Ask Sooga about being a high school math teacher.. ugh

[jedi]

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Thanks, but I'm actually quite in the middle of the process right now. I actually passed the CSETs on my first try (well, all but the Calculus part), so that part is good. I'm not doing this for the pay, so I still might consider it, but I should be able to get certified in a year.

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I know when I took the test only the first 2 subtests were required to teach. The calculus part is only required if you want to teach calculus at some point. Not sure if you knew that or not.

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Yes, I did know that, and I don't plan on going back to the Calculus portion any time soon. Maybe at a future date. I made the mistake of signing up for all 3 subsets the first time around. I thought it would be like the SATs where they gave you a certain time limit for each section, but they gave me all 3 tests at once. 5 hours to complete them all. I wound up randomly bubbling in answers in the Calc portion [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[mj2]

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Thanks, but I'm actually quite in the middle of the process right now. I actually passed the CSETs on my first try (well, all but the Calculus part), so that part is good. I'm not doing this for the pay, so I still might consider it, but I should be able to get certified in a year.

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I know when I took the test only the first 2 subtests were required to teach. The calculus part is only required if you want to teach calculus at some point. Not sure if you knew that or not.

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for those who need to take the cset, take the prep class. it would be impossible not to pass if you take this class. i studied on my own for the geometry section of the cset and passed but i decided to take the prep class for the algebra section. i honestly don't think i got any wrong. i thought about getting a couple wrong on purpose just so it wasn't too suspicious.

unfortunately, my teaching career only last 1 day. its a long story but if anyone is interested i will answer questions.

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I am definitely interested. What happened? <popcorn>

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Well, basically, I was in way over my head. Here is a little background before I get into what happened. I have an accounting degree and I had previously worked in the accounting and investment industry. I was the finance manager for the Los Angeles Clippers and then I was an investment analyst for a wealth advisory firm. Great jobs, but I had absolutely no experience in teaching.

I always had an interest in teaching but the salary was just too low to live on in L.A. Once, I started playing poker full time, I thought that I could now give teaching a shot because the money didn't matter as long as I could continue to play poker.

I finally decided to look into what I needed to do to become a full time math teacher. I chose math because it was always my favorite subject and I always did pretty well in it. Also, they are very desperate for high school math teachers so I knew that it would help me get a job. I had already taken the CBEST which was incredibly easy. Now, I have to pass 2 sections of the CSET and also take a 40 hour teaching class in order to receive an emergency credential.

After taking care of what was required, it was time to interview. I really wanted an inner city school. I thought it would be a good challenge and very rewarding. I was offered a job on the spot at my very first interview. The principle seemed very excited about my business experience, including working for the Clippers and he wanted me to start right away. This school was no joke. It was as inner city as it gets. There were 6 uniformed LAPD officers on campus at all times. I had real live gangsters in all of my classes.

I was really excited for my first day. I told everyone I knew how excited I was to start my new teaching career. I really thought I was going to make a difference. I asked for the keys early so that I go could in over the weekend and check out my room. I cleaned it up a little, put posters up and became familiar with everything. I printed up a syllabus and arrived early on my first day to make copies for my students. This is when the problems first started. I wasn't allowed to make copies. I had to put in a request and someone would do it for me when they got time. Then I was basically told that my class rosters were in my room and everything I would need would be there.

I couldn't believe that is all I got. I was already so lost. It was mid semester. These kids have gone through sub after sub after sub. I had no idea where they were in the book. I had no idea what each student has done up to this point as far as tests or quizes or homework or anything. I kept thinking how am I going to give these students a grade? Where should I start in the book? I can't start from chapter 1 as we would never get through it with such little time left in the semester.

1st Period. Wow. This didn't go as planned. I spent the ENTIRE period trying to put them into a seating chart. They refused to do anything. It was like a seen out of a movie. The kids wouldn't sit down, they wouldn't be quiet, they were talking on cell phones, listening to music, etc, etc. They refused to listen to me and I was even told to "F off" a few times followed by "what are you gonna do?" I thought to myself that this is very good question. What AM I going to do? It's not like I can physically force them to sit down and be quiet. At one point during 3rd period, I finally snapped. I kicked some girl out of my class. When she refused, I got louder and told her to "get your sh*t and get the "f" out of my class." It was very unprofessional and I wasn't happy with myself. The ironic thing is that for the first time all day, I finally had everyone's attention. I thought to myself that if I have to be a complete unprofessional ass to get these kids attention, that this probably wasn't a job for me. I remember back to a week before I started when I came to observe the dept. chair for a few of her classes. Her classes were somewhat orderly, but she achieved this by yelling and swearing constantly. She told me that is the only way. I thought that was horrible and just knew that I could maintain order without yelling.

