How many teachers are here

[barhnt]

I can't be the only teacher in this forum. Who else is a teacher? I teach 5th and 6th grade ESL for 3 years now.

[jefhatfield]

i am not a K-12 credentialed teacher but i teach adults and seniors computer skills

i may end up teaching or being an instructor's aid at my college

[MacFan25]

I'm not a teacher, but I'm a student! :D

[Doctor Q]

I've given computer lessons to kids from kindergarten thru 8th grade, to teachers, and to one principal, in individual, group, or whole-class lessons. But all as a volunteer. So I'm a teacher as a hobby, not as a profession.

barhnt, do you use computers in your classroom or do you have any reason to want to?

[D0ct0rteeth]

I teach fine art (painting, drawing, sculpture) at a local museum, but I have a few more semesters before i receive my state accreditation.

As much as a I hate to I may start teaching iMovie and iPhoto classes; although as it is not a traditional school Apple does not offer me teacher discounts :)

-Doc

[Roger1]

I work for a school district, in tech support :)

[Rower_CPU]

I work at a college campus and I'm also in graduate school in Education (Educational Technology)...

Though I'm not a teacher, I work with them everyday. :)

[mc68k]

i teach people about the joys of folding

join our team

[barhnt]

Doctor Q i do use computers in the classroom quite often. I also teacher the other teacher how to use them as well as the kids. Also, i spend much of my freetime at work fixing computer problems so that we don't have to wait forever for a repair that is simple. Once your ocmputer goes out it could take months to get it back, so i try to help out as much as i can. It's crazy... but i like it.

[WinterMute]

I'm senior lecturer in music technology at Thames Valley Uni in London, wall to wall Macs...:D

I really admire anyone who teaches below undergrad level, especially the primary and junior levels, they're the real teachers, I'm just an old studio engineer who likes the sound of his own voice;)

[barhnt]

i would really like to teach in a higher ed. facility someday. A place where i don't have to give students permission to go to the bathroom:)

[WinterMute]

Originally posted by barhnt
i would really like to teach in a higher ed. facility someday. A place where i don't have to give students permission to go to the bathroom:)

lol:D

Having students that actually want to be in your classroom is a real bonus, teaching the ones who dont is the real challenge, thats what I meant by real teachers:)

[ejb190]

I teach. Well, not in the traditional sense. I am an Agriculture & Natural Resources Educator with Purdue University Extension. My classroom is my entire county and my students are anyone who has a question for me or is in a target audience I am trying to reach! Talk about having the best of both worlds!!!

[barhnt]

i guess i am the only k-12 teacher in the group...lol... but at least there are other teachers in different forms in here so i am not alone. sounds like there are some really interesting occupations in teaching out there.

[strider42]

I have a degree in English from Cal Berkeley with a minor in education. I would be a teacher right now if it was worth my while. But the extra schooling, required testing, etc isn't worth doing for low pay and an oppressive beauracracy. There's a good chance I'll be a teacher eventually, but it just wasn't worth doing when I graduated a few years ago. Its kind of depressing really. They say only something like 4% of California's teachers come from the UC system, arguably the best public university system in the country. We could be doing much better. People want to be teachers, but wanting to do it doesn't mean its practical.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by strider42
Its kind of depressing really. They say only something like 4% of California's teachers come from the UC system, arguably the best public university system in the country. We could be doing much better. People want to be teachers, but wanting to do it doesn't mean its practical.

this is why, in california, teachers need to be paid more and treated better...several generations ago, it was considered a top of the line profession

the university of california system was set up for three primary purposes

1) to have their graduates get a credential and then teach K-12

2) have their graduates get a master's or phd and then teach on the college level

3) have their graduates get a master's or phd and work in the research side of all educational and industrial levels

never was the design of the school to train the everyday worker...that was set up as the goal of the california state university system and their much larger student body

most of my friends who graudated from the university of california system from a previous generation (pre baby boomer and early baby boomer) became teachers and/or professors (my neighbors, my cousin, his wife, her father, my friend's mother, etc)...but most of the recent university of california grads i know (mostly from high school and jc) just took any job they could find after their ba/bs...and most of the time not in their chosen fields

both systems have their primary goals with one side furthering the education and research fields and the other being more vocational related

[jefhatfield]

in my chosen field of computers, i see that the uc system is into their theoretical based roots with a goal of furthering the field vs. commerce...ie) free bsd

but to keep with the times, i have seen computer and computer business certification and vocationally related degrees through the university of california extension with hands on based training and very little theory

theory is what made the university of califronia famous and cal berkeley actually has more nobel laureates than the much more famous stanford university

but recently i have seen ceo's/business leaders from uc berkeley and even some right wingers...something unthinkable when i started college in the 70s

[Doctor Q]

With computer science, vocational training might give you some of the latest skills, but they have an expiration date. If you, for example, learn Oracle database administration or Windows networking, those skills won't be permanently valuable. Eventually, they will outlive those particular products.

There's nothing wrong with getting vocational training and there's nothing wrong with attending a university program based on theory and principles. But either way, you'll have to continue learning, once you are in the job market, to keep up with the ever-changing field.

My computer science educational will be complete the day I retire.

[Mal]

I'm going to be a teacher next year, in Japan. For now, I'm still working on graduating from high school.

JW

[barhnt]

Originally posted by skywalker
I'm going to be a teacher next year, in Japan. For now, I'm still working on graduating from high school.

