I think I wanted to be a teacher
Posted By: But I don't even like children! on 2006-11-12
In Reply to: we need a new career - AnnaP
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New. Wanted to put in a better card to support a game my 17yo DD wanted to play.
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What about Gen-Y? Try being a teacher.
Excellent article below;does not bode well for our future.
Also article about overweight, under-educated military recruits: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/02/20/struggling_for_recruits_army_relaxes_its_rules?mode=PF
For once, blame the student
By Patrick WelshWed Mar 8, 7:08 AM ET
Failure in the classroom is often tied to lack of funding, poor teachers or other ills. Here's a thought: Maybe it's the failed work ethic of todays kids. That's what I'm seeing in my school. Until reformers see this reality, little will change.
Last month, as I averaged the second-quarter grades for my senior English classes at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., the same familiar pattern leapt out at me.
Kids who had emigrated from foreign countries - such as Shewit Giovanni from Ethiopia, Farah Ali from Guyana and Edgar Awumey from Ghana - often aced every test, while many of their U.S.-born classmates from upper-class homes with highly educated parents had a string of C's and D's.
As one would expect, the middle-class American kids usually had higher SAT verbal scores than did their immigrant classmates, many of whom had only been speaking English for a few years.
What many of the American kids I taught did not have was the motivation, self-discipline or work ethic of the foreign-born kids.
Politicians and education bureaucrats can talk all they want about reform, but until the work ethic of U.S. students changes, until they are willing to put in the time and effort to master their subjects, little will change.
A study released in December by University of Pennsylvania researchers Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman suggests that the reason so many U.S. students are "falling short of their intellectual potential" is not "inadequate teachers, boring textbooks and large class sizes" and the rest of the usual litany cited by the so-called reformers - but "their failure to exercise self-discipline."
The sad fact is that in the USA, hard work on the part of students is no longer seen as a key factor in academic success. The groundbreaking work of Harold Stevenson and a multinational team at the University of Michigan comparing attitudes of Asian and American students sounded the alarm more than a decade ago.
Asian vs. U.S. students
When asked to identify the most important factors in their performance in math, the percentage of Japanese and Taiwanese students who answered "studying hard" was twice that of American students.
American students named native intelligence, and some said the home environment. But a clear majority of U.S. students put the responsibility on their teachers. A good teacher, they said, was the determining factor in how well they did in math.
"Kids have convinced parents that it is the teacher or the system that is the problem, not their own lack of effort," says Dave Roscher, a chemistry teacher at T.C. Williams in this Washington suburb. "In my day, parents didn't listen when kids complained about teachers. We are supposed to miraculously make kids learn even though they are not working."
As my colleague Ed Cannon puts it: "Today, the teacher is supposed to be responsible for motivating the kid. If they don't learn it is supposed to be our problem, not theirs."
And, of course, busy parents guilt-ridden over the little time they spend with their kids are big subscribers to this theory.
Maybe every generation of kids has wanted to take it easy, but until the past few decades students were not allowed to get away with it. "Nowadays, it's the kids who have the power. When they don't do the work and get lower grades, they scream and yell. Parents side with the kids who pressure teachers to lower standards," says Joel Kaplan, another chemistry teacher at T.C. Williams.
Every year, I have had parents come in to argue about the grades I have given in my AP English classes. To me, my grades are far too generous; to middle-class parents, they are often an affront to their sense of entitlement. If their kids do a modicum of work, many parents expect them to get at least a B. When I have given C's or D's to bright middle-class kids who have done poor or mediocre work, some parents have accused me of destroying their children's futures.
It is not only parents, however, who are siding with students in their attempts to get out of hard work.
Blame schools, too
"Schools play into it," says psychiatrist Lawrence Brain, who counsels affluent teenagers throughout the Washington metropolitan area. "I've been amazed to see how easy it is for kids in public schools to manipulate guidance counselors to get them out of classes they don't like. They have been sent a message that they don't have to struggle to achieve if things are not perfect."
Neither the high-stakes state exams, such as Virginia's Standards of Learning, nor the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act have succeeded in changing that message; both have turned into minimum-competency requirements aimed at the lowest in our school.
Colleges keep complaining that students are coming to them unprepared. Instead of raising admissions standards, however, they keep accepting mediocre students lest cuts have to be made in faculty and administration.
As a teacher, I don't object to the heightened standards required of educators in the No Child Left Behind law. Who among us would say we couldn't do a little better? Nonetheless, teachers have no control over student motivation and ambition, which have to come from the home - and from within each student.