After lunch, I gave up on the seating chart and trying to make people sit down and be quiet. I figured that we should just do some math and worry everything else later. So I just opened the book and started doing some problems on the board. I called different students up to do the problems and we discussed them. I only had the attention of about 5-6 students in the front, but I figured that was better than nothing. I really felt bad for these kids. You could tell they were eager to learn. You could tell they were angry with their fellow classmates who were being a disturbance but were afraid to speak up. I even had a student in 2 different classes say that this was the first time they had a teacher actually teach them something. That made me feel really good and I felt things were going to get better.

Well, that all changed very quickly. During the second to last period, as I was watching one of the students work a problem on the board, someone came from outside of my class and absolutely drilled me with a soda bottle. It hit me hard square in the side of my chest. It was full but the cap was off so it spilled all over me, all over my things and all over the floor. I went outside to look for the student but I didn't see anyone. I was very thankful for this because I was so angry that I'm sure I would have choked him out and I would be in some serious trouble. I then realize that this job is definitely not for me. I finished out the period, which was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. I was really rattled. A couple football players in back said they would make sure to find out who did that, which I thought was nice but other kids were making jokes about what my "favorite soda" was. After the period, I packed up my stuff and went to the principle's office to resign. He felt bad for what had happened and practically begged me to not give up so quickly but I had already made up my mind.

[john voight]

south central yo.

That is some hardcore [censored] right there.
Props on trying to teach.
You ever thought of teaching at a nicer place where kids are not as crazy?
There are a lot of options in the L.A area, not all schools are like his.

[Quicksilvre]

You're pretty boss for even trying this. I'm a little amazed you didn't walk out halfway through the day at the soda toss.

[MelchyBeau]

OK, This isn't a question, but a request

I teach remedeal math at my university (the only class they let grad students teach here). Could you for the love of god please get your students to be able to do math without a calculator. I have students who can't tell me what 7*6 is without using a calculator. Others can't do long division.
Basically, without a calculator they cannot do any sort of math. I blame the HS math programs for most of this. They have gotten the students into the habit of using a calculator on every single simple math problem.

[Quicksilvre]

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Could you for the love of god please get your students to be able to do math without a calculator. I have students who can't tell me what 7*6 is without using a calculator. Others can't do long division.
Basically, without a calculator they cannot do any sort of math. I blame the HS math programs for most of this. They have gotten the students into the habit of using a calculator on every single simple math problem.

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Wow. At my college we aren't allowed to use calculators ever.* Granted, this is at an engineering school and professors occasionally give questions where they are like "only go up to (X part of problem)," but if you're in calculus or differential equations, you're expected to do it on paper.

* Sometimes there are exceptions: in linear algebra, you can do things like invert matrices by calculator. But even then professors always toss in a problem with letters and variables, so you'll be doing it by hand eventually.

[TimM]

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If you're interested in becoming a teacher but don't want to go through the hassle of getting certified, you can always apply for jobs at private schools. They can hire people that the state can't, and they don't mind hiring people without teaching experience as long as you are personable and friendly.

Actually I can't speak for other private schools but that's how my middle school and high school worked - everyone has to have their contract renewed yearly so they don't mind taking a chance by hiring an inexperienced teacher.

edit: you can't unionize though and parents can be a real bitch to deal with, and pay tends to be a little lower. But kids tend to be better behaved and more interested, so it's really a trade off.

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I may go this route. I'm most interested in teaching Physics or Computer Science but Math and Chemistry are also possible (Got a BS in Electrical Engineering). I'm definitely willing to make those trade-offs. My friend teaches middle school science in a private school. He only works about 155 days a year, and has only a few fairly small, sometimes less than 10 kids. The pay is not bad especially when you factor in the shorter school year.

[Homer]

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OK, This isn't a question, but a request

I teach remedeal math at my university (the only class they let grad students teach here). Could you for the love of god please get your students to be able to do math without a calculator. I have students who can't tell me what 7*6 is without using a calculator. Others can't do long division.
Basically, without a calculator they cannot do any sort of math. I blame the HS math programs for most of this. They have gotten the students into the habit of using a calculator on every single simple math problem.

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...and the high school teachers are blaming the middle school teachers, and so on. The real problem is with the administration, in my opinion. When I was teaching an "Integrated Math" class for which the first chapter was "number logic", I absolutely refused to give out calculators because it completely defeated the purpose. The kids fought it and most refused to even try because they knew all the other teachers gave out calculators. I stuck to my guns until a couple kids complained to the math supervisor, who told me to "just give out the calculators because at least then the kids would be doing something instead of nothing". It really is an uphill battle even for teachers who understand that allowing students to use calculators as a crutch is a big mistake.

[0men]

no seriously, did you ever imagine one of your female students naked? cause im a senior in HS now, and im positive theres more then one pedo at my school. lol

[jedi]

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I am definitely interested. What happened? <popcorn>

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Well, basically, I was in way over my head...

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Wow, that sucks. That's really the biggest worry that I have going into the teaching profession. I coach 13/14 y.o. kids in baseball, but at least they're supposed to be wanting to do this. Many kids in school don't want to be there.