Hi. Advice? I’m going into my first year at college and plan on going into education. I am not sure what level I want to teach at, but due to the amount of AP credits I have my advisers made me choose a level to teach at right away so they could schedule my classes. However, now that I am in classes that are nearly all specific to elementary ed, I am terrified that I am making the wrong choice and will end up regretting going into elementary teaching. And while they told me I can change my mind

(2) later, I don’t
really believe that it wont screw up my “path to a degree,” if that
makes sense? Wouldn’t that put me a solid year behind? And while I am nearly a
year ahead in courses, I do not want to end up taking a lot of classes that I
don’t need, that may not benefit me. How do I know if I’m making the entirely
wrong choice for what level I should teach at? I have a teacher who inspired me
greatly, and everything she tells me makes me want to lean towards secondary
ed. (3) However, I’m afraid that if I choose secondary ed it will only be
because of the teachers that inspired me, and because it is now what I am more
familiar with. The adviser had said that if I have a passion for a subject I
should teach secondary, if its a passion for little kids I should teach elementary.
But while I love teaching toddlers, I also love tutoring my peers, and have the
emotional skills that are very good for secondary teaching. How do I know what
to do?

The only person who can
answer this question is you.  You need to
do some soul-searching, some reflecting to personally decide what is best for
you.  You are the only individual who has
to live with your decisions, so the decisions need to be YOURS.

Try out some of these
courses and take ones that you might not need in the long run.  You are YOUNG!  There is no specific time required to earn a
degree and start your career.  So what if
you get a year behind?  Yes, it costs
money, but will it be worth it to finish a degree and realize you don’t want to
work with any of what you learned?  Then
you’d have to start all over again anyway!  Even if you decide one route is best right now, it
might not be better four years from now.
People change all the time, and you shouldn’t be stuck with
something.  Always be willing to change
and adapt, and try new things.

 Volunteer in schools,
after-school programs, camps, etc, and see what you like best.

Your education seems very different
from where I’m from, since the education degree comes after the first
degree.  I am qualified to teach two
divisions, Intermediate and Senior (grades 7-12), which were part of my
education degree, but I could still take extra courses right now to teach
Primary (K-3) and Junior (4-6).  So you
should also look into how teaching licences work where you’re from and if you
can take extra courses after graduation.

Listen to yourself and
trust yourself.  Good luck.

Hi. Advice? I’m going into my first year at college and plan on going into education. I am not sure what level I want to teach at, but due to the amount of AP credits I have my advisers made me choose a level to teach at right away so they could schedule my classes. However, now that I am in classes that are nearly all specific to elementary ed, I am terrified that I am making the wrong choice and will end up regretting going into elementary teaching. And while they told me I can change my mind

(2) later, I don’t
really believe that it wont screw up my “path to a degree,” if that
makes sense? Wouldn’t that put me a solid year behind? And while I am nearly a
year ahead in courses, I do not want to end up taking a lot of classes that I
don’t need, that may not benefit me. How do I know if I’m making the entirely
wrong choice for what level I should teach at? I have a teacher who inspired me
greatly, and everything she tells me makes me want to lean towards secondary
ed. (3) However, I’m afraid that if I choose secondary ed it will only be
because of the teachers that inspired me, and because it is now what I am more
familiar with. The adviser had said that if I have a passion for a subject I
should teach secondary, if its a passion for little kids I should teach elementary.
But while I love teaching toddlers, I also love tutoring my peers, and have the
emotional skills that are very good for secondary teaching. How do I know what
to do?

The only person who can
answer this question is you.  You need to
do some soul-searching, some reflecting to personally decide what is best for
you.  You are the only individual who has
to live with your decisions, so the decisions need to be YOURS.

Try out some of these
courses and take ones that you might not need in the long run.  You are YOUNG!  There is no specific time required to earn a
degree and start your career.  So what if
you get a year behind?  Yes, it costs
money, but will it be worth it to finish a degree and realize you don’t want to
work with any of what you learned?  Then
you’d have to start all over again anyway!  Even if you decide one route is best right now, it
might not be better four years from now.
People change all the time, and you shouldn’t be stuck with
something.  Always be willing to change
and adapt, and try new things.

 Volunteer in schools,
after-school programs, camps, etc, and see what you like best.

Your education seems very different
from where I’m from, since the education degree comes after the first
degree.  I am qualified to teach two
divisions, Intermediate and Senior (grades 7-12), which were part of my
education degree, but I could still take extra courses right now to teach
Primary (K-3) and Junior (4-6).  So you
should also look into how teaching licences work where you’re from and if you
can take extra courses after graduation.

Listen to yourself and
trust yourself.  Good luck.

I’m a substitute teacher & a student from 7th grade when I began is now going into 10th. He works at sonic and gave me a discount and a free slushi. I wasn’t planning to return to subbing this hear, but I don’t fully know if I want to stop.

What are you unsure of stopping?  The discount?  You can’t stop someone from giving you a discount at their place of work, but if you have a conversation with him, don’t lie and say you’re still supplying.  Appreciate the offer.

