Any teachers out there?

“Contemplating a career change and thought obviously this was the absolute hands down best place to come for advice on the subject.

Teachers - tell me a bit about what you do to fund your gear purchases. Any secondary English teachers out there? Pros, cons - let 'em fly.”

“Teachers I know that hike just confiscate the kids gear that they bring to class, lol.”

“interesting...so say I need a new pack for an extended trip - I just assign so much work kids need huge backpacks to haul it all in.

Or I need a new sleeping bag - I just make class as boring as possible until kids finally start showing up with sleeping gear.”

“Yes, but I'm not certain what you'd have to assign in order to get a pee bottle.”

“32 oz Gatorade is a teacher but I think he's off on a big trip this week.

Summers off (or at least some of it) would be a real nice feature of the career choice though.”

“crashbang is TT teacher of the year :)”

“My first year as a hiker, I ran into one of my colleagues - a history teacher - in the Cohutta Wilderness. Later, I noticed one of the science teachers was drinking from a Nalgene. Turned out, she, too, was a hiker.

That made at least three of us out of a faculty of 111 teachers. <3%. That's a fairly low number methinks.

Alot of the gear I currently use I purchased before I quit teaching. I began small, ie, a trip to Sports Authority for the typical starter kit. This included a pack, stove, filter, and tent.

I still have the pack, but none of the other stuff. Over time, I upgraded - "time" being the operative word. It takes time to amass the gear that is for you.”

“I don't understand the question. Do you mean that you want to know how to buy gear because you'll take a pay cut as a teacher?

I certainly am not making the salary as a teacher that I was as an engineer, but I'm dirt poor either. Live within your means and buy some gear too.

If that doesn't work for you, get a summer job to fund your purchases.”

“I don't understand the question
~smelly girl

I didn't either. Must be the new secondary English /o:”

“A teacher doesn't understand the question of another teacher? Why isn't our kids learning? lol”

“There's a thread in here somewhere about outfitting yourself for $100. You can probably beg for change and get $100 in a couple of days.”

“I donate blood and sperm... (I also tutor and have been known to grab a few odd jobs here and there)...

Unfortunatley I work so much I never get out to hike....

'32oz”

“Aren't you leaving in half a minute for a full month of trail that includes a good segment of the Pacific Northwest?

Sperm? ew. There's more of your progeny out there?

Goddess help us.

;)”

“I donate bloody sperm. Well, I did once.”

“oh yeah.. damn imagine what I could do if I didn't have to work so much...

Doing a week of summer school to afford new boots and crampons....”

“By "tell me about what you do to fund your gear purchases" I meant tell me about what you do for a living(...teach).

Just meant tell me your thoughts on the profession - what you like about the day to day and what you aren't so fond of.
last edited: 7/21/09 6:29:57 PM”

“oh my bad.. I thought that you meant that since we make so much money teaching what do we do with our excess monsy.. LOL


'32oz”

“Gojo, quit calling me smelly!


What I don't like: principals and adminstration who aren't there for the kids but instead are there to stroke their egos; parents who are as mentally ill as their children (true story this year, i feel bad for the student); lack of follow through at home and parents who want to be friends with their kids instead of being a parent; struggling to "fit in" the curriculum at a loss to mastery of a skill.

What I like: Being a role model and sometimes the only person a kid sees who works hard every day; being the only adult who smiles and says "I'm glad you're here today" to a kid; the light-bulb moment when a student FINALLY understands - that success after a struggle.

Teaching is WAY harder than engineering, but I put way more into it than I did in my previous career.”

“smiley girl - nice comments...my sentiments also in many ways! I loved being an engineer, but enjoy teaching more.

I let my family know what gear I want for Christmas, birthdays, and Fathers Day. Luckily, my son is the Manager of the Mountain Shop at a sporting goods chain in CA & AZ!!”

“So if you ask a straight question around here without any wiseassery etc...someone will promptly come along and give you a straight and effective answer? Is that how it's supposed to work? I thought for sure once sperm found its way onto the thread it was a lost cause.

Thanks Smiley - that's what I was looking for.
last edited: 7/21/09 7:02:53 PM”

“I thought I answered your question....just sayin'”

“A few months after I had my daughter, I went back to a long-term sub job. That school had over a 50% free and reduced lunch rate, so you can imagine the clientele. Anyway, one young lad asked me why I came back to work if I had a baby, and I said I needed to earn money to buy her food (this is 8th grade).

His response: You don't need to work, the government will give you food for your baby.

