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Job Title: Teacher
Education: Master in Education
Previous Experience: I have been a teacher for 28 years, it was my first career
Job Tasks: I teach World History to 9th and 10th grade students. I typically start my day before 5:00 AM when I do my planning for the day. I then spend the next seven hours in direct contact with students: passing on information, consoling, boosting. After school, I spend about another 1 1/2 hours working with students before going home to work on long range lessons.
Despite the long hours, the job is very rewarding. Every day is different, because the students are always changing. Most of my students are 14 to 16 years old and a lot of things are going on in their lives. Everything affects what they do, and can do, in a major way. Any thing that is planned must be planned with alternative methods of presentation. I can't count the number of times that it has been necessary to total trash a planned activity based on the students demeanor on the day it was scheduled.
On top of this, it is necessary in the field of education, as in many others, to remain current in the pedagogy. This means spending time in continuing education of some sort of curriculum development programs. This part really should not be a problem, because if you are passionate about the career, you will want to make sure that you stay on top of things, both in education and in content area.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best part is the teaching, it is a real kick to be in fromt of (or beside) a student when they finally "get it." The worst part is the paperwork. The tracking of student achievement has become more of a challenge as we get further into "No Child Left Behind".
Job Tips: Tip 1 - you have to be passionate about your content and strive to continue to learn more each day in your content area
Tip 2 - you have to be passionate about teaching and working with kids
Tip 3 - remember that the final results of your efforts may not be fully realized until many years after you make the effort
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