Unfortunately, as I mentioned, I have to work another year at my "real job" before I can become a teacher. It has nothing to do with the process of becoming a teacher, or the lack of jobs, but rather with my own personal financial situation. I just don't think I could afford to teach this year - and by that I mean: I don't think I could sustain such a big hit to my salary quite yet. (Well I could, but I have a family to think about...)
Not wanting to wait though, I took a job teaching a night course in physics at a local college. Asked how it went after the first night I replied "have you ever done something that made you feel like a part of your soul just woke up?"
It felt that good.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The cost of certification - part 3
I just signed up to take the basic skills test. It's a test that all prospective teachers must take as a first step towards certification.
The cost was a by-now-unsurprising $86. That's $60 to take the test, plus a $26 "registration processing fee".
For reference, a person making $55,000 per year makes about $26 per hour. And I simply can't believe that an actual human being had much to do with my online registration.
I wonder where that $26 goes... ...and how many people are taking this test every year...
The cost was a by-now-unsurprising $86. That's $60 to take the test, plus a $26 "registration processing fee".
For reference, a person making $55,000 per year makes about $26 per hour. And I simply can't believe that an actual human being had much to do with my online registration.
I wonder where that $26 goes... ...and how many people are taking this test every year...
The cost of certification - part 2
Having looked around a bit more, I've found an alternative certification program that fits my needs best. It still runs about $15,000 for the program, but it consists of 8 weeks of courses and intense preparation in the summer, followed by a year of teaching at a local high school, during which I'll be evaluated by a mentor teacher and the staffers of the alt cert program. If things go well, I get certified to teach in Illinois after that first year in the classroom. Importantly, I'll get paid a regular salary during that year, so I only have to figure out how to go 8 weeks without salary in the summer.
About that: I've decided to aim for the classroom in the fall of 2012, rather than 2011. This is so my wife can get good and settled in a new job in the fall of 2011 (anyone looking for a fantastic 8th grade science teacher???), and we can save some money for my certification and the lean months before I begin teaching. It means another year before I start teaching, and I hate that. But it makes the economic end of things so much more do-able.
From a bottom-line standpoint, the $15k for the program isn't simply exorbitant, it's insane. Paying such a hefty sum for the "privilege" of drastically reducing one's income just doesn't compute. Comparatively though, the price seems like a good deal. As already mentioned other (traditional) programs require more time without salary and cost as much or more in tuition. However, considering that teaching is a calling - that this is something I feel deeply that I want to (and must) do - $15k isn't going to stand in my way.
On balance, if the only things to be said in favor of the cost of certification pertain to my own personal commitment to the process and the relative (but still extremely high) cost of competing programs, I suppose it's an indication that something else is seriously broken with this system. I mean, how many talented teachers have abandoned the idea of teaching because the first-order economic analysis indicated that it would be extremely foolish to follow this path?
About that: I've decided to aim for the classroom in the fall of 2012, rather than 2011. This is so my wife can get good and settled in a new job in the fall of 2011 (anyone looking for a fantastic 8th grade science teacher???), and we can save some money for my certification and the lean months before I begin teaching. It means another year before I start teaching, and I hate that. But it makes the economic end of things so much more do-able.
From a bottom-line standpoint, the $15k for the program isn't simply exorbitant, it's insane. Paying such a hefty sum for the "privilege" of drastically reducing one's income just doesn't compute. Comparatively though, the price seems like a good deal. As already mentioned other (traditional) programs require more time without salary and cost as much or more in tuition. However, considering that teaching is a calling - that this is something I feel deeply that I want to (and must) do - $15k isn't going to stand in my way.
On balance, if the only things to be said in favor of the cost of certification pertain to my own personal commitment to the process and the relative (but still extremely high) cost of competing programs, I suppose it's an indication that something else is seriously broken with this system. I mean, how many talented teachers have abandoned the idea of teaching because the first-order economic analysis indicated that it would be extremely foolish to follow this path?
Monday, November 22, 2010
The cost of certification
I met with someone at a local college that offers a certification-only program in addition to it's certification/degree combo. (I'd love to go back to school and get another degree, but there's the small matter of feeding my family to consider.)
The cost of the classes is roughly $15,000. That's about $15,000 I'll have to shell out for the privilege of taking a massive reduction in my current salary. And it gets worse: a portion of those courses is called "student teaching" during which I'll not only pay my tuition, but I'll also have to teach full time for 10 weeks without drawing a paycheck. That's right - somehow the rules say I have to pay to work full time. This is after I've already spent a semester as a full-time student taking the necessary classes, and during which I assume I'll have an equally difficult time generating income. This is basically the same deal offered by the other local college I visited, except their tuition to cover the certification-only option came close to $30,000, total. Although, to be fair, their class schedule was a bit more flexible (night classes) which would allow me to work while I took classes. But they were also careful to point out that holding another job while I performed the student teaching was strictly forbidden.
