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Looking for advice

by Emily

Jan 27, 2018

'm currently serving as a Naval Officer and have 2.5 years left in my commitment. I have a B.S. in English. I still don't know what I want to teach. From what I've read if I decide to be an English teacher I may not have to go back to school (depending on the state) since that is what my undergraduate degree is in. I'm hesitant to jump into being an English teacher because I don't want to deal with a bunch of homework, reading books and hundreds of essays. I know it sounds lazy but I'm just looking forward to time spent with my family when I'm out of the Navy. I also don't know if that's a false assumption that being an English teacher would require more bring-home work than a different subject. I took plenty of math courses in college hence the B.S. but am wondering if I would have to go back to school to be a math teacher? I have heard of Troops to Teachers but don't know if that's the best way forward for me. I'm thinking I can knock out some online classes the next two years while ...See More

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flacka The first question you need to ask yourself is: do you really want to be a teacher? No matter what grade or subject you teach ii is not a 9-3:30 day. Prepping for lesson plans, grading, report cards, meetings, club sponsorships, chaperoning dances, working the game nights, etc. are all part of a teacher's job and are done outside the "work day" hou...See More

Jan 28, 2018

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someday Troops to Teachers is a good program. I completed it but again there is a lot of work that extends beyond the school day especially for English. I teach chemistry and after the first couple years had a rhythm going. I rarely bring work home now to grade. I could see math being like that. There are many charter schools out there these days where stu...See More

Jan 28, 2018

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haha Some good points raised already. Obviously there is much for you to research, consider and reflect on so that you can be clear about your goals and your plan for achieving them.

The first thing (as has been posted) is to really figure out (as much as you can without actually doing the job) if you really want to be a teacher, and why. What ...See MoreSome good points raised already. Obviously there is much for you to research, consider and reflect on so that you can be clear about your goals and your plan for achieving them.

The first thing (as has been posted) is to really figure out (as much as you can without actually doing the job) if you really want to be a teacher, and why. What draws you to the idea? Hopefully you love the idea of teaching students, spending time with them and ideally have a subject you would be excited about teaching.

There are many teachers who are in the field because they didn't know what else to do, liked the idea of summers off, their mother/father/brother/sister are teachers, etc. That doesn't mean they are horrible teachers but it is often less than ideal for them and for the students.

If you are open to/able to take classes (and even a Masters) then your first consideration should probably not be what is the easiest area to get certified in. Although many states allow you to pass a test (and pay money) to add certification areas once you have at least one area of certification. So, in theory you could get almost any certification in some states and then add one you were truly interested in teaching.

English can be heavy on planning/grading compared to some other areas. Even with Math though there would be plenty of planning until you get into a routine with the curriculum and there will always be papers to grade in most cases.

I would never discourage anyone to be a teacher. I am a late career teacher and I love what I do almost minute of every day. I am a SPED teacher and I do enjoy the fact that I generally don't have to do much planning or grading since my job is mainly helping students with the work other teachers assign (but then I have a fair amount of paperwork, IEP meetings, etc.).

That being said, there is generally going to be some work that needs to get done outside of school hours. This can often be done at home and/or after school two days a week or so depending on your subject, school, grade/age level etc so it's usually not like you are at school until 7pm every night.

I have a non-education degree and when I went back and got my Masters in SPED (all online) I never had any problem getting a job in the states, overseas in int'l schools or with DoDEA.

You should probably do some research on the benefits and requirements of various pathways to teaching (Troops to Teachers, Teacher Ready, Teach Now, Masters Programs, etc) while you try and figure out what subject(s), age groups etc you think you might want to spend 5 days a week dealing with.

Good luck and ask questions as they come to you (or if we missed anything vital that you asked).

Jan 29, 2018

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