Becoming a working adult. Any advice?

[Vitruviansquid]

So I'm 23 years old now and in a teacher credential program. If I stay on the right track in the program, I will have a job teaching high school English in 3/4 of a year. Right now, I'm student teaching.

So up to this point, i feel like i'm one of those folk society has set up for success. I've always had high grades since high school, i've been a great student in my undergraduate career, and I have thought since middle school that teaching English is what I want to do with my life.

However, I've recently found myself with a large amount of anxiety for the future. It is a staggeringly huge concept to me that, very soon, my competence at my job will impact more than my own personal well-being. People will depend on me, and i must not let them down. Ever since that has dawned on me, I've felt a huge amount of stress and anxiety. Sometimes, I feel like I just want to drop everything and flee. Other times, just thinking about the future makes me feel nauseous.

So, I know I asked for advice in the subject line, but I suppose I just wanted to rant and throw this out there. Any input will still be totally welcome, though.

[Red Rubber Band]

Can't believe I'm going to say this*... but just look at the curriculum you need to teach. If you can structure your lessons around that then you're set.
I've done teaching (from teens to retirees) with Emergency Services and found that, whether they're young or old, you're much better off making it interactive. Ask questions, do activities, all that jazz. You know your content? You have a vague plan? A few things you can throw in there so you can take a breather for a few minutes to gather yourself? Then you're set.


*I am of the opinion that high school English in Australia is completely and utterly worthless; or, at the very least, wrongly labelled. It doesn't teach English, it teaches literature. Semantics, maybe, but it most certainly does not teach grammar, punctuation, or anything remotely useful for day to day life for 90%+ of people going through school.


Edit: Oh, and as to having someone's future in the palm of your hands. The worst thing you can do, if you're actually trying to be a good teacher, is do nothing. Anything else is a bonus.
Or teach them the wrong thing, I guess. But I'm assuming you will know your stuff :smalltongue:

[thubby]

forgive yourself. you are going to make mistakes, that's a given unless you somehow ascended to a higher form of life, and its probably going to make someone's life harder.
accept that now and resolve to learn from those mistakes.

[Runestar]

Well, don't mean to burst your bubble, but I suspect you will soon find that school and good results alone don't really prepare you for real, working life. At least, that's my experience.

I am an elementary school teacher, and I think the basic attitude you need to have (as with any career), is to go in with an open mind, be humble and ready to learn. Basically, just be a sponge and be ever-ready to soak in as much as you can on the job, because for me, it was really sink or swim initially (in my first year, they threw me a fairly rotten class so I had to go in with machine-guns blazing everyday, plus the school was quite short-handed at the time, so I was required to take on way more than my expected share of responsibilities).

Looking back (I have been teaching for a little over 3 years), I feel I have learnt a lot (but that there's still a lot to pick up), so see all this as challenges to be overcome and learning opportunities to better yourself.

Don't expect your job to be as easy as just going in and carrying out the lesson and calling it a day after that. Teaching often entails juggling a ton of other misc tasks as well, from managing the classroom to making the effort to build up proper rapport with your pupils (and their parents) to organising school programmes / events to curriculum design, just to touch the tip of the iceberg. All this on top of grading assignments and preparing for your daily lessons.

It helped immensely that I had quite a few very supportive colleagues and superiors who were willing to show me the ropes and ease me in. I also found a few like-minded colleagues with whom we could share teaching strategies (I am experimenting with using the iPad in the classroom, and it helps to have someone to bounce off ideas with and work out technical kinks along the way). So do be on the lookout for friends with common interests to form a clique with.

Lastly, make sure you get a very good sensing of your school's climate and show what you can (and cannot) get away with. Basically, don't be a smart-:smallsmile::smallsmile::smallsmile: and try to change the system on your first day. At the same time, if you want to last beyond your teaching bond in the teaching industry, you need to feel like you have a stake in the outcome, and so you definitely will want to spearhead some change where possible.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-humanistic-teachers-get-fired-mark-phillips

Just my 2 cents. :smalltongue:

[GoblinArchmage]

*I am of the opinion that high school English in Australia is completely and utterly worthless; or, at the very least, wrongly labelled. It doesn't teach English, it teaches literature. Semantics, maybe, but it most certainly does not teach grammar, punctuation, or anything remotely useful for day to day life for 90%+ of people going through school.

By high school, you should probably already know grammar, punctuation, and the other basics. What you learn in high school English is how to think critically and how to write well. You read literature in order to analyze it, and in doing so, learn how to pick up on the various subtleties of writing and to appreciate art in general. You write analytical papers in order to learn this further, and also learn how to create an effective written argument. These are all useful skills for anybody, especially the latter. Regardless of where people go in life, they will probably have to write something at some point, and being able to write that thing well will make a big difference.

