Alabama's jobless rate has doubled to 9% in the last year, with more jobs going the down the drain every day. There may be a temptation on the part of some professionals to believe teaching can be their fallback career. I'm sure many members of the Alabama Education Association will read the collected brief essays in today's New York Times with a nodding head...uh huh! Teaching is not for the faint at heart. And no matter how much you know about your subject, actually teaching it is a whole different matter. Twice in years past I taught broadcast writing at Jefferson State Community College near Birmingham, and both times I struggled to juggle all of the balls teachers are supposed to handle with ease, and those were college age students, not adolescents!
Apr 20, 2009
"Oh, I can always teach..."
Alabama's jobless rate has doubled to 9% in the last year, with more jobs going the down the drain every day. There may be a temptation on the part of some professionals to believe teaching can be their fallback career. I'm sure many members of the Alabama Education Association will read the collected brief essays in today's New York Times with a nodding head...uh huh! Teaching is not for the faint at heart. And no matter how much you know about your subject, actually teaching it is a whole different matter. Twice in years past I taught broadcast writing at Jefferson State Community College near Birmingham, and both times I struggled to juggle all of the balls teachers are supposed to handle with ease, and those were college age students, not adolescents!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Years ago, my dad's job was eliminated because the corporate owner made poor decisions about the quality of their product, which in turn, after a relatively short time, lost their customer base to their competitor and eventually, went out of business.
ReplyDeleteHe'd been with the firm for perhaps over a decade. Suddenly, our family, which had moved to a new town, bought a new house (had one constructed), and there he was... without a job. Though Mother had some professional teaching experience, early in their marriage (before she birthed), they agreed that Mom would be a stay-at-home mother to the two of us.
Fortunately, my brother and I were at the self-care stage of life - early & mid teens - so when Dad and Mom decided to return to graduate school, it was much better for our family.
In the interim, Dad took a school bus driving job, which provided state benefits such as retirement and health insurance. He also decided to return to the Reserve Armed forces and joined the National Guard. He was already a Korean War Veteran of the Navy. Continuing his graduate studies, he then took a director's job, and Mom had returned to teaching while continuing her graduate studies.
So, very well over 30 years ago, we - my brother and I - were the original "latch key kids."
Eventually, Dad and Mom earned their Master's degrees and a landed permanent teaching jobs in junior high/elementary education. Dad continued his education to the A.A. level, declining Ph.D. studies because as he said, "the state wouldn't pay me any more money if I earned a doctorate."
I too have driven a school bus, served in the Army Reserve, and taught, albeit at the college level. As I continue to say, "teaching is the impartation of knowledge and understanding to those whom have none." For me, seeing someone learn new material holds certain fascination, and seeing their success is exciting. What's disgusting, are the lazy and those whom try and scam over their profs.
Each class is unique and it's interesting to observe who is interested and cares, and who does not. Teaching is time-consuming, to be certain, and frequently, ill-rewarded by comparison to other professions.
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here." Well, teaching isn't quite as bad as Dante's Inferno, but it is its own sort of Divine Comedy. However, it is never what you think it is going to be from day to day, or from year to year. Trust me; I know this.
ReplyDelete