Again, being a role model is a good thing.”

“I removed my wristwatch at 3:40 pm on June 2nd, 2003 - exposing a pasty-white band around my wrist which had been there since I was 16. Less than an (estimated) hour later, I drove down the bus ramp away from my shop and never looked back - not even a quick glimpse in the rearview.

Education may be all that for you academia nuts, but it's a s#!thole for vocational teachers. The "college tract" is the worst thing to come down the schooling pike since... since... well, I don't know what - but it suckses!

My wrist is now an even, mochish brown btw.
last edited: 7/22/09 4:42:17 AM”

“I think Smiley Girl nailed it. I did it or thirty-two years and have no regrets. In fact I ran into a former student just a few minutes ago and she was happy to see me. Two others yesterday and I got hugs.

That's about as good as it gets, I think.

Doug”

“Any of you teachers ever imagine what the Government School System would be like if the people on the "government free ride system" were required that their children maintain a 2.0 GPA and Sasifactory deportment (Tilty that means they behave well)?

Imagine if the first time little "money break" gets written up in school mommy learns that his portion of the "Check" gonna be cut!?

And the Government tells her she will have to work on reduced Free Money until the next grading cycle is over...LOL.

Tell you if LASUNAS (the Prez$%) can dictate pay to private business why can't we dictate how the people on the Free Money plan have to behave?”

“I agree XL - about the only thing they require is attendance. A close friend of mine spent his first year out of college teaching high school in the Bronx. Administration all but told him he got the job because he was a big guy. He was put in a room full of the problem kids, police officer outside the door, escorted bathroom breaks, entire school day more or less spent in one room. He said the worst part of it was, there were probably 3 or 4 kids in the class who would have had a chance to make some progress if the trouble kids could have done what they wanted and just not shown up any more. Problem was, mom and dad only got a check if their little gangster had a good attendance record - so every last one of them was there every last day. The kids who wanted a chance to learn something sure weren't going to show it in front of the rest of the crowd.

About mid year one of his students was finally thrown out for trying to hack someone's arm off with a machete on the front steps of the school. My buddy said it was kind of a shame, the kid who got thrown out was actually one of the quiet ones who never bothered him much.”

“former esl teacher, current sub teacher, future secondary english teacher here”

“Props on teaching esl. Having worked with a few guys who went through an esl program, I have a lot of respect for teachers working through the language barrier.

How do you like the sub gig?”

“meathead, a few years ago I was teaching a Juvenile Remediation course to families of youth who had run afoul of the law.

One kid came in and proceeded to put his head down on the table. Within about 20 seconds the poor kid felt like he had walked into a Marine Boot Camp. We had him standing at the end of the table.

His "man who stays there" was with him. The next Class Momma showed up and started to give me a piece of her mind. She then demanded that I "release her baby" from the class.

I agreed. Then they got downright obnoxious. Ended up Junior made the inevitable "I'm gonna come to your house and kick your white ass."

Too sad, so bad, he was going to turn 17 the next day. In Georgia one day before 17 you are an adult. So he gets locked up for Terroristic Threats, Momma gets hooked up for Obstruction (she tried to stop the Deputies who were arresting junior). The other two kids in the family went to foster homes. Apparently the week after they went there their grades starting improving. The Foster Parents demand proper behavior and good grades (LOL).”

“How do you like the sub gig?”
meathead
3:45:57 PM
7/22/09

it's ok, but unreliable. you need to be at a handful of schools to make it a full time job”

“CB, how much do you get paid a day? In my area, its only $75 whether you are a certified teacher, or some dude on the street who racked up enough college credits in any program to be there.

Subbing isn't exactly telling of what its like to teach. You get the raw deal as a sub. Its SOOO hard to be a sub until you get the feel of the school and a few of the teachers. Kids will take any advantage you give. I subbed for 2 years.

I protect the subs who are in my classroom - my kids know the consequences if their name is mentioned on a sub note. I leave a very detailed note that outlines who can go where when. It makes for a crappy day if you've got kids running all over you.”

“I leave a very detailed note that outlines who can go where when.

I was very very particular with my sub plans. I always left more than enough worksheets for the classes, and even brought the textbooks out of a storage room for easy access.

I would collect all the worktables and set them up in the quadron of the room nearest the whiteboard, my shop desk, etc. I brought out stools and set them up around the tables.

NO TOOLS ALLOWED! was printed on almost every page of my sub plans.

STUDENTS ARE NOT TO CROSS THE YELLOW LINES! was also oft mentioned.