[jedipotter]

So I'm 23 years old now and in a teacher credential program. However, I've recently found myself with a large amount of anxiety for the future.


Your going to be a teacher? In a Public School? In America? In a state with Mandatory Unions? If so then all you need to do is not make any waves and get your tenure in a couple years. Then you can sit back and do whatever you want for the next couple decades. And no matter what you do, you can never be fired.


So it is not like the school system will depend on you. So who are you worried will depend on you? The students? Well your only like 1/12th of 1/12th(1/24th?) of a students education. So even if you utterly fail to teach a student for the 180 days of school, it is not like they will become adults without the ability to use the English language.

[Red Rubber Band]

So it is not like the school system will depend on you. So who are you worried will depend on you? The students? Well your only like 1/12th of 1/12th(1/24th?) of a students education. So even if you utterly fail to teach a student for the 180 days of school, it is not like they will become adults without the ability to use the English language.

1/12 of 1/12 would be 1/144.

While a rather bleak and defeatist outlook, it's kinda true in a sense. My above comment may have alluded to it, but I didn't have the most fantastic view of my English classes at school. And I don't believe my use of the English language is mangled beyond repair. I even manage to get my points across sometimes!

[dehro]

I normally don't do this... but given the context, it seems appropriate

Your going to be a teacher?

*You're :smallbiggrin:

[Mauve Shirt]

How to be a real working adult: Wake up, go to work, come home, prepare for work, do chores, go to bed, wake up, repeat.

Have fun sometimes. Play D&D, go out with friends, build something, do something fulfilling. Don't be afraid to have afternoons for yourself. But understand that you can't have all of your afternoons be for yourself, because you have real adult things that need doing. Like preparing for tomorrow's work day.
Not that different from school, if you got good grades and took a heavy load of classes. I got ****e grades in school, so I was unprepared for the lack of unceasing fun that came with being an adult.

[Corlindale]

I was in exactly the same situation a year ago. About to finish my education and heading towards becoming a high school teacher of English. It also scared me a LOT:smallsmile:


It's not as big a transition as it seems. Just take it one week at a time, and remember that you won't be perfect at your job from day 1.

Don't be afraid to steal from more experienced teachers when planning a curriculum (assuming their permission, of course!). It's important to remember that you won't have to invent everything all over again when starting a teaching job - most high schools will have extensive databases of curriculums that teachers have previously used, and there's absolutely no shame in borrowing stuff as a new teacher. When I started my first class last January I borrowed almost all of the teaching material from our databases and that was a big help when I had to adjust to teaching as well as preparing classes.

[Eldest]

You're going to be a teacher? In a public school? In America? In a state with mandatory unions? If so, then all you need to do is not make any waves and get your tenure in a couple years. Then you can sit back and do whatever you want for the next couple decades. And no matter what you do, you can never be fired.


So it is not like the school system will depend on you. So who are you worried will depend on you? The students? Well you're only like 1/12th of 1/12th(1/144th?) of a students education. So even if you utterly fail to teach a student for the 180 days of school, it is not like they will become adults without the ability to use the English language.

I think that is the best argument for good teachers I have seen yet. Well done.

[scurv]

I don't know, Now that I am looking at 40 years of age and I look back. I do think that one of the most important lessons i learned in school. Was how to deal with unfairness.

It may seem as if it is a small thing. But the raw ability to keep putting one foot in-front of another, While learning to observe and make the best of any situation is a skill that will serve you well in almost any life endeavor.

[jedipotter]

I think that is the best argument for good teachers I have seen yet. Well done.

Yea lots of bad teachers for me. I'm a victim of school warehousing and the pass the kid to get rid of them mentality in public schools.

Though the extra capitalization are for Exaggerated Effect. So guess I got a B-.

[Vitruviansquid]

I don't know why everyone wants to pick on jedipotter. :smallfrown:

He gave me a pretty different point of view on teaching that actually helped me a lot.

[Anarion]

Two things about teaching.

1. As with anything that involves public speaking, part of your job is being a performer. Have fun, be witty, get people engaged. Presumably you love Shakespeare and whatever else you'll be teaching enough to dedicate your life to it. Tell people why!

2. Depending on your school, classroom management may or may not be an issue. If it's an issue, consistency and clarity are your two key words. Fairness is a nice bonus.

[Lateral]

By high school, you should probably already know grammar, punctuation, and the other basics.
I GODDAMN WISH.
<--- still sees grammar/punctuation errors all over classmates' papers

<--- is in an honors 11th grade English course

[Anarion]

I GODDAMN WISH.
<--- still sees grammar/punctuation errors all over classmates' papers

<--- is in an honors 11th grade English course

You think that's bad? I'm a law school graduate, and I still consider whether I get the apostrophe right on it's/its to be a coinflip at best. Accurate writing is impossible. Accurate editing, you can aim for that.