Perhaps the best lesson I can pass along to my upper- and middle-class students is to merely point them in the direction of their foreign-born classmates, who can remind us all that education in America is still more a privilege than a right.
Patrick Welsh is an English teacher at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., and a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.
Another former teacher
I just wanted to let you know you are not the only one who is a former teacher. I have a special ed degree and have taught in several different places, my favorite being with profoundly handicapped adults as a supervisor. However, where I am currently living I have had such a hard time getting back into that field. They only want to hire me for a job that I am totally overqualified for.
I was fortunate enough to find someone who was willing to train me in medical transcription on the job. With all my previous medical experience with education and wiht my on the job experience, I am now a single mom of three who LOVES medical transcription.
Sometimes I feel that I am wasting my degree, but then I hear something that I learned in college or through my previous jobs and know this is what I was meant to ....at least for now.
I don't know if this helps, but I just wanted to let you know you are not alone.
wanted to try it but wanted to make sure
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Have you called the teacher? sm
Over the years I've had to e-mail and talk on the phone to my child's teachers. If you don't have the teacher's number or e-mail, you could probably call your child's school and get the information. If the teacher is worth his/her salt, they would probably be happy to help you out.
from an MT into a English Teacher
Am thinking of getting some education units (degree hopefully) to become an english teacher. I have been an MT for roughly seven years, five months give or take including schooling. But since i feel that Big Company (fourth down upper left panel of your screen, starts with "m") that says they dont outsource, but we cant be be so sure. I feel that the work is not anymore paying well right now. (maybe im just not getting the big breaks) I feel that i have to check my alternatives - cause im not getting any younger. Its tough out there but i think that god will provide.
Am i too old to be a english teacher?
is there a age requirement on being an english teacher? Or 32 is too old?
Hi TIA, my DH is a former 7th grade teacher and now....
is a high school principal. Don't people like that ignorant poster above really burn you up? As the wife of a teacher, I can vouch for the long hours and dedication that teachers put in. My DH can talk you through a typical week that will prove that most teachers put in 12 months worth of full-time hours and MORE in the 9.5 months that they work. That doesn't even count the summer hours preparing for the next school year. I have sat home on my anniversary because my husband is off chaperoning a trip so the kids can attend a band competition a thousand miles away. We have spent endless dollars of our own supplementing these trips, buying things for needy students, and making "sports supervision duty" a family night out so we can spend a little time with hubby and Dad. Don't even get me started on the vandalism that we've incurred over the last 15 years. Shall I start with the car that some little gang banger started by pouring a gallon of gas into our car and setting it on fire, because he was suspended? Or how about the rocks put into our gas tank of our car? Teachers ought to get hazard pay! Wasn't an asst. principal just gunned down last week? Teachers don't become teaches for the money, believe me. Where else can you finish a bachelor's degree and an 18 month credentialing program for a whopping 25,000 dollars a year (in some areas, more in others). A car mechanic makes twice as much as that!!! So, I pretty much dismiss those people who think teachers sit on their butts all day and skate out the door at 2:30. Their kids are probably the worst of them all.
I used to be a typing teacher...
I used to be a typing teacher and also had long nails at the time. I got one of those split keyboards (ergonomic) and it helped. Having my hands in that position allowed me to type a lot easier with my longer nails. You might give that a try. Keyboards are really cheap.
My mom is a retired teacher, so that was something
we never said at home. But as much as I have tried to correct my youngest, he still uses it. And he and my husband say, That DON'T matter. Yikes. doesn't doesn't doesn't. It DOESN'T matter!
You know, when you type doesn't that many times, it no longer looks like a real word. I double checked the spelling and I'm still not sure it's right.
Traveling teacher
Where in MT, you can E-mail me
My son's teacher sent me an e-mail
a couple of weeks ago and I could not believe that she said, "I hope that makes since." This was from a middle school teacher at that. I couldn't help myself but to write back, "I think I was able to make sense out of this."
From reading numerous other e-mails from this teacher, it is apparent that she also does not know how to appropriately punctuate sentences.
Terribly sad, indeed.
when the student is ready, the teacher will come
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Too bad we can't have that sound bite..the CB teacher one! LOL
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Math teacher is correct - and if
you'll work for .0725 cents a line, you're hired! 
Hey, maybe we had the same teacher! Cracked the ruler
on the desk and on some guy's knuckles when they were caught looking at the keys or the paper. LOL, she was a true peach!
