Hi! Im a student teacher and I also have a child, so I wonder if you really love teaching and why? If you have a family, does your job let you spend quality time with your family or are u constantly stressed out and busy thinking about lessons?
Constantly stressed out and thinking about lessons, grading papers, calling parents, writing tests, quizzes, classwork and homework...talking to guidance, the nurse, child study teams, police officer, gang resource officer, substance awaremess coordinator...etc. choose your school carefully...
I agree with this, but still love to teach. Although I am also the type of person who constantly has to be busy and involved with a project. Do not think that just because school gets out at 3, you will be heading home at 3. Most days, I have meetings or something after school and don't get home until 6 or 7. Teaching is emotionally and mentally draining, and you still have to face the challenge of being upbeat and energetic every day for your students. By the time you get home, you are often drained and just want to curl up on the couch. BUT, if you can balance a busy professional life, you should have no problem with family time and enjoying your profession. I do, and many other teachers do as well.
I LOVE my job. But I have a husband and 3 kids, and they're my priority. And, nope, not a lot of stress at all. Once I get home, I only think about my lessons when I'm in planning mode-- it's not on my mind unless I'm actively doing schoolwork. That said, I've been doing it for over a quarter century. If it was still a LOT Of stress or planning, then it would be a sign or some sort of a problem.
I think a teaching career is more stressful in the beginning. As time moves on, you learn to manage your time at school better. I don't bring home nearly the amount of work I used to. I just figured out how to maximize my time. Do I sometimes worry about a student or a situation when I am not at school, sure, that comes with the territory. If it is what you truly want as a a career, you will make the two co-exist.
Agreed 100%. My first year, I spent a ton of time writing up tests, coming up with lesson plans, writing up worksheets, etc etc. On top of that, grading was all brand new to me so that took a lot longer than I take now. Now that I'm in my 8th year, I don't have to start at square one every year but instead can just tweak previous years' material to suit my current crop of kids, and my workload is decreased immensely. I find it sad when I read stats like half of teachers quit within the first 5 years. Why quit near 5 years? That's when it should be getting easier!
I plan on Sundays, so I am not planning during the week when I am teaching. I have a husband and daughter, and when I get home, I try to do minimal teacher work. I try to get most of my grading done during my beaks at work, because at home I need to spend time with the family. With that said, I do spend some time at home looking up resources, talking on here and getting ideas, etc. So, I do both, teach and have a family and yes, I LOVE my job. I still think of myself as very lucky to spend my days teaching, something I always wanted to do and now love to do.
I jsut got a call that my second student in 3 years is getting a FULL RIDE scholarship based on their portfolio from my class... I love that... but this year did start off very rough. There was little love at the begining. It turned out ok though, but I dont think I'll teach for ever!
ok, I neglect my family a little... But my little boy and girl also comes into work with me, and I get great holidays which more than make up for lost evenings
It is very difficult, but yes....I do love it. We're at the end of the year and students who were struggling with 2 step equation can now do them in their sleep and are factoring quadratics. Students who didn't believe in themselves or their math abilities now have tremendous confidence. The best part is graduation ceremony where I have many come thank me. It's very hard though to watch a kid who should be in honors classes going down the path of drugs and another getting pregnant (I've got 3 of them this year.) Another who came to my class having never made better than a D in math turned it around to A's last semester, but is now failing because of her home situation and unlikely to be able to change that. As for home life and work hours, I was a consulting engineer for 15 years. I put in far less hours at this job than in my previous one. I've never had a principle come into my classroom at the end of the day saying "I need you to fly to xyz tonight."
I was single for the first 8 years of my career. I did have more time to spend on my classroom, and I did spend extra time on school-related things. But, I did it because I WANTED to do it, not because I HAD to do it. Once I got married, I changed things some. I didn't have quite as much time to devote. I still got everything done that I needed to get done. Some times of the year are always busier than others, and some years I have more extra duties than others. I never feel overly stressed out, and I make time for things that I enjoy. Tonight I left my school bag at school. I'm not the least bit worried about it. Nothing is pressing. I had things that could have been done, but nothing that needed to be done. I wanted to relax and go walking tonight, and I also had some things to do around the house. So, no school work!
that is exactly how i feel...but i am in my first year of teaching... so i am just learning the ropes.....