For teachers and students

[bitteroldhag 0]

Wheetsin -- You are wonderful. Thanks so much for this comment. English majors are good. They are smart, intellectual, and have not only writing skills but people skills. We train them to understand other folks. I had a friend whose brother worked for DuPont and they were training them in people skills because they were simply unpromotable or is that ible? They were a bunch of geeks who were very good in the lab, but couldn't deal with people. They really just needed some English majors. I suspect they could understand the dynamics even if they couldn't understand the math. I regularly discuss quantum physics, string theory and chaos theory in my Freshman Comp classes because it stretches their brains. I don't have to be able to do the math to understand the philosophical questions raised by these theories. Usually it works. This semester I was covering that stuff and talked about Isaac Asimov's theory that we can never know what nothing is because when we focus on nothing it becomes something. One of my students thought that was so cool that I heard him telling his girlfriend about it after class. Maybe we college profs aren't totally useless.

Oh yes, I also discuss quadratic equations. It seemed pretty stupid to me that a whole bunch of stuff equaled nothing. So I worried that question for some years -- often asking math profs why all that crap equals zero. They would murmur something about place holders or something but never explained it to me. Finally my freshmen and I figured out that the zero doesn't mean nothing. That means that zero has a value that is not nothing. I loved this. We figured out the zero does not mean nothing, but it means something. How fascinating.

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

Does it count that I was an instructor for 3 years teaching aircraft maintenance to aircraft mechanics?

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

Wheetsin -- You are wonderful. Thanks so much for this comment. English majors are good. They are smart, intellectual, and have not only writing skills but people skills. We train them to understand other folks. I had a friend whose brother worked for DuPont and they were training them in people skills because they were simply unpromotable or is that ible? They were a bunch of geeks who were very good in the lab, but couldn't deal with people. They really just needed some English majors. I suspect they could understand the dynamics even if they couldn't understand the math. I regularly discuss quantum physics, string theory and chaos theory in my Freshman Comp classes because it stretches their brains. I don't have to be able to do the math to understand the philosophical questions raised by these theories. Usually it works. This semester I was covering that stuff and talked about Isaac Asimov's theory that we can never know what nothing is because when we focus on nothing it becomes something. One of my students thought that was so cool that I heard him telling his girlfriend about it after class. Maybe we college profs aren't totally useless.

Oh yes, I also discuss quadratic equations. It seemed pretty stupid to me that a whole bunch of stuff equaled nothing. So I worried that question for some years -- often asking math profs why all that crap equals zero. They would murmur something about place holders or something but never explained it to me. Finally my freshmen and I figured out that the zero doesn't mean nothing. That means that zero has a value that is not nothing. I loved this. We figured out the zero does not mean nothing, but it means something. How fascinating.

What was the Roman Numeral for Zero?

[bitteroldhag 0]

If you've ever taught anything, it counts. I don't know what the Roman numeral for zero was. I don't think there was one which probably an already complicated number system even more complicated. That's probably why we use the Arabic system today. They were pretty advanced in the middle ages in the sciences though most of that stuff is pretty laughable today. I suspect our science will be laughable in 500 years, assuming humanity still exists.

[BJean 16]

Bitter: Your last post sounds like a segway to the thread, "Worst American President"! LOL

I really shouldn't be here. I've only taught folk art and cut and pierced lampshade making.

But I do find it very interesting to read these posts.

[MarySue33 0]

Kind of depends on what field you're trying to get into. My undergraduate degrees are in English Literature and Philosophy. My employers love the English. On the literature side it gives you - at the very least - an amazing ability to manage ambiguity. You might be surprised how many employers would love to have someone with an English degree. Professional communication is a HUGE problem plaguing companies today. The new hires of the younger generations, generally speaking, do not have business/professional/written communication as a strength.

Anywho - I'm not ttrying to persuade you, although it probably comes off that way. Just have a lot of opinions. Don't count yourself short. When I was studying English & Philosophy, I used to joke (and get joked with) that all it would qualify me to do would be dye my hair purple, get my nose pierced, and work at Starbucks. It has proven to be much more valuable, and help me be much more competive in the hiring market, than I would have ever thought.

I'll bow out now, so you can get input from actual teachers.

And it depends on where you live. I hire teachers for a living and in parts of Maryland and Virginia, for example, English teachers are in short supply. I, personally, hire English and Spanish teachers and we pay a signing bonus for teachers in both of those subject areas, as well as for math, science and special ed.

We also offer programs for talented teachers with degrees in those subjects -- but who do not have any education coursework or background -- to earn their teacher certification while they are teaching. So...feel free to send some of those waitressing English majors my direction! (Only the best and the brightest, please -- and the ones who you could imagine teaching your own children or grandchildren.) If they would like a change of scenery, tell them that Maryland is a great place to live!

PM me if you would like my contact info to share with them.

