My Book

It's not really MY book, actually, it's the book I'm reading for our assignment....but I digress. The title is Smart Kids, Bad Schools, 38 Ways to Save America's Future by Brian Crosby. Now how could some guy just go and write about a complete overhaul of the United State's education system? Aside from the fact that he's been through it, he's also a National Board Certified English teacher with over 20 years of experience under his belt teaching. This book isn't about teaching per say, but it is about the field of education--which i think counts as acceptable reading material. He also uses examples from those many years teaching in his writing, thus making it a book about education from a teacher's perspectives. From what I've read so far (which is like 50-60 pages, give or take) I have to say that I agree with Mr. Crosby on a lot of his plans. Most of them are logical little tweaks to the system that could possibly have a major affect on the way students learn and even how they view education and the architecture of schools themselves. The very first way to "Save America's Future" as Mr. Crosby words it is to change the way our schools looks. He spends pages upon pages comparing schools to prisons- and honestly, speaking as a student, I have to agree with what he said. I think in the next few posts, I want to focus on my opinions regarding his opinions, though they're (again from what I've read) mostly similar, I do have some slightly varying views on how to go about what he says in his book….

My biggest concern....

Lately, I've been hearing about school districts cutting down on teachers. It's all over the news- with the bad economy, people aren't hiring even for the 'safe' jobs- teaching, doctors...etc. This is a big problem. It's always been my goal to be both successful (monetarily) and hold a safe job where firing would be rare. Even at our school, a couple of teachers will be dropped going into the next school year. That's scary to me. I'm worried about what might happen after college...

Sure, let's go with the idea that I do graduate college with my double major in history and a foreign language. Great for me, right? Not really, if I can't get a job. I'll be among the millions unemployed or still be working some sort of part time job. I’m not complaining though, if I did manage to get a part time job after college. Then again, it is my plan to keep the job I currently have to sustain me through college, but I- like most people- don't have plans to invest myself in the company for the rest of my life.

I don’t know how things will turn out 5 or 6 years down the road, who knows, maybe our economy will be recovering by the time I’m done with college and districts will be more interested in hiring. It’s hard to say what’s going to happen 5 or 6 years in the future, no one can predict it. Either way, I know teaching is the career I want to go into, and if I have to apply all over the country (even in places I’d rather not live—i.e.: the Deep South or way up north) to get a job, I will.

What I have to do

So....my plans for becoming a teacher....I haven't really thought a lot about it. I guess I've had this idea in my head that I'll just go to Kirkwood and do my Gen Ed's (because they don't offer a specialized teaching program)and after I got the credits I needed from there, I'd enter UI or ISU. I've decided on UI just because it's closer to where I plan to be living while in college. Dorms aren't really an option, because of the expense, so I'm trying to arrange living arrangements with friends while in college. I want to do a double major- history and either Japanese or German (it's a hard pick because I've taken Japanese for 4 years, but I've always wanted to be fluent in German). Either way, I want to make sure I'm qualified to teach more than one subject, it'll give me a better shot at getting a job in a school district.

While this is the ideal plan, it probably won’t happen like that. I’ll probably get my 1st major in history and probably do something like JET (see previous post) for a year— if I can’t get a teaching job right away—and then come back to teach in the United States.

As for where I want to teach, I’m not sure yet. If my relationship keeps going as it is, I’ll probably be moving to the East Coast (something I’ve wanted to do for a long time), or to Seattle (another top pick). The only downfall to teaching in Seattle I have seen is that the pay there is horrible. Teachers with a PhD who teach in the Seattle area earn about as much as a teacher with merely a Master’s do here in Iowa. That’s majorly disappointing to hear, especially since I’ve always loved Seattle’s atmosphere. I found this article listing the 6 highest paying cities in the US for teachers....only a few sound like places I could actually stand to live.

We’ve discussed in class the possibility that money isn’t everything in a career, but for me, it’s pretty big. I've lived in the lower middle class with only one income all my life pretty much....and I hope to do better in adulthood. So why teaching, you probably ask.... I know teachers when they start off don’t earn much. That I’m fine with—but if you stay in the district for a long time, teachers can do pretty well for themselves. Especially if they’re qualified to teach in more than one area.

ESL?

Since high school started, I had been playing with the idea of teaching English in a foreign country. It seemed like a great idea, because I love foreign languages...but after learning Japanese for 4 years, and actually going to Japan and meeting ESL teachers, I think it's probably not the 1st choice for me as far as life long careers go, it might be fun for a few years though...... These videos are a pretty good summary of what I assumed life would be like if I did ESL through a program like JET....
Here is the offical site for the JET program

My Inspiration to Teach....

I've wanted to be a teacher for a really long time-- late middle school was the first time I actually considered it. Since then I've gone from wanting to do ESL in Japan, to wanting to teach literature, or be an elementary school teacher.... and I think now I'm settled on the idea of being either a US history or European history teacher.
My sister went to college to become an elementary school teacher, which I thought was really cool. She got her degree almost four years ago and is now doing leasing in California. Despite the fact that she didn't actually become a teacher, I think the fact she even went to college for teachnig was awesome and one of my biggest inspirations.
Throughout elementary school and most of middle school, I had teachers that I....wasn't too fond of. They didn't inspire me to at all. But in 8th grade I had a US history teacher that just had this way that made me think 'I could do this, I could actually be a teacher'. Since that time, I've been really lucky to have some of the (in my opinion) best social studies teachers in our high school. They've taught me so much, and sparked my interest in all kinds of topics.
The combination of these factors is what inspired me to go into college wanting a degree in teaching and history. :)