Comments on: What’s Not Working

By: julia

julia — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:49:52 +0000

Then I want a hobby farm! But I can’t afford the alpacas I want.

By: boxcarkids

boxcarkids — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:42:02 +0000

Oh no! In fact most people who have hobby farms have jobs – that’s why they are called “hobby” farms!

By: julia

julia — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:39:11 +0000

I’m curious… if you were to eventually get a full-time teaching position (or any job, really), would you give up on the hobby farm?

By: Jeannette

Jeannette — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:18:28 +0000

Its never good when the weather is not happy. When the sunshine stays for more than a few hours a week your spirit will lift. In the mean time good luck with the visit to the college, hope something works soon for you.

By: Vesta

Vesta — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:13:35 +0000

It sounds like a good program for you — hope you will find some information and encouragement too

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:05:40 +0000

Well, after reading my own comment, I realize it was incomplete. After 2 semesters of classes and student teaching, I moved away and got a job in a lab, which better suited my introversion. My recollection is that many of my classmates got some sort of teaching job, though getting a position near one’s home was not at all guaranteed. I’ve never regretted not teaching, but I do resent the lack of preparation and support from the univ. staff. One multiple-degreed professor was helpful by telling us her own background: she had taught in a private high school and gotten laid off. She did the many rounds of fruitless interviews and finally was hired–to teach future teachers!

By: Janis

Janis — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:42:52 +0000

Most states will allow you to subsitute teach (anywhere from $80.00 per day up to $140.00 per day) as long as you show you are taking education classes.

Might be worth looking into ASAP also!!

all the best.

Janis and her 3 Guangdong girls

By: Meg

Meg — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:34:46 +0000

I hope this is a good fit for you! I know you would do well in both the classes and the actual teaching. Kids would be lucky to have you with your wide experience and maturity. I’ve always wondered if having teachers who started at 22 yrs old was such a good idea.
Now for some negativity. Sorry, I just want you to avoid what I went through. Just as I was having trouble getting decent jobs after college, I started hearing that teachers were desperately needed! Of course, science and math was urgent, but everyone was welcome because of the coming massive teacher shortage. Somehow I believed this and went back to school. I got all A’s and enjoyed all my classmates and our discussions of why/how we, as older teachers, would be ideal. The univ. where I went gave no indication that anything but great success was waiting for us. Then I met a H.S. math teacher who told me some stories. She had her Masters and 15 yrs of experience. She had been trying for years to transfer from a rough district to the decent one in which she actually lives. Zero interest in her whenever she went to any other county to apply. She said, “When the Dept of Ed. treats me like a human being, never mind hires me, then I ‘ll believe there’s a shortage.” So it may be the same story we are familiar with in our current economy: employers want a huge pool to choose from, and colleges love lots of paying students. I hope this is not just a PR job which benefits them and gives false hope to the rest of us. Good luck!

By: hw

hw — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:12:44 +0000

Lots of readers are pulling for you, including this one.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:30:20 +0000

Oh, I hope it’s a good meeting for you. I’ll cross my fingers!