I asked my host how other people pay for this program and have enough money to live at the same time. She said many of them take out student loans and get other jobs to make ends meet.
I understand the need to qualify teachers, but this requirement seems like it does more to turn people away from teaching in the first place.
The cost of the classes is roughly $15,000. That's about $15,000 I'll have to shell out for the privilege of taking a massive reduction in my current salary. And it gets worse: a portion of those courses is called "student teaching" during which I'll not only pay my tuition, but I'll also have to teach full time for 10 weeks without drawing a paycheck. That's right - somehow the rules say I have to pay to work full time. This is after I've already spent a semester as a full-time student taking the necessary classes, and during which I assume I'll have an equally difficult time generating income. This is basically the same deal offered by the other local college I visited, except their tuition to cover the certification-only option came close to $30,000, total. Although, to be fair, their class schedule was a bit more flexible (night classes) which would allow me to work while I took classes. But they were also careful to point out that holding another job while I performed the student teaching was strictly forbidden.
I asked my host how other people pay for this program and have enough money to live at the same time. She said many of them take out student loans and get other jobs to make ends meet.
I understand the need to qualify teachers, but this requirement seems like it does more to turn people away from teaching in the first place.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Alternative Certification - a touchy subject?
Private and charter schools do not require teachers to be certified, but as I was told by the principal at a nearby charter school: all other things being equal, he is more likely to hire the certified teacher since he knows that teacher will at least have some baseline familiarity with classroom management and the teaching task. He also said he encourages those teachers who aren't certified to get certified at some point. So I guess I should get the certification out of the way before I start, if I have the luxury to do so.
Not knowing any better, I simply chose the closest state University which I thought had a large education department, went to their website and sent an email to the contact listed for the certification program. The email exchange surprised me:
My original letter:
Dr X,
My wife and I are relocating to Illinois and I plan to pursue a career in teaching - high school physics, to be exact.
I obtained my MS in physics in 1998 and spent the last 12 years in industry, so I need a teaching certificate and I'm exploring my options. Starting my search at XXX seems a logical choice but I notice on your website that XXX doesn't offer alternative certification, and I'm under the impression that alternative certification is the most appropriate route for someone like me.
Do you have any suggestions on the best path to certification for someone in my situation?
Thanks very much and best regards,
Ben Cain
The response:
Alternative certification programs have proven themselves very poor at preparing teachers who survive in the classroom. Also, in the current climate of an tremendous over supply of qualified teachers, districts are not hiring such individuals. If you wish an alternative certification program there are still some universities that will provide one,if you pay the extra amounts required. They will not guarantee you any placement for student teaching etc.
X
No suggestions on how to move forward; no plug for his own program; no appeal to me to visit his school and spend my tuition dollars there. Nothing at all but apparent derision for alternative certification programs, devoid of references to substantiate his numerous negative assertions.
Whatever his stream of negativity might imply, I'm certainly inclined to avoid doing any more research into his program. I'll just move on.
Also interesting is his assertion that there is a "tremendous over supply of qualified teachers." If he's right, this doesn't bode well for me! However, it goes against what I'm hearing from just about everyone else in teaching.
Not knowing any better, I simply chose the closest state University which I thought had a large education department, went to their website and sent an email to the contact listed for the certification program. The email exchange surprised me:
My original letter:
Dr X,
My wife and I are relocating to Illinois and I plan to pursue a career in teaching - high school physics, to be exact.
I obtained my MS in physics in 1998 and spent the last 12 years in industry, so I need a teaching certificate and I'm exploring my options. Starting my search at XXX seems a logical choice but I notice on your website that XXX doesn't offer alternative certification, and I'm under the impression that alternative certification is the most appropriate route for someone like me.
Do you have any suggestions on the best path to certification for someone in my situation?
Thanks very much and best regards,
Ben Cain
The response:
Alternative certification programs have proven themselves very poor at preparing teachers who survive in the classroom. Also, in the current climate of an tremendous over supply of qualified teachers, districts are not hiring such individuals. If you wish an alternative certification program there are still some universities that will provide one,if you pay the extra amounts required. They will not guarantee you any placement for student teaching etc.
X
No suggestions on how to move forward; no plug for his own program; no appeal to me to visit his school and spend my tuition dollars there. Nothing at all but apparent derision for alternative certification programs, devoid of references to substantiate his numerous negative assertions.
Whatever his stream of negativity might imply, I'm certainly inclined to avoid doing any more research into his program. I'll just move on.
