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No mid life career changer here.
I retired and before I retired took advantage of an NCLB program..transition to teaching. Got certified in Math 4-8, Math 8-12, Technology K-12 and Generalist 4-8.
Did subbing, both day and long term in JH and HS.
Let's just say that teachers in the lunch room can gossip like no tomorrow and don't even pay attention to who is in the room that will overhear.
"Too old" and "not a real teacher".
The long term sub had an opening at the end of the year. I did not apply. I was already retired with a pension and didn't NEED the job.
Instead I found a school that had title V funds for remedial math. Required a teaching certificate which I had.
$20/hour, 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. I was given free reign as to what to teach my small groups as they had already been written off by the school as state test failures.
Did that until NCLB ended and the funds disappeared.
I am not under any delusion that it will be an easy job. I just want something that I will enjoy for the most part and that pays a living wage (I only have myself and my cats to feed).
My dad began his life as a teacher, later became a lawyer and never looked back
My uncle taught HS until the day he died. Had the funeral been held inside, the facility would not have been able to hold all of the students that came to the service.
My mom worked in public elementary school until she died. She was not a teacher, but an OT. She worked only with autistic kids. Her biggest hurdle was the principal whom she butted heads with a lot. She never once complained about her kids.
It really doesn't matter because my wife and I have seen a number of these mid-life career-changes who want to go into school teaching and nothing, nothing, NOTHING! you can tell them, will change their minds. They just have to experience it for themselves.
This is teaching, in general, whether you are choosing to do it at 20 or 50. Moreso than any other field I've worked in (and I've worked in a few diverse fields), you have zero concept of what it's actually like until you are in the trenches. Even student teaching didn't give me an accurate picture of what working in the field would be like, when compared to, say, my internship in my present field, which absolutely did give a highly illustrative example of what to expect.
You really do have to get your feet wet with teaching before you really actually know whether it's for your or not, in my experience. Subbing can be a small taste, but even that leaves out much of the full picture (unless you are long-term subbing, as for a medical leave of absence, etc., and truly running things over the long term).
Wow, I must say I am surprised so many of you are not happy with teaching. At the same time, I do appreciate the feedback. It is good to hear the good and the bad!
Well, the bridge program will not be a big investment in time or money since i already have a degree, so if I end up not liking it or if no one hires me since I am an old goat, no harm done. :-)
Wow, I must say I am surprised so many of you are not happy with teaching. At the same time, I do appreciate the feedback. It is good to hear the good and the bad!
Well, the bridge program will not be a big investment in time or money since i already have a degree, so if I end up not liking it or if no one hires me since I am an old goat, no harm done. :-)
There are still administrators out there that see value in older teachers, what they lose in innovation they make up for in patience, understanding, and comfort. Plus, many have a better “natural” handle on classroom management, particularly with the young grades. I say give it a shot, just know it may not match up to how you envisioned the job and be prepared, if you end up deciding it isn’t your thing after all, to honor that year commitment if you sign that contract. I have met plenty of 50+ year old newer teachers who have done just fine for their 2-10 year stint.
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There are still administrators out there that see value in older teachers, what they lose in innovation they make up for in patience, understanding, and comfort.
At what age do you think people lose the ability to be innovative?
Personally, I don't think they do.
It sounds like you would be looking at hiring this candidate as grandma or grandpa, not as a teacher.
Wow, I must say I am surprised so many of you are not happy with teaching. At the same time, I do appreciate the feedback.
Really? The dissatisfaction rate is EXTREMELY high among educators. It's one of the highest fields (other than very high physical risk jobs that take a huge toll on the body) for significant attrition in the first five years. People, especially young people, enter into the field with very rose-colored glasses, with lofty ideals still firmly intact. Reality can slam those people down pretty hard.
For me, I never got disillusioned with teaching. I loved instructing, developing creative lessons and units, challenging kids and teens in ways that intrigued them. It was a fun challenge. I never got to the point where I disliked the students, even when it was the case that I worked with a lot of the toughest of the tough. What soured me on it was all the stuff that isn't teaching, and isn't about working with the students. All the background noise, systemic issues, organizational problems, the fact that all of that becomes so pervasive that it overtakes the "real" part of teaching, very easily. I left for a more person-centered field. Education has become progressively less so.
Really? The dissatisfaction rate is EXTREMELY high among educators. It's one of the highest fields (other than very high physical risk jobs that take a huge toll on the body) for significant attrition in the first five years. People, especially young people, enter into the field with very rose-colored glasses, with lofty ideals still firmly intact. Reality can slam those people down pretty hard.
For me, I never got disillusioned with teaching. I loved instructing, developing creative lessons and units, challenging kids and teens in ways that intrigued them. It was a fun challenge. I never got to the point where I disliked the students, even when it was the case that I worked with a lot of the toughest of the tough. What soured me on it was all the stuff that isn't teaching, and isn't about working with the students. All the background noise, systemic issues, organizational problems, the fact that all of that becomes so pervasive that it overtakes the "real" part of teaching, very easily. I left for a more person-centered field. Education has become progressively less so.
Spot on comments here. Burnout among special educators is especially high. They have to deal with challenging behaviors, contentious meetings, lack of support from administrators, lack of appropriate instructional resources, etc....The attrition rate for special education teachers nationally is around 13%.
At what age do you think people lose the ability to be innovative?
Personally, I don't think they do.
It sounds like you would be looking at hiring this candidate as grandma or grandpa, not as a teacher.
I am quite old; I think I am quite innovative and still have better than average technological competency, however, I am not as enthusiastic or enthralled with diving in a classroom with the latest, greatest technology, pedagogical theory, or golly-gee-whiz educational program as I was as a younger teacher.
I’m sorry, older teachers, even right out of a teaching program, tend to have lower technological skills and/or lack even some of the most basic knowledge that is like second nature to younger teachers and many are less likely to embrace new programs and methodologies. Not all, of course, but the trend is there. In the lower grades this is not a deal breaker. The reality is in the younger grades having a teacher who displays the traits of “grandma or grandpa” can be a true asset, especially in high risk schools.
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One of the differences from transitioning from office worker or even teacher's aide to lead teacher is that the teacher is "on" all of the time. It's like being the leading actor in a stage play with an audience of both youngsters and adults constantly judging and evaluating your performance 100% of the time. All eyes are on you and there's no privacy to adjust your clothing or blow your nose as there would be in a cubicle. Years ago, I asked my aide to conduct a whole class lesson while I attended to something else. She usually worked with small groups of students, but when she had to stand in front of the whole class to explain something, she couldn't think what to say, at least not easily. She told me afterwards, she felt like she was on a stage. Teachers are often drained at the end of the day because of the intense concentration. You really do have to have "eyes in the back of your head," aware of everything that is going on around you, while talking to a parent, teacher, administrator, thinking about the steps to remember for the lesson, giving out assignments, collecting papers, giving out papers, and so forth. There is no moment when you can just blank out like you can at a desk for a few seconds. Forget about going to the bathroom. When you get to use the bathroom during your lunch period, so is everyone else. You need to do your business quickly and have a good bladder. This is just the tip of the iceberg and the "easy" stuff, but it's no wonder that young teachers eventually grow tired, even when they work in good situations. I'm just bringing this up because this is something that I, a career changer like the OP, didn't expect.
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