My English teacher would cringe at the BOS. nm
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If you think you have stress now, wait until you are a teacher.
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Oh, grow up. There is no teacher here to be a "pet" for. (sm)
Unless you're paying me per line to obsess about my grammar and spelling on this message board, I am not going to stress my grammar and spelling. It's just like when I'm talking with friends. I don't say "I cannot" and "he will", I use contractions. However, I would not use contractions in a report. Casual conversation, like here, is different than professional communication, like in an email to a client, or professional work.
In short, get over yourself.
Teacher/baseball coach
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Help! need teacher gift ideas please
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My roommate is going to college to be a teacher and I think she's crazy (sm)
She's going to be an elementary school teacher so maybe it will be better, but her ex-husband was a teacher for middle school and my daughter was a high school math teacher, and both of them gave it up. The discipline is nonexistent in schools, as well as at home. I'm not saying that they should spank a child, but something has to be done. The principals did not enforce the rules of the school, always saying the child had a home live, or some other excuse, but never made any child responsible for their actions. I don't know what the answer is, but I can tell you I wouldn't be a teacher if that was the last profession on earth. My hat is off to anyone who can stick it out, and my prayers are with them.
My favorite teacher died yesterday...
He was my choir director in high school - such a lovely, special and talented man. He really made a difference in my life 30 years ago. Sad day 4 me.
I agree..my mother was a teacher and when she died..sm
So many people told me what an impact she had on their lives. It was nice to hear it.
As a former 2nd grade teacher... NO way. Why? (see rant inside! Ha ha!)
As a former schoolteacher.... We would not have done "snowman poop" in class. No way, no how. I think it's a little on the tacky side but still relatively harmless, so that isn't why I wouldn't do it.
Too many parents with no life and too much time on their hands would complain. Teachers have to walk on eggshells to avoid giving parents any tiny thing to freak out about. The kids? They're great. Parents? Man, do we need some chlorine in the gene pool. If they aren't expecting teachers to do free tutoring after school (Why would you expect that? Do we give away free MT for doctors? No! ) or to hold conferences after 6:00 PM so they don't have to leave early from work (Hello, teachers have families, too! They're YOUR kids, YOU take off work early rather than expecting a teacher to stay past 5:00, okay?) they're "forgetting" to send lunch money for weeks at a time or refusing to take any responsibility for their child's behavior and blaming it on a million different reasons other than that they just don't take the time to work on the problem.
Two degrees in education and a gift for teaching, but never again. I'm an MT for the rest of my working years.
"Duh" teacher quote of the week....sm
Last week a teacher wrote my sister that her daughter was easily distracted in the classroom. Well guess what? There are 32 kids in her class (above what the state requires but they have a teacher shortage) and my niece says the teacher lets the kids run wild. No duh - I'd have a hard time concentrating with 32 kids in the classroom as well if I had 32 other 5th graders in the room.
DD is a 1st grade teacher, and is ready to throw in the towel
already - not because of the kids, but because of the interferring parents (mothers) who cannot bear to let "little Suzie" out of the nest, cuz, you know, she is my baby, so I want to be with her as much as I can. She thinks these mothers cause more harm psychologically for the kids that anyone realizes. They lose coping skills, other kids make fun of them for being a big baby, and they lose all identity. Can't these mothers get a life away from the kid's school? She has 3 or 4 that think they know everything and are constantly interrupting her to "correct" her way of teaching. She is not a new teacher, has been teaching for over 10 years now and is rated one of the top teachers in this area.
Hey, that's how I learned typing in 9th grade! And the teacher was a witch. nm
:)
Have you asked your teacher to look over your test files, if you saved them, to
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I remember all that, too. The parents rarely, if ever, questioned the teacher or the principal.
I wonder what the change is? Do we parents have egos because now most of us have as much education as teachers do? Are we unwilling to sit back and never question "authority figures"? Do we remember being wronged in our own childhoods, so we're quick to defend?
I try not to be a buttinsky at my kids' schools, but sometimes I just don't agree with how they're doing things there. One day, three bigger boys with bad home lives and a history of fighting jumped my son, who is the most peaceful kid you've ever met. Two of them held him down while the third one was on top of him punching and kicking him. My son had to bite the kids to get them off of him. He was cut, bruised, and had a bloody nose. Guess who got punished? My son did, for biting. I called the cops and intervened at the school because my son has my full permission to defend himself against bullies, especially on a 3-on-1 situation.