Also interesting is his assertion that there is a "tremendous over supply of qualified teachers." If he's right, this doesn't bode well for me! However, it goes against what I'm hearing from just about everyone else in teaching.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Culture shock
While driving towards Chicago, I tuned in to a radio talk show in which Karen Lewis, the new President of the Chicago Teacher's Union, was answering questions from listeners on the topic of tenure, among other things.
I've always been under the vague impression that tenure means it's somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to fire a teacher that has it. And apparently some callers thought the same thing - someone called in with a complaint that her school can't get rid of "bad" teachers. Karen Lewis' answer to that was that tenure does not guarantee a teacher a job, but rather it guarantees a teacher the right to "due process" when being considered for termination. There wasn't much more explanation of the nature of tenure, about which I'm curious.
I suppose if I take a cynical view, I would expect the "due process" to which she referred to be defined in such a way that makes it practically impossible to fire a teacher. I don't know for sure, so I'm happy to defer that assessment. But even if I take a more benign view of "due process", I suppose I'm uncomfortable with the idea that teachers who are not tenured don't have access to "due process".
In industry, your qualifications are vetted through the interview process and then, if things go well, you're hired. Then your competence is vetted through job performance. If you do well, you flourish; if you don't do well, you're let go. The process is pretty much the same for everyone, whether they've been on the job for ten days or ten years. If the company leadership is strong, then this model seems to work pretty well.
I wonder why the same model shouldn't be applied to the teaching profession.
I've always been under the vague impression that tenure means it's somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to fire a teacher that has it. And apparently some callers thought the same thing - someone called in with a complaint that her school can't get rid of "bad" teachers. Karen Lewis' answer to that was that tenure does not guarantee a teacher a job, but rather it guarantees a teacher the right to "due process" when being considered for termination. There wasn't much more explanation of the nature of tenure, about which I'm curious.
I suppose if I take a cynical view, I would expect the "due process" to which she referred to be defined in such a way that makes it practically impossible to fire a teacher. I don't know for sure, so I'm happy to defer that assessment. But even if I take a more benign view of "due process", I suppose I'm uncomfortable with the idea that teachers who are not tenured don't have access to "due process".
In industry, your qualifications are vetted through the interview process and then, if things go well, you're hired. Then your competence is vetted through job performance. If you do well, you flourish; if you don't do well, you're let go. The process is pretty much the same for everyone, whether they've been on the job for ten days or ten years. If the company leadership is strong, then this model seems to work pretty well.
I wonder why the same model shouldn't be applied to the teaching profession.
Friday, July 9, 2010
"We start, then, with nothing..."
Well, I've done it. For good or ill I've taken the first (rather large) step and relocated my family from the San Francisco Bay area to the suburbs of Chicago, where I grew up.
I'm in the rather luxurious position of working remotely for my current employer while I prepare for a career change. Continuity of employment and benefits eliminates a great source of stress for anyone uprooting a family, and I will always be grateful to my employer for the boost.
My plan is to work in my current position for the next year while also preparing to teach starting in the fall of 2011. I expect that I'll have to do two major things (and many minor things, of course): First, I'll have to figure out how to get certified. There are different paths to certification in Illinois, some conventional, some alternative. And I'll need to choose one that fits my plans. More on that as I discover new things about the process. Second, the part of my brain that once regularly solved physics problems has fallen into some disrepair and is in need of rehabilitation. I'll have to find an intellectual gym, too. And then there are the matters of finding a home, getting my kids into school, convincing my wife (a native Texan) not to leave me when the Chicago winter sets in...
In spite of these hurdles, it's difficult for me to express how excited I am about the prospect of my new career. I want so badly to begin that it's difficult to focus on all the other things I must do to make a living in the meantime - they seem so trivial in comparison.
It's an amazing and wonderful thing to find ones purpose.
I'm in the rather luxurious position of working remotely for my current employer while I prepare for a career change. Continuity of employment and benefits eliminates a great source of stress for anyone uprooting a family, and I will always be grateful to my employer for the boost.
My plan is to work in my current position for the next year while also preparing to teach starting in the fall of 2011. I expect that I'll have to do two major things (and many minor things, of course): First, I'll have to figure out how to get certified. There are different paths to certification in Illinois, some conventional, some alternative. And I'll need to choose one that fits my plans. More on that as I discover new things about the process. Second, the part of my brain that once regularly solved physics problems has fallen into some disrepair and is in need of rehabilitation. I'll have to find an intellectual gym, too. And then there are the matters of finding a home, getting my kids into school, convincing my wife (a native Texan) not to leave me when the Chicago winter sets in...
In spite of these hurdles, it's difficult for me to express how excited I am about the prospect of my new career. I want so badly to begin that it's difficult to focus on all the other things I must do to make a living in the meantime - they seem so trivial in comparison.
It's an amazing and wonderful thing to find ones purpose.
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