Traveling teacher
Posted By: Montana QA on 2007-05-02
In Reply to: Interesting job offer - MT in MT
Where in MT, you can E-mail me
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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.
Traveling MT
If I was a single person, I would most definitely take the position. This would be an opportunity to save lots of money since most of your expenses are paid and you really would not need to maintain an apartment at your home town.
traveling
I work for K-Force now. I also hear Precyse travels but not sure, am looking for another company that does.
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.
traveling MTs
My hubby retired recently, and we travel in our RV. I have a laptop, foot pedal, headphones, and an external keyboard. When in our truck, I just set up a TV tray in the back seat and use the keyboard on the laptop. For Internet access, I have an air card from Verizon. With few exceptions, this has worked quite well for the past 9 months of cross-country travel.
Traveling
I have searched and have not found the answer to my question, so I apologize if this has been discussed before. I live in Florida and as hurricane season approaches, I am trying to figure out what to do if I need to leave town. I work for a company that requires an internet connection, unlimited long distance and a C-phone to dial in to the hospitals. I know that hotels usually offer wireless internet connections, but what about the phone line/connection? It would have to be something that offered unlimited long distance (as the hospitals are in different states) that could be used anywhere (not just my home). Would something like Vonage work? Or does Verizon have something? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Traveling MT- I need you!
nm
For those of you doing MT while traveling...
what about internet security? How do you make sure your work is secure? If you are using some other wifi connection when out and about, do you feel it's private? I am trying to figure out the basics. I'm clueless about this laptop thing but it sounds very versatile.
traveling
I went to San Antonio a couple of months ago for 2 weeks. I rented a laptop from Rent-A-Center, had the company install their software, and took it with me. I worked at the local library the first weekend because they had wireless, but then my father-in-law just went to the cable company and got me a modem for the 2 weeks I was there so I could work at his house. I would do it again though, even with going to the library. It was great to be able to go visit family and friends and not have to lose work either.
The traveling MT...
I have seen some posts about MTs who travel while they work. I would like to try working in the car but my husband is afraid I will get motion sickness. I am prone to motion sickness on curved roads and cannot read in the car. Does anyone else have a problem with this or find that they don't have a problem with typing? It seems like it would be different then reading a book or newspaper especially if I know we have a straight highway drive.
Traveling MT
If you have been a CMT for 20 years, how come you spell a lot as alot? ALOT is not a word!!!!
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.
Traveling Hubby
I, too, have a traveling husband with so much responsibility in his job for the past 20+ years. Often I have had to be put on the back burner with a small child so that he could progress to the successful executive he is today. Things have never been about me, and I have had to accept this. I must say it was much more difficult when my child was young. When he is free, we have to remember to schedule nice things together and get those in his DayTimer before life marches on by us both.
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.
traveling with a laptop
I put a pillow on my lap and the keyboard on top of that. It only took a few minutes to get used to and works great for me.
Traveling Transcriptionist
How can they expect you to be a traveling Transcriptionist and go cold turkey into a facility and maintain a line count of 1500 lines?
Traveling transcriptionist job
I would love a job like this. Where do you apply for it. Also, do you have to do ops to get the job?
Re: traveling transcription
It sounds pretty good and it's a way to see some of the US that you might not otherwise be able to, but I couldn't leave my kids. You also have no way of knowing how much work you'll be given, so make sure you are able to meet your goals and have an out if it gets to be overwhelming. Would you be traveling alone or with another MT, for example? There are several things to consider. I personally am a hometown girl, but if you like to travel, why not?
Are there any traveling transcriptionists out there and do you like it.nm
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laptop while traveling
What about to send and receive your work via internet services. I would think a wireless/high speed internet would be needed, first of all; but then will that work at all motels that advertise high speed internet services? Any other tips regarding this will be appreciated. I am in the thinking stages of this right now, so want to get the details worked out before spending a lot more money. TIA
I think I wanted to be a teacher
x
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.
Here's how I work while traveling...sm
If we're staying at a hotel, I stay only at one where there is a secured high speed internet available. They'll be happy to tell you if the connections are secured or not if you ask. How you know is this... if it's secured you'll have to enter passwords to enter their system. If they're not secured, you'd just plug in your cord and go for it.
If we're staying with relatives then I stay only with those that have the high speed internet connectivity available through a secured connection.