I also remember being punished for things at school when I did nothing wrong, then my parents punished me a second time because of what the teacher said. I got detention for sneezing in class once. One of my teachers publicly humiliated me and threatened to pull me out of all the advanced classes if I didn't publicly apologize to another teacher when I wasn't even the one who said whatever it was she was upset about. One of my male teachers actually picked up a student and slammed him into the chalkboard, ripping the kid's shirt off in the process. So yes, I'm going to stay on the schools and make sure my kids aren't hassled by any burnt out teachers who are just biding their time until retirement. My kids aren't angels, but they're not demon spawn either.
I'm with you guys. Typing teacher used to make us keep nails short. nm
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I use Vista with Office 2003 Student/Teacher edition. nm
I use Vista with Office 2003 Student/Teacher edition.
I did a few years ago. Awsome!!! Changed my life. Beth Moore is the best teacher out there. nm
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I give ours gift certificates to the local teacher supply store.
One year, we also gave a teacher a gift certificate to PetCo (for the class bird!).
Betth Moore is a Bible teacher, and Living Proof is the name of her ministry. Geared toward women.
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Mine's a classically-trained pianist/ jazz trumpet player/music teacher (private lessons), right
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Just wanted to let you know (SM)
That my cat is doing much better than a few days ago. He's eating food, and I saw him drinking today.  I've been giving him subcu fluid for the last couple days. We are moving to Nebraska on the 6th, so I hope the trip isn't too stressful for him. 
Well, I'm having fun playing with this  ...I was in mtstars withdrawal there for awhile. Hope you all are having a great day! 
Bye for now 
Chickadee 
WANTED:
Come to work for Soft Script. If you are a "newbie" transcriptionist, do not mind us stealing your lines, enjoy rude, threatening, and hateful e mails, and among numerous other things - you like to work for less than minimum wage, then we have the perfect position for you.
Yes folks, this is what you will get when you go to work for Soft Script, it is a lot of fun, everyone should try it.
NOT!!!!!!!!! 
That was exactly the one I wanted to take.
However, there aren't any Irish dance instructors in my area. I searched ebay for the instructional videos last night.
I have always wanted to eat my
zzz
I can't believe you wanted to
Lame 'O' Rama!
I just wanted to be sure you all saw my...
"Thank you" down below. The response to this post was crazy and I appreciate the solid support you have given. Please pray for me to have the courage to face this leap of faith. He says he wants to make things better and that he loves me. I have not told him that I love him since he hit me in the eye two weeks ago and he has noticed. I think he realizes that I am tired of all the nonsense and that this could go either way right now depending on his behavior. I am strong, but I just have to believe in myself. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again. J.
Just wanted to say thanks
to all of you who responded to my post a few weeks ago about insomnia. I decided to try the Melatonin, and it works wonders!!! I sleep like a baby every night and I don't suffer any side effects. I also like knowing that it's all natural
Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!!!
i wanted to say too
when my mom was contemplating having the surgery, the surgeon provided her with names and numbers with patients who already had the surgery so that she could talk to them and see what their experience was.
I wanted to be....
An archaeologist/paleontologist (sic), a zoologist, or a veterinarian. Then I found out how long it took to go to school. That ended that!
I wound up going for computer programming. Hated that. Loved typing and computers but hated the programming end of it, so went into accounting. Me....who flunked math in school, but it challenged me and I was good but not enough typing for me. Then did typing for a book company...got bored. Now I'm an MT. What a life!
Please don't ask my age. LOL
Just wanted to add . . .
It is a blessing to have this site to go to where there are others who truly understand the pain/abuse we take/put up with. Only another MT could possibly understand what it is like at times.
I also wanted to add this ...
Many may actually know the terminology but make mistakes in their transcription or typos. Still, it is incorrect and it cannot be accepted.
Hearing correctly is one thing; transcribing it correctly to the document is another.
I think many errors happen on the transcription phase, not the hearing/understanding phase.
Thanks so much! That was exactly what I wanted to know....nm
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I really wanted to ask
my former PS to send me a picture but I was too shy and knew I should not anyway. His voice sounded sexy and just by the way he talked about things in general I had a feeling he was.
yea... i NEVER did whatever I wanted
and as an IC i had every right to, but I stuck to my 24 hour TAT for seven years unless I was sick... i NEVER did vacations, I Never took time off... EVER. Now i'm kicking myself for it since after 7 years they have betrayed me.
Wanted to add
I wanted to add that I do work someplace else also because I don't believe in this industry you can put all your eggs in one basket but I do think Transcend is a nice place to work overall.
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