This is partly true and perhaps partly not. I think some of these inclinations form fairly early in life — probably as early as middle school — my kids started ruling out professions perhaps starting in 6th grade. One kid ruled out medicine in 6th grade and I think ruled out law in either 8th or 9th grade and so on.
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This is likely part of why many kids go into the same kind of work that their parents worked in. Having parents in the kind of work means that the kid:
- knows that the kind of work exists (many never consider kinds of work that they never heard of),
- is more familiar with the reality of the work (so that they are more fully informed when choosing it, rather than being surprised by less desirable aspects that may cause others to leave that path),
- has access to knowledge of how to prepare for that kind of work (including educational and other requirements).
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I agree. I think though that there is a difference between people who come to teaching after doing something else vs people who start with teaching, in their motivations etc. I know several people who went from my industry into teaching in their mid 30s etc.
I think it’s fair to say that most middle schoolers aren’t ruling professions in or out in middle school unless they have family in those professions and see them up close. I have students who switch to social studies education tracks after trying out computer science and accounting. Most students change their plans, change their majors, and many change their careers.
If you’d asked me about my future career choice when I was in middle school, I would have said law. In HS, I would have said photojournalism. If you’d asked me as a senior in HS whether I would take any more history classes, I would have said no, I was done. I ended up majoring in history. Then teaching history at the HS level. Then I got a Ph.D. in history. I’m a history professor. I think that in some ways (not counting all of the history), I’m more typical than your kids.
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I agree that some serious early exposure is needed for kids to have an early idea. For example we have a lot of doctors in the family. And between both my kids, there are differences as to when they had clarity. Some of the early clarity Is also a result of accidental factors — a drew university con law course in the 8th grade summer etc.
This is quite the overgeneralization. I worked in public education for over 40 years, and teachers were mostly women. I will say, there were more male teachers at the secondary level, but even that has evened out over the years.
Some urban districts pay a lot more than suburban ones. The urban districts have challenges attracting young teachers. The suburban ones around here want folks with experience (new hires with some experience but not too much because. Too much costs the districts too much.
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As I noted, it was our experience (at the elementary, middle, and high school. I think the only male teachers we had (doesn’t mean the only male teachers there were) - were math/science. They could have been 40s/50s.
The other teachers - were departing - some for other schools but some to have families, etc.
It’s an anecdote of one families experience in a wealthy and therefore underpaying district.
Our county is AAA bond rated but the politicians are always talking about over spending, we can lose that rating - so while the superintendents always ask for more, the county commission pushes back - salaries are lower with lame raises - and so I can see people not wanting to be there long term. But of course, housing prices are high because of the district.
But our teachers are young, female - and rinse and repeat - with at least for my kids, math and science, if there were male teachers, that was where they were.
This is something that happens a lot. In fact, the federal government started giving a $200 or $250 tax credit for teachers to help defray the costs that teachers spend on their students. Yes to the snacks, school supplies, etc. Yes to the buying of other materials to help supplement things in class. And for those of us fortunate to have family in more lucrative fields, donations of stuff is very much the norm.
There are a lot of expectations of teachers, yet in many parts of the country, very little will to pay them in ways that many people in “business” would accept for themselves. And even though many people tout teaching as a 10-month profession, most teachers have to do PD and/or prep for the upcoming year during the summer. Additionally, most teachers’ hours far exceed the school day. The grading and lesson planning takes up a significant amount of time outside of the regular school day; at least for most of the stronger teachers that I know, whether that’s evenings and/or (usually and) weekends.
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Or they are taking courses part time towards their masters degree. OR are working summer school (and yes, they do get paid for this)…or are working a summer job to make ends meet.
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I don’t have as much knowledge about the current state of our district, as H retired 2+ years ago after 32 years in a rough school system. But I checked out our website, and there are still about a dozen openings for teachers. School started 6 weeks ago. However, a couple of years ago, they were importing dozens of teachers from other (not first world) countries. I haven’t heard of that happening lately - though it still may be a thing.