If neither of the above are available then I use my PeoplePC dial up account to work from. While it's not as fast as DSL/cable it connects well enough to let me work.
I take my keyboard and mouse and plug them into the laptop so that I do not have to depend on the laptop keyboard... which drives me nuts to type much on! Of course the foot pedal goes along as well.
Happy traveling!
q for those traveling with laptop --
if you use a rolling case, have you had any problems with the laptop that could have resulted from being a bumpy ride? my brother said never to put a laptop in a rolling case, but if i travel by air, i'd practially have to to bring all my essentials along...(and not stoe it)
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.
Laptops and traveling
I have two accounts that I work on. My account during the week we don't have strict times, just a time you have to have files done by, so that does allow for a little more ease. On the weekend I cover for a small 50 bed hospital, so sometimes I may have 20 files, sometimes I may have 2. The one on the weekend has a special footpedal that you can only use with their program, but it really isn't that awkward in the car. The one during the week I can use a foot pedal or use F2 to start/stop, F3 to rewind, F4 to FF. At first I was a little slow with this but now I don't find my speed any different with using F2 or with the foot pedal.
It takes some getting used to, but where i live it takes forever to get somewhere, and it's really nice to be able to get some work done. I actually got to make some extra money the other day. My mom drives for a trucking company and they needed someone to take her to get her truck. So she drove my truck to go get it (about an hour away) and I worked the whole time. Got paid a $100 bucks to ride in my truck and work! Of course that was like a one time deal.
The best for me though is getting to go to Florida and visit my dad who is 6 hours away. I can still take my work and work on the road with a pc card (about $60 a month) and not have to take time off. Just have to make sure you discipline yourself to work and not chat with hubby! :)
Like I said, it takes some getting used to, but it comes in handy!
Traveling with laptop
Does anybody do transcription on their laptop, other than those working for that company that has its own board on here?
when the student is ready, the teacher will come
.
Too bad we can't have that sound bite..the CB teacher one! LOL
.
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!
Been traveling for 3+ years and have worked the
whole time. Almost every truck stop has internet access, even WiFi, so you can get internet in the truck. Lots of hot spots across the country, can get an air card, use cell phone, etc.
My English teacher would cringe at the BOS. nm
x
If you think you have stress now, wait until you are a teacher.
s
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
nm
Help! need teacher gift ideas please
.
Regarding traveling transcription post below,
was offered $19-$22 per hour for hourly positions and 9-13 cents per line for line positions, paid travel including air, hotel, and rental car, full benefits, and ability to come home every 2-3 weeks for 4 or 5 days. Would you take it? Assignments could be anywhere in US and anywhere from 1 month to 3 years or so. Thanks in advance for your time.
Question about working while traveling..sm..
Since I have my own account and no one to cover for me, I bought a laptop so I can take my work with me and get out of the house, go on vacation, etc. I'm used to typing at a desk with the keyboard on a keyboard tray and a little lower than the computer. I have an external keyboard hooked up to the laptop on a spare desk for now. I just can't picture myself typing at a table or something when on vacation but what other choices do I have?
Anyone have any advice for staying efficient and keeping up typing speed but not being at a desk?
Going with a small group but I am traveling alone.
Yes, it does sound great! I've already downloaded the schedule of speakers -- going to be at the CSI-Decapitation exhibit, see Richard Simmons, lol. I'm also curious to see all the vendors and what they have to display and tell. LOL
Using a laptop computer while traveling
Hi,
In answer to your question, I have a USB aircard through Sprint, which I use here at home since I am in the "boonies" and only a mile and a half from a cell tower however, so my connection speed is great. When I "travel of the weekend" it is usually up to my significant others, and he has DSL available there so I use either or,
Hope this helps.
Never had a problem traveling with equip. NM
X
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.
Question for traveling laptop workers
When staying in a hotel with a desk and internet connection to work, where do you put your keyboard? Anyone have any suggestion for a portable table to use that is the right level. The desks are too high.
Thanks!
those are ads for recruiting - not traveling transcription positions
Kforce put the ads out to attract travelers. I worked for Kforce for 2 years. It was up and down with the work. My health insurance would get cancelled 10 days after an assignment ended, unless Kforce had another assigment to go to immediately. There were times I did not have for up to 3 months. There is always good and bad with a job. Unfortunately, I needed something steady and with insurance, so this wasn't for me.
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