[rtgirl77 0]

Why don't we have a "report as inappropriate" button under each post so that we can get foolishness like this deleted?

Back to the original topic...I started my college career at a large community college and I loved it. The professors were mostly laid back. The ones who weren't didn't hang around long because word travels fast. In fact, the guidance counselors would tell us to go to ratemyprofessors.com and check out any potential professor's rating by students. They said to avoid any professor with a bad rating. If a teacher's classes consistently didn't fill up, then the class would be cancelled and eventually the teacher would be encouraged to seek alternate employment. So, teachers who were ridiculously strict didn't last long. The environment was cool. You had business people who were night time students as well as recent high school grads. There were a lot of different life experiences brought to the table and very enlightening class discussions.

As far as locking the door so that people who are late can't get in, I don't really see the point in it. Students pay for classes. If valuable information is missed, then they just miss the information. But why should someone miss out on an entire class because they got off work late or were stuck in traffic and were a few minutes late? Even 45 minutes late? Locking the door assumes that they just didn't get out of bed early enough which may or may not have been the case. But either way, what difference should it make? If a student is responsible for all of the info provided in a class via testing and they are able to be accountable for getting missed info from fellow students, then what difference does it make to you as the professor whether they are late or not? It doesn't necessarily imply disrespect anymore than having a dr. appt and being late to work. Life happens, ya know? I just think that is asking to have students who don't really care for you. My favorite and best professors in college were those who were human and understanding. I never took advantage of their kindness but I think relating to students is always the best policy vs. going in and trying to establish some ridiculous authority over them. To me, you have much more benefit as a younger professor if you do relate to students on their level.

I had one professor who walked in on the first day and said "Call me Tom because its my name". He was so down to earth and I looked forward to every class. I took him for three classes and got an A in every class. Loved it! He would yell if he didn't like someone's opinion but he just wanted them to stand up for why they felt a certain way (it was a political science class in 2000 which was an election year).

[green 6]

Why is this on the teachers thread? I don't need pheromones or penis enhancers since I don't have a penis. I always wonder why people send penis enhancer spam to women. What are we supposed to enhance. Kindly get off my thread.

This crap is spam and you can report it to the management by pressing the red and white triangle which you will find in the upper right hand corner of each post. I do this whenever I run across this crap. It is not as satisfying as crushing the spammer like a bug between my fingers, though.

[Alexandra 55]

Spam posts deleted.

Why don't we have a "report as inappropriate" button under each post so that we can get foolishness like this deleted?

Ahhh, but we do. Look in the top right of every post, and you'll see the exclamation point in the triangle. That's it. Please do report any inappropriate or spamming posts you see. Thanks!!

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

Spam posts deleted.

Ahhh, but we do. Look in the top right of every post, and you'll see the exclamation point in the triangle. That's it. Please do report any inappropriate or spamming posts you see. Thanks!!

Is that why my post count keeps dropping?

[kyethra 0]

I'm a student. I applied to the program here to get my k-12 teaching certificate along with the Masters. Don't know if I got in yet. And yes I am on pins and needles waiting. Its for library science. I want to be a school librarian. And after I get my masters I want to get another masters in children's lit. Then I figure I can think about phD programs and stuff like that... maybe. Its tempting. I almost applied to the phD program but I couldn't handle one, a phD program, that is at that point in my life, not with how my health is now. Too sleepy (narcolepsy) and still too sick (fibro). But I have not unreasonable hopes for improvement from both.

Ideally I'd like to be a middle school librarian. I like that range of materials the best. And its children's lit that I am truly passionate about. I am also interested in twice exceptional children as an academic group in terms of helping them get their needs met as far as resources and all that. I was one of those kids ( I have a milder form of Aspergers and I also have NLD). So I think my experience with the Autism Spectrum overall could come in handy.

I've also worked as an aid and tutor and babysitter before. I worked as an aid a couple of times. Once for a nonverbal autistic bou (little boy). And then as an aide for an older boy with more severe AS type problems. My brother has severe Autism, so I've always known all the facets I suppose. Then I was a babysitter for three years for one girl after school four days a week. Sometimes other things here and there. I did a internship so now I can screen infants and toddlers for possible development delays so they can be evaluated and someone else can decided if further testing if warrented ...

So far grad school courses are my favorite. Though I agree about not locking the door. Students might have delays beyond their control or things they are working n... I developed narcolepsy as an undergrad. Thats a problem that definitely affects getting up for those 8ams. But the student insurance I had wouldn't pay for anything related to sleep. And sleep studies cost a lot of money. There was no way I could begin to pay for a diagnosis for my sleep problem ( I knew I had one, I just had no idea what). My doc and I tried different meds and stuff but we didn't know what I had so choices were limited. Then when I got better insurance I find out what I have so now we can treat for what it is... Without better insurance of lots of money I wouldn't have found out. And if I did wake up and manage to get to class I would feel so discouraged to fine the door locked because I figure its better to be horribly late than not come at all, but I would not even try if I was worried about being a little late in the future, etc. Its not a good thing. Or I was late to class last time because my husband was late leaving the house and I don't drive and he was my ride and I told him to hurry... Things like that.