[Lateral]

Accurate writing is impossible. Accurate editing, you can aim for that.
...Maybe I'm just weird.

[Razgriez]

If I may provide some advice? It's going to sound incredibly simple that I apologize in advance if it seems like I'm trying to treat you like a child. But basically: Remember the course your teaching, and stay along the track with it. Do NOT use your class as soap box to express your opinions on society/politics/etc etc. You're just going to end up boring/annoying a significant portion of your students.

Seriously I had this issue in College. I learned absolutely nothing in an Honor's Composition class, except for the professor's political views. And yes, I was often the group she would rant about, I eventually gave up on the class and filed a complaint with the college. Let's leave it at that.

Also, don't force families to buy books you aren't going to use. There would be a lot of families a lot better off financially if they didn't have to waste hundreds of dollars for books the teacher lists as needed for the class, then never has the class use.

[Tyndmyr]

So I'm 23 years old now and in a teacher credential program. If I stay on the right track in the program, I will have a job teaching high school English in 3/4 of a year. Right now, I'm student teaching.

So up to this point, i feel like i'm one of those folk society has set up for success. I've always had high grades since high school, i've been a great student in my undergraduate career, and I have thought since middle school that teaching English is what I want to do with my life.

However, I've recently found myself with a large amount of anxiety for the future. It is a staggeringly huge concept to me that, very soon, my competence at my job will impact more than my own personal well-being. People will depend on me, and i must not let them down. Ever since that has dawned on me, I've felt a huge amount of stress and anxiety. Sometimes, I feel like I just want to drop everything and flee. Other times, just thinking about the future makes me feel nauseous.

So, I know I asked for advice in the subject line, but I suppose I just wanted to rant and throw this out there. Any input will still be totally welcome, though.

Everyone feels this way. Sometimes, you'll be walking around doing whatever, and just feel astonished that everyone is buying that you're a fully capable adult. Sometimes you'll be boggled that people just assume you're the authority on whatever topic. That's life.

Sometimes, you'll make errors. It happens. Figure out how to identify them and deal with them when it arises. Then, learn from them to avoid them in the future. Life is learning and improvement, and this is as true for the teacher as the student.

[warty goblin]

Sometimes, you'll make errors. It happens. Figure out how to identify them and deal with them when it arises. Then, learn from them to avoid them in the future. Life is learning and improvement, and this is as true for the teacher as the student.
I prefer to phrase it as "life is a series of failures, some of which are minor enough to count as successes. There is also the occasional legitimate success, but it's mostly just failures. If the average magnitude of your failures decrease with time, you're doing OK."

[SowZ]

A few teachers were really influential in me doing what I am doing now and I may not have discovered my skills and passions without them. You'll probably be that to a handful of kids if you're sincere, so your career is worth it if you set up just four or five kids for a good career they wouldn't have had without your influence. At a social welfare level, causing half a dozen people to find their best potential career has more impact then just having a good career.

The pressure relieving part of that is that you won't be that for the other 99 percent of the kids and there is almost nothing you can do within the realm of reason that will make a life altering impact on them short of outright abuse/teaching them lots of blatantly untrue things.

[eidreff]

Both my parents were teachers at a primary level for over thirty years. From my point of view I saw they found that it was a very demanding, but also incredibly fulfilling career, however they put a lot more work in than many of their colleagues. What you put in you will get out, and if you fear letting yourself or your students down remember that its down to doing the job. Do it to the best of your ability and you have nothing to be ashamed of!

I apologise if I have been a little preachy, I find the subject of teaching the young seriously important, and have come across too many lazy or indifferent teachers in my life. You don't sound like that so good luck, and I hope that you find your career truly fulfilling.

[MLai]

Becoming a working adult. Any advice?
(1) Do not use the classroom as your soapbox, as students just might go home to repeat what you said to their parents. And said parents just might be overzealous ****s.

(2) Under any circumstance, do not EVER use Facebook as your soapbox. Follow this rule: Do not ever write anything on Facebook that you wouldn't say out loud if your boss (or his boss) was standing beside you.

[Sylthia]

*I am of the opinion that high school English in Australia is completely and utterly worthless; or, at the very least, wrongly labelled. It doesn't teach English, it teaches literature. Semantics, maybe, but it most certainly does not teach grammar, punctuation, or anything remotely useful for day to day life for 90%+ of people going through school.

I've found the same thing in America, at least in my personal experience. It's 90% literature, with the only real English part being written the research paper, but even those, you do in other classes like History and such.

[dehro]

aren't you supposed to know your grammar already, by the time you get to high school?

[Sylthia]

aren't you supposed to know your grammar already, by the time you get to high school?

It's more the fact that it's called English instead of just calling it Literature.