Job Responsibilities
Follow the Alabama course curriculum and teach it to students.
Bus duty - getting to school early and watching students arrive
and then seeing them to their buses after school is over.
Some homework is required, but after several years, you already
know your lesson plans well enough if you stay in the same grade.
If you don't like kids, don't get into this field.
Also, if you are one who is not flexible, this job isn't for
you. Generally, as we are growing up, we think of teachers as
the most INflexible people, because of their strict classroom
rules, homework policies, being 'sticklers' on math and grammer
rules, and their unyielding stances against any form of
misbehavior. But that side of teaching is the only part that
many students see. Concerning scheduling, course curriculum, and
new methods of teaching and with dealing with the ever changing
laws in education, teachers simply HAVE to be most flexible and
willing to change.
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Job Requirements
Go ahead and go for a Master's Degree. With the No Child Left
Behind act (NCLB), teachers have to be what is termed "highly
qualified" and if you have your Master's you are considered
highly qualified.
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Uppers
Having your own classroom. Think about it - it's usually bigger than most
corporate leaders' offices and YOU get the 'big desk'!
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Downers
The biggest 'downer' in education is that people in
administration and legislation who have absolutely NO IDEA of
how to run a classroom (and many -very many - have tried it and
failed!) or anything about the actual learning process are
making many rules FOR the classroom and rules that concern the
learning process.
The pay isn't as comparable to many jobs in the business and
medical fields (but more than some other fields, too).
Also, sometimes you may work with other teachers who act more
immaturely than the students.
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Lifestyle
Right now there is a SMALL lull in teaching because of the low
pay in comparison to the high demands. If this what you feel
like you are qualified for, the intrinsic rewards are valueable.
As for the future, I believe there will always be a need for
educators of some sort. I will say this: in getting a job it's
99% WHO you know and not what you know. This is sad, but it is
the truth; teaching jobs are very political. Try to get to know
your board members for a good chance at a job.
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Compensation
Base salary for teaching is so different from place to place and
considers the amount of education the teachers have. There are
not many bonuses, monetarily unless you take on something extra
curricular like choir, volleyball, etc.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Right now there is a SMALL lull in teaching because of the low
pay in comparison to the high demands. If this what you feel
like you are qualified for, the intrinsic rewards are valueable.
As for the future, I believe there will always be a need for
educators of some sort. I will say this: in getting a job it's
99% WHO you know and not what you know. This is sad, but it is
the truth; teaching jobs are very political. Try to get to know
your board members for a good chance at a job.
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