I’m a substitute teacher & a student from 7th grade when I began is now going into 10th. He works at sonic and gave me a discount and a free slushi. I wasn’t planning to return to subbing this hear, but I don’t fully know if I want to stop.

What are you unsure of stopping?  The discount?  You can’t stop someone from giving you a discount at their place of work, but if you have a conversation with him, don’t lie and say you’re still supplying.  Appreciate the offer.

Hi, so I’m thinking about getting into teaching and I’m just wondering how many hours a teacher typically works, and whether you’d recommend anyone to get into teaching

I would recommend anyone who cares about kids to get into teaching.

I haven’t thought about it in hours before; ultimately, a teacher works 24/7.  Scenarios: I’m at the mall and, hey, there are some students and their parents, and I better not be wearing and/or doing something inappropriate in public, because I’ll hear about it later and so will my principal and the ENTIRE SCHOOL.  Oh, I’m partying at the bar; hey, there’s an underage student and I now need to tell the bouncer this information because it’s required of me by law.  Oh, my upcoming cashier at Walmart is one of my students; maybe I should take out some of these items or go to someone different, now that I think about what is in my cart and who is going to see it…

In regards to specific work, it always varies depending on what you’re teaching, what you’re doing each day, etc.  Let me just say that the majority of the hours outside of my teaching day are spent doing teacher-related things: marking, prepping, reporting, etc.  I have had to specifically carve out time for myself and my family this year, otherwise I won’t do it.

It’s all about balance, and it gets easier with time.  I am entering my 5th year of teaching; things got a bit easier in the last year, but I am teaching brand new courses next year with a lot of new prep.

I wouldn’t change my profession or what I do AT ALL, though.  I love it.  If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t spend all this time on it and just do boring lessons and projects.  I want to have fun in my day, so I have to do a lot of work to make it fun for me and the students.

If teaching interests you, volunteer in some schools or with after-school programs, and see if you enjoy it.  Talk to some teachers you know personally about their workload and if you can handle it.

Good luck!

Hi, so I’m thinking about getting into teaching and I’m just wondering how many hours a teacher typically works, and whether you’d recommend anyone to get into teaching

I would recommend anyone who cares about kids to get into teaching.

I haven’t thought about it in hours before; ultimately, a teacher works 24/7.  Scenarios: I’m at the mall and, hey, there are some students and their parents, and I better not be wearing and/or doing something inappropriate in public, because I’ll hear about it later and so will my principal and the ENTIRE SCHOOL.  Oh, I’m partying at the bar; hey, there’s an underage student and I now need to tell the bouncer this information because it’s required of me by law.  Oh, my upcoming cashier at Walmart is one of my students; maybe I should take out some of these items or go to someone different, now that I think about what is in my cart and who is going to see it…

In regards to specific work, it always varies depending on what you’re teaching, what you’re doing each day, etc.  Let me just say that the majority of the hours outside of my teaching day are spent doing teacher-related things: marking, prepping, reporting, etc.  I have had to specifically carve out time for myself and my family this year, otherwise I won’t do it.

It’s all about balance, and it gets easier with time.  I am entering my 5th year of teaching; things got a bit easier in the last year, but I am teaching brand new courses next year with a lot of new prep.

I wouldn’t change my profession or what I do AT ALL, though.  I love it.  If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t spend all this time on it and just do boring lessons and projects.  I want to have fun in my day, so I have to do a lot of work to make it fun for me and the students.

If teaching interests you, volunteer in some schools or with after-school programs, and see if you enjoy it.  Talk to some teachers you know personally about their workload and if you can handle it.

Good luck!

I tried so hard to find a job. After 8 interviews, I’m still not employed. Do you have any tips for when I try again next year?

YOU CAN DO IT!

After you learn that you have not been successful in the interview, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ask what you can improve on in the future.  The people interviewing you should be able to tell you specifically what it is they are looking for and need from you.

Be yourself – talk about what you’ve done and show examples.  Bring in a portfolio to showcase what you’ve done and what you’re able to do, and use it to help you in each question.  My portfolio is bursting in a 2″ binder; just last year, I lessened it from a 3″ binder.

Check this out too:

http://teachinginreallife.tumblr.com/post/125927673753/any-advice-for-a-discouraged-recent-graduate-that#notes

Good luck!!

I tried so hard to find a job. After 8 interviews, I’m still not employed. Do you have any tips for when I try again next year?

YOU CAN DO IT!

After you learn that you have not been successful in the interview, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS ask what you can improve on in the future.  The people interviewing you should be able to tell you specifically what it is they are looking for and need from you.

Be yourself – talk about what you’ve done and show examples.  Bring in a portfolio to showcase what you’ve done and what you’re able to do, and use it to help you in each question.  My portfolio is bursting in a 2″ binder; just last year, I lessened it from a 3″ binder.

Check this out too:

http://teachinginreallife.tumblr.com/post/125927673753/any-advice-for-a-discouraged-recent-graduate-that#notes

Good luck!!