/02/08, rural profe... wrote:
> 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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