Another issue one may find in LCOL areas is that the benefits are not the same. Family health insurance would cost an employee $20K/year. If you make $55K, that’s a huge percentage. Nobody here makes 6 figures unless one is an admin.
FDIL2’s sister just left the teaching profession after 7+ years. She was in a rough district in MA. She now works an entry level job in HR for a medical company. She got a significant pay raise, the ability to work from home a couple of days/week, better benefits, flex time - and the best part… she doesn’t have to schedule her bathroom breaks! (Ha - but not really) She is loving it and so grateful.
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Districts here have a starting salary of 60,000 to about 85-90 depending on location and degree. In NYC you “apply” for your salary, which depends on your degree (BA vs MA) and how many credits you have in your teaching area. They also pay extra if you agree to teach during your prep. My D did TFA and made close to 90 at the age of 22 (not a teacher).
Teaching is very hard. There are a LOT of demands and unrealistic expectations, and the list keeps growing. We need to know CPR, what to do if somebody is choking, we have to handle bullying, even if it happens after school, kids have mental health concerns and have all sorts of behaviors. Teachers get hit, desks get flipped, classes are big now even in very wealthy districts.
There is no money, health ins costs take up a big chunk of the district finances, not enough for supplies etc.
It is a very hard profession. There are jobs but not really in the wealthier districts, where cuts are happening a lot.
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One way for salaries in teaching to improve is for fewer people to go into it. The current depressed salaries suggest high (perhaps latent) supply relative to demand. And a declining population growth rate doesn’t bode well for demand going forward. It would also help if families have more kids.
It’s not the typical supply and demand. You just end up with bigger classes and underfunded schools. Teaching is one of the few jobs where the local tax payers have a say about your salary and even in our progressive state, people are saying no to any tax increases.
And then there are programs like Teach for America that will supply your “volunteers” who actually get a full teacher’s salary, benefits, relocation expenses, loan repayment and addition grants. They fill a roll, but I don’t get the service or volunteer aspect when they are collecting all of that with no certification.
The answer is there are plenty of certified teachers. They just don’t want to teach in high needs schools for less than they can make at Burger King so those areas are apt to use TFA.
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This is already happening. I’m a member of an educators professional sorority. We have given scholarships to HS students entering any type of education field…until 2 years ago. We got zero applicants. The prior year, we had three but two were not qualified (neither was entering education). There are no longer chapters of future teachers of America in high schools. The guidance folks put our scholarship application in with all of the other local scholarships.
A decade ago, we were getting 20 applicants a year, and they were strong applicants. Two years ago…zero.
I reached out to another organizations that also had scholarships for future educators, and they all were having the same issue. Very few, if any applicants.
Our scholarships ranged between $1000-$2000 a year. And we were told by the guidance folks that these were excellent local awards.
Our group is reviewing what we can do instead of this scholarship…which was a lot of work…and for nothing recently. We are looking at other ways we can perhaps support education/teachers. It’s a process.
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This is already happening. I teach at a university that has one of the largest and most respected teacher-ed programs in my state. Case in point – when I started, my department used to offer two sections of the required social studies teaching methods class every semester. They didn’t fill, but they were well-attended. Now, we’re offering one section per year. I currently have eight students in the section I’m teaching this semester. Social Studies is the largest content area in our secondary ed program.
@vwlizard ‘s comment re: supply and demand is correct. There are other forces, including the generosity or stinginess of taxpayers and city budgets, that determine teachers’ pay.
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@thumper1 one thought is that you can use that scholarship money to support college students during their student teaching semesters, when they’re usually told they should not have outside jobs. Student teaching is often when we lose teacher candidates, who might be running out of college funding but still have to pay for a full-time semester when they can’t have outside employment (or not as much as they’re used to). We now have some grants to support them, which I’ve been told is an enormous relief.
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Ours start at $68,000.
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We are in the same state I think
My daughter was quite insulted that while all of her friends had paid internships she was expected to work as an unpaid student teacher.
My students express the same sentiments to me all the time. AND for those who have sub licenses, we don’t allow them to count any paid subbing hours toward the hours they have to accumulate for field experiences or student teaching. It’s frustrating for them, for sure.
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