Job Responsibilities
I am responsible for the teaching, safety and well-being of the
students in my care during the school day. I have a lengthy set of
State stardards for each of the subjects that I teach. I have to
cover these topics and prepare the students for state testing. It
is my responsibility to meet each of their educational needs as
individuals. This is a huge undertaking that most people do not
fully understand. Typically I have about 20 students in my first
grade classroom. They come to me at the beginning of the year
each at a different place of reading readiness. This ranges form
some of them not knowing the letters of the alphabet or the sounds
they make to others who are reading on a fourth or fifth grade
level. All in the same class! My job is to meet their
educational needs and help them master the state mandated goals
and benchmarks for first grade. This also includes providing
enrichment lessons, activities, and materials for the advanced
students. This is just for reading class. I also teach language
arts, science, social studies, math and religion. (I work at a
private, parochial school.) I arrive at school at 7:55 each day.
I have until 8:25 to prepare for the day. During this time I run
copies, gather materials I will need for lessons, grade papers,
talk with other teachers. At 8:25 my day starts. I teach all day
until 3:25 dismissal. Each day I have a 30 minute plan time that
varies according to the schedule. I also have either a morning
recess break or an afternoon recess break when I do not have duty
in addition to 20 minutes for lunch. I usually stay until at
least 4:00 or 4:15 cleaning up, grading papers, planning lessons,
communicating with parents and collaborating with other teachers.
My school year runs usually from about August 16 to May 25.
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Job Requirements
A bachelor's degree is required in education and a teaching
license is also required in the state that you want to teach in.
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Uppers
I love working with young children. They are so innocent and fun to be around.
They give me energy and such joy. You just can't do this job unless you really,
really love these kids and enjoy being with them. I like the fact that the hours
are predictable, no one ever calls me in to work on weekends or holidays.
Summers off are fantastic.
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Downers
The pay is not great. Parents are often difficult to work
with..(more difficult than the children by far). It is impossible
to meet all the standards and expectations that the states keep
piling on us to do. There is NO flexibility in the work hours
during the school year.
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Lifestyle
The work hours are very set, basically 8-4, Monday through Friday nine and half
months a year. Dress code varies from school to school. At my school we can't
wear jeans. We wear khaki or navy pants or skirts usually with casual shirts.
Must be washable fabrics in our field. I guess I would call it business casual,
but more on the casual end.
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Compensation
We have very good health and dental insurance. Our kids get free
tuition. base salary is $27,000. Tops out at 42,000. I make
little over $33,000.
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Advice to Jobseekers
This is a great career for someone who has a spouse who will be
the main wage earner. You don't go into this career for the money
and I don't think you can support a family doing this. Sad, but
true. I love what I do and would not change jobs for the world.
I am lucky my husband makes the real money in our family.
Meanwhile, I do what I love, just not for the money, but for the
kids I love.
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