Maybe you could dry docking points instead? Can you take away participation points for tardiness? The later a person is, the more points taken off?

When I got really sick my junior year I had to drop all my classes by one. I could barely make it to that class once a week-- I didn't make it a lot. When I did might come late or leave learly. I handed in work that was late. My participation wasn't was good. The prof was getting ticked off/frustrated with me-- even I could tell. When I got sick I explained I was sick. When I kept getting sicker I explained that. When no one knew why but I was having surgery I told him that. When that didn't work I had to go up to mayo I told him that too. Plus I gave him a letter from the office of the dean of students basically excusing me from all classes for the whole semester (if you get sick and miss a couple days worth of classes or week due to something or whatever you are supposed to get letter excusing you from dean of students here. My letter just excused me from everything for the whole semester that semester). It was an hours seminar and I was supposed to behave like an honors student and attend class. But this prof was wonderful and he worked with me. And I did get my work in and those papers written. And I got a B+ and it was one of my favorite classes and the reason I stayed in college. His working with me gave me hope that I could manage school. And I did manage to get my degree. I doubt he knows how pivatal a class that was for me and how important he was that semester. But it made a lot of things possible for me for the future. I could stay in school and think I might have a future after I managed that class. Plus I learned a lot and it was fun (Myths and Legends of Medieveal Ireland).

So you see you might do wonderful things for your students just by letting them come to class without ever knowing it. Of course you know what the best choice is at your school with your students.

When I see an older professor I don't worry about their age except I sometimes worry that they might retire before I'm all done taking their courses and advice, etc... Or potential health problems will keep them from teaching maybe, or something if they seem frail.

I like to talk about people about things I feel strongly about. Thats why I think I might enjoy lecturing or lecture discure type of classes. And research... But first I have to get into grad schoool somewhere. And then a masters. One step at a time here.

My inlaws just recently retired, elementary school teacher he was and she was the head of the junior high science department, taught earth science. My mother was a substitute teacher--- has he degree in elementary ed. I think my guy is the only who currently has no aspirations or experience to teach a bunch of people...

One course I have really really really wanted to take at the university here for the past year and a half is advanced grammer. Its an upper level undergrad/lower level grad course in the english department, but thus far I have had schedule conflicts or tuition conflicts with my wallet over it. But I will take it one of these days! It sounds like a ton of fun to me! And yes, I am a nerd.

[bitteroldhag 0]

Kyethra -- You certainly sound like a nerd to me if you like grammar. I hated grammar, but I taught it for several semesters. It was traditional grammar and the students were better at it than I was. Advanced grammar is probably the new stuff and would be more interesting. I'm glad you are interested in this stuff. We don't have enough people who understand the value of English studies.

[musicalmomma 1]

My hats are off to teachers. I used to subsitute teach A LOT when my two oldest were in private school, to help suppliment tuition. Even in a private school, 10 years ago, kids were disrespectful and their parents were WORSE. Teachers get it from both ends...kids that make your life hell and parents that make your life hell if you dare to discipline the little darling that is making your life hell! AND if you don't have a supportive admisitration that will stand behind you in your discipline, well it can render you completely ineffective! Now teachers not only have to battle apathy, indignance (sp?) and disrespect from their students...they have to be concerned for their physical safety as well! I just don't know how they do it!

SO, Teachers...I applaud you for your committment and courage!!! :clap2:

Side bar: Laurend...I applaud you for locking the doors at the start of class!!! Stand strong when students oppose, and possibly adminsitration as well. If admisitration opposes, tell them to give it 30 days and just see if it makes a difference! You're on target with this one! You will find students getting to class on time and the non-serious ones dropping the class, making the work environment more productive!! Kudos!!!!

[lo2us 1]

I teach Art to grades 6-12 and love every minute of it.

I've been heavy my whole life and feel like I'm ready to do this.

I've had a really hard time trying to figure out how to pay for my band since my insurance doesn't cover it. How disappointing! I found that the NEA is offering great rates on loans right now and thought that I would share with any other teachers who are facing this challenge as well.

You can go to www.nea.org to find out more or PM me if you have questions.

[Musicmom 0]

I used to be a teacher. I taught music for 15 years and loved it. Unfortunately, a parent started a rumor about me and a student claimed I called him a name (and got a couple friends to go along with him) , administration decided to belive them and I got fired. Now, no school will touch me.

I guess the Lord is taking me in a new direction. I just wish I knew where that was. Teaching is the toughest profession you'll ever love. You work your tail off and most of the time no one appreciates it. However, every so often, you get a student that grows and appreciates what you have done for them and they make every resistant student and yelling parent worth every second.