The subs generally paid no attention to my orders. They were obvously the products of the college tract. Tools would be scattered. The overhead door would have been opened. The mezzanine often showed signs of use.

Once in a blue moon a sub would perform well. This was the sub I would reserve whenever possible.”

“smiley, pay around here varies anywhere from 56 to 80 dollars per day. certified teachers usually get about 5 dollars per day extra

and you are absolutely right when you say subs get a raw deal. it's like every day is day 1”

“it's like every day is day 1”

Except when they're fulltimers covering during their planning period ($15.00 stipend - woot!). My supposed esteemed colleagues were the worst when it came to maintaining crowd control. They didn't seem to give a goodgardarn.

I, on the otherhand, looked forward to covering for an academia nut. I LOVED calling roll, and nailing surname pronunciation. That made the Mgwabe's of the worldses day!

Mgwabe: Um-gwa-bay

"Yes, mon!" says Brian.
"You nail it perfek!" lol!
last edited: 7/23/09 7:05:37 AM”

“WOW just finished a really Sh#tty case. The only bright spot was that one of the kids teachers found out and came in to help us talk to one of the "disabled" children of the parasite we were hunting.

The kid was profoundly disabled and we just could not hit a cord with the kid. My boss called and told me that he had the kid's special ed teacher out in the lobby. He came back and that little kid brightened up like a lightbulb. We sat there and took down the statement from the kid for thirty minutes. The parent (that is the technical term we have to use) actually deserves more than we are going to get for all the various charges. (I offered to give em a 45 minute lecture on the use of baseball bats and joint pain). But I was really impressed to see the spec ed teacher work with the kid.

I know I rip on the "system teachers" a lot...but this guy took off From his Summer Job all day to come in and help a student.”

“Thanks for the post.”

“is that surprising?”

“is that surprising

no, it is not surprising at all. teachers are better human beings than people like xl give them credit for.”

“LOL..some teachers are better...

Actually Teachers are a lot like OTHER GROUPS...for some darn reason they can be a pain in mass but individually seem to be really cool people.

To be honest Crash, we found out that this teacher had gotten a call from one of the School Resource Officers when he heard we had arrested the Child's Parent.

I tend to get crossways with teachers who see their job not as "education" but as "thought control". One of the coolest teachers I had in College opened up his class on Ethnic Diversity with a 5 minute harange of every race, color, creed he could find. Every insult, every derogatory word he ran off one after another.

Then as we sat there in TOTAL shock. He described himself as a "Hebe Mick Whiney Kraut with a serious N--er in the woodpile" Then he went on to explain that his mother was Irish German, his father was Jewish and his Grandmother was married to a 'black man" .....

Then he went into a monolog about how words are used to hurt people.

The cool thing about this professor was that he would CHALLENGE you to debate his topics. He was actually VERRRY conservative, but came off as a leftist Socialist liberal. The reason? He wanted us to be able to defend our opinions.”

“HPD...that is EXACTLY how I feel with a Perotista or Paulista talks to me.
last edited: 6/30/10 7:03:24 AM”

“Hey Crash, what ages do you normally teach? If I'm not mistaken, aren't there other teachers on here as well?

Have you had any experience with or have you had any conversations with teachers that have had experience with the Montessori method of teaching? We are sending our son to a Montessori pre-school and are wondering how he will transition to a more traditional school.”

“i know jack about pre-school. give some milk and cookies, make 'em take a nap, send them home. you have to go to school for 4 years to learn how to do that in the right order”

“Traditional schooling is much more independent than a Montessori setup.”

“i was under the impression that montessori was more independent, at least in theory. i dont really know much about it, being a sec. ed. major”

“from wikipedia, an aspect of it:

Normalization. During the 0–6 plane of development, children have the ability to shift their fundamental being from the ordinary condition of disorder, inattention, and attachment to fantasy to a state of perfect normal being, showing such external behavior as spontaneous self-discipline, independence, love of order, and complete harmony and peace with others in the social situation.

link for visual: http://suvudu.com/files/suvudumedia/Girl%20and%20Faerie.jpg”

“hurr durr it's different so it must be an evil liberal plot to kill murrika”

“sounds like buddhism”

“Huh, just got a letter stating that Laurel's regular teacher, who has missed 16 days thus far this year, is on L.O.A. and Laurel's being shuffled into another class. Lovely.”

“montessori is pretty independent...i'm not really looking for info on montessori itself, i've got that up the yang...i'm just wondering how he shift to a traditional”