How Do I Know If I'd Be a Good Teacher?

Don't even think about it if you aren't super organized and can juggle lots of organizational balls in the air at once. I shadowed a 3rd grade teacher for a month in her class and I can't tell you how much "stuff" she had to keep organized. She had to put it all together too, and a lot of it was for keeping the kids on track academically, as well as behaviorally. If you are disorganized in thought and action, they will eat you alive.

Dawn

I'm a bit troubled. Your question before this one, Wish I Could Be A Housewife- included this line:

I just don't like working.

You seem a little bit all over the map.

Obviously this is an important decision in your life - but in the span of 24 hours you stated you wanted to be a housewife, that you didn't want to work, that you'd prefer to only work part time, and now that you want to be a teacher.

Maybe grab a drink, a laptop and sit down with the ol' husband and write out a budget? Then you'd know exactly how much money your family needs, and how much of your income it can do without.

today's focus is not on the kids, as so much working with the parents' personalities, required paperwork/documentation, & minding your P's & Q's. I do not consider this to be a cynical statement. I consider it to be reality-based. A good teacher wears many, many hats during each & every day!

I am, in no way, attempting to discourage you. I have an inhome daycare, with a handful of Early Childhd Ed classes carrying me through. If I had the financial means, I would open an educationally-based preschool... no daycare involved. I LOVE prepping for KG. I LOVE teaching kids the basics, manners included. But, in today's world + living in a small town, this is not an option. The economy will not support a venture such as this in this locale.

I have several close friends in the field of education. I also have several young women in my circle of friends/family who are starting their careers in education. Jobs are scarce, hard to find in both small towns & in cities. 2 of the young women ended up without teaching positions the 1st year out of college & had to live on sub wages. It was a tough ride for them!

My niece is working on her Master's. Her degree was in Biology. After trying for 6 months to land an interview, she turned to the field of education. She worked as a sub & as a tutor while attending class. She is finishing up her student teaching, & has already been offered a position at that school. This is a rarity.

My recommendation is to connect with a mentor, someone in administration or currently teaching. That is how my niece got her "foot in the door". While she was subbing, she reconnected with her own childhd principal & that's how the offers/openings came up. By contrast, some of her friends are still without positions.

In order to make this decision, I would also recommend that you sit in on a few different classes....all different ages. Really take a look at the mechanisms & systems in place. Talk with administration. Spend some time with the school counselor. All of this will aid you in defining your strengths & weaknesses. If you are aware of your lack of disciplinarian skills, then this would be a good way to determine whether or not you have the ability to make the changes needed to hold a classroom together. Our district follows the policy that you need to come in "strong", & then have the autonomy to ease off as needed &/or occasionally. & there is some truth in that....it's much harder to crack down!

I totally get your statement about mid-life crisis....I'm going the opposite direction: I'm planning on shutting down my daycare & heading back into the office arena. With one heart surgery behind us, I need to be ready for the next round with my DH. I need a job with benefits, with paid time off! I wish you the Best of Luck in all future ventures......

As a teacher, I would say it's not JUST loving kids, but also loving the subject matter, the learning process, school in general. Unlike childcare, you can't just play with kids, take care of them, or have fun all day. Honestly, even at Kindergarten, there isn't much time for just enjoying their cute little selves.

At all levels, but especially with little ones, they need to learn HOW to learn. Attributes that help with this would be:
-organized
-patient
-even tempered
-predictable
-structured
-up beat
-smart
-open

I think if you want to teach, you should definitely pursue it. If you want a stronger sense of whether you'd be good at it, find opportunities to actually TEACH content to children. Maybe volunteer in Sunday school or religious education instead of the nursery or as an aid at a local school. That will give you more of a sense of the TEACHING parts of the job.

give it a trial run. vounteer in the church childrens ministry.

It might suprise you what you are good at. I took a job in an elementary school and wondered if I had the patience for other peoples kids. Turned out I had pure untapped talent! The principle and teachers said I was a born teacher. I didn't pursue that, but I may someday. I suprised myself in a good way. I bet you will too.

I teach 10th grade, so my perspective is slightly different. There is so much that those 19-25 kids in your class rely on you for... I admire anyone who takes on that task, but could never do it myself. I have spoken to my friends who do teach younger grades, and some of the things they mention are:

Patience - not only with kids, but also with the parents
Organization
Discipline and strong will (those little ones can break your heart with one quiver of their lips)
Strong foundation in reading. English, and math, lesser foundation in science and social studies
Energy
Time in the evenings and weekends for grading and lesson planning

On top of this, with the economy the way it is, you may need to be willing to settle for a less than ideal classroom setting. Many schools are cutting teachers due to lack of funding. Class sizes are growing while budgets are contracting.

I LOVE teaching, I love my job... but I started 10 years ago. Had I known then what I know now.... I'm not so sure.

Good Luck!

Dad on Purpose makes a good point, you are a bit all over the place right now...?
Teaching may come with summers off, and children are *wonderful* but in reality it is a full time, all consuming job. You would be lucky to leave by 4:00 every day and during the school year you can plan to be working from home for at least a few hours every night, plus weekends. It's MORE than a full time job. AND you get to deal with at least twenty "bosses" if not more (I'm talking about the parents of your students!) in addition to the administration at the school.
It's pretty easy to become a substitute. Try that first before leaving your job and going back to school (most districts require a credential which takes a full year to complete, much of it during school hours.) After subbing for a while you'll know whether or not it's worth it. I did that AND worked as an aide for three years before deciding that no, as much as I loved working with kids, I did NOT love long, long hours and ridiculous parents who are never satisfied.
What makes a good teacher? At my school the best (happiest) teachers were the ones with no children at home, either those whose children had grown, or those fresh out of college. The ones with kids at home were good, but they struggled the most, because they had a family to raise! It's really hard to do both. You end up missing out on a lot of your own kids' activities because of the rigorous schedule :(

.

Sure you got what it takes to teach, but can you deal with the Helicopter Parents and the Uptight Administration?

I love kids too, but I've had it with overbearing parents and administration that lives in terror of law suits.

;(