JW


wow janpan!!! that sound exciting, good luck to you.

[barhnt]

sorry i guess i can't spell well without my glasses on.....lol:( I should have typed Japan.... :rolleyes:

[flyfish29]

I was a 3rd grade teacher and assistant principal, but have been staying home with our 2 year old and soon a newborn (this summer) and love it. I am going to start my Master's degree this summer so I can become a principal in a few years when I will have my wife stay home. Beware some higher ed jobs pay even less than k-12 classroom teachers-my wifes job does. But it is nice to not have to give out b-room passes.:D

[iGav]

I used to be a hypermedia lecturer at SAE London, teaching Director, Flash, LiveMotion, AfterEffects, DVD authoring, DV editing, Enhanced CD-ROM design and production, CD-ROM design and production, design history, and interactive theory to BA (Hons) students.

I found it great fun.... teaching to groups of no more than 16 and who had paid a boatload of cash to do the course, so they really wanted to be there... I've also done the odd impromptu lecture at my old uni to MA students.....

I stopped lecturing before I started to impulse buy tweed jackets with leather elbow patches!! heh heh!! :p

[ejb190]

Originally posted by iGAV

I stopped lecturing before I started to impulse buy tweed jackets with leather elbow patches!! heh heh!! :p

Hey now!!! I have a couple of those jackets! I think they are quite stylish!

[strider42]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
this is why, in california, teachers need to be paid more and treated better...several generations ago, it was considered a top of the line profession

the university of california system was set up for three primary purposes

1) to have their graduates get a credential and then teach K-12

2) have their graduates get a master's or phd and then teach on the college level

3) have their graduates get a master's or phd and work in the research side of all educational and industrial levels

never was the design of the school to train the everyday worker...that was set up as the goal of the california state university system and their much larger student body

most of my friends who graudated from the university of california system from a previous generation (pre baby boomer and early baby boomer) became teachers and/or professors (my neighbors, my cousin, his wife, her father, my friend's mother, etc)...but most of the recent university of california grads i know (mostly from high school and jc) just took any job they could find after their ba/bs...and most of the time not in their chosen fields

both systems have their primary goals with one side furthering the education and research fields and the other being more vocational related

Interesting. I wasn't really aware of the philosphies behind the two systems, though it makes sense.

California would be a lot better off if they had an option to easily allow students to add a teaching credential program to their education without having to come back for an extra year. it really shouldn't be that hard to do. Other schools have programs like that, but none in the UC system that I know of. I would have done that with no question. I mean, given the fact that I did an education minor, a teaching credential program could have been easily substituted instead of that if one was offered. Meanwhile to get a teaching credential from Cal, you have to do a masters/PHD program. Again, this is a shame because there education department had some relaly cool professors that would have been of benefit to people who didn't want to go that route yet.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by strider42
Interesting. I wasn't really aware of the philosphies behind the two systems, though it makes sense.

California would be a lot better off if they had an option to easily allow students to add a teaching credential program to their education without having to come back for an extra year. it really shouldn't be that hard to do. Other schools have programs like that, but none in the UC system that I know of. I would have done that with no question. I mean, given the fact that I did an education minor, a teaching credential program could have been easily substituted instead of that if one was offered. Meanwhile to get a teaching credential from Cal, you have to do a masters/PHD program. Again, this is a shame because there education department had some relaly cool professors that would have been of benefit to people who didn't want to go that route yet.

as a lot of teachers know, columbia university (NY) is one of the great institutions for the training of teachers but cal berkeley's teaching/education department is their consistently highest rated program

but the bad treatment and pay of teacher's in california has made the school change their tune a little...one exception to the theory based teaching i could think of in the university of california system is their medical schools and law schools...they are vocational and meant to bring those workers into the workforce

i hope the university of california does not lose their vision and end up being the other vocational state funded system

that would leave the independent california private colleges (stanford, usc, pepperdine, usf, etc) to take up the slack and few would be able to pay the much higher tuition in order to get a low paying california teaching job:rolleyes:

[barhnt]

jefhatfield I know what you mean when you say " low paying teaching jobs". I don't think there is anywhere in the USA where the pay ='s the work teachers do. But yet the federal government wants to hold teachers even more accountable for the achievements of the students. It is all about the numbers and stats. Well if they are going to look only at the numbers in the sense of USA students, they really need to break it down in to social economic groups. I am a firm believer that that students social economic enviroment greatly affects the educational growth of that child. The failure rate is not totally the teachers fault, is is truly the way the system is set up and run.

[jefhatfield]

i know of teachers who got paid $1,000 a month, gross, when they started (in the 90s)

my cousin who graduated from cal with a bs and a credential started at 8k at year in 1973 and now makes 40k and is near retirement

governor davis, in california, is a democrat and was pro education at the beginning, but he is thinking of raising the number of kids in the classroom to help pay for the energy crisis

california is headed for an education recession and only the most dedicated teachers will remain under those conditions

i may teach when i get out of high tech, just to do my part to help the state..maybe teach cs at the college even though the pay for an adjunct is really, really low and the hours...hidden hours...can be daunting

just this semester, half the classes were cut by the state in the department and new, up to date cs classes are nowhere in sight for the students

employers in high tech are complaining that the students are not up to date in their cs skills but fail to realize the red tape along with the educational budget cuts that are affecting the whole state

if you want an up to date cs education, you have to go to a private institution for higher learning and many, if not most, of the young people, cannot afford such a thing