What is the title of your report?
k-12 teacher
Report:
Introduction.
Being a k-12 teacher isn't a job that many people desire, at least not in an economy like this. Low pay roll, job cuts, and rowdy students make it easy to see why. However, k-12 teachers are very important. They are responsible for training the incoming generations standard and basic knowledge. There are a wide range of subjects to be taught for these ages of students, the cores being language arts, social studies, mathematics, and the sciences. In order to teach in any of these areas one must meet several academic requirements. From there it is up to them to sculpt the people of tomorrow.
Findings.
The job of a teacher is to describe and demonstrate basic and standard information. K-12 teachers vary a little in what they teach and hours they work. Generally the teacher is on campus from about 7:00 am to 4:00 pm per day. Sometimes it is more with after school clubs, and sometimes less. "At 3:15, as I said 'good-bye', I knew I wasn’t watching the same group of kids that I met in August walk out the door. My group had turned a corner, and I know the rest of the year will be spent moving swiftly beyond the point we reached this day," (Owen 2011, 1)
In order to become a teacher, there are a few requirements you must fulfill. Obviously you need to graduate from high school and earn a diploma (anonymous c, 1). From there you need to enroll in a college that offers the courses you need. Next you need to go through a teaching program and earn your bachelors degree (anonymous c, 2). Often aspiring teachers will major in education and minor in a course related to the subject they wish to teach (anonymous c, 3). It is important for teachers to have advanced knowledge in their subject and is often a good idea for them to further education past the basics. Some add certification credentials or advanced degrees like the MAT (anonymous c, 4). Another route for getting your degree is online courses. Many colleges have established online programs that make this possible (Kearsley 2011, 1)
When thinking about becoming a teacher, who have two main options. One, is a single subject credential. This certifies that individual to teach that single subject in the higher grade levels, like High School. Option two is a multiple subject teaching credential. This certifies that individual to teach all subjects at an elementary school. Other things that need to be considered is the subject you would like to teach. There are the main classes- science, social studies, mathematics, and language arts. Of course these vary slightly depending on the grade level. One can also teach electives, such as a foreign language, visual arts, photography, zoology, oceanography, and more.
There are many great universities to attend when you are looking to become a teacher. Which one you choose depends on how far you are willing to travel, and how much you are willing to pay. When it comes to community college costs are about $2,500 for tuition plus a couple hundred for books, per year. Public four year colleges typically cost $7,000 a year not counting books. Private colleges can cost quite a bit more at $26,000 per year and the cost of books. Also, dorms cost money, as well as any other form of housing. Southern California has several good universities including the University of Redlands, the UC Riverside, USC, UCLA, and UCI, UCSD, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State San Bernardino. A Few options outside California include University of Arizona, Texas Christian University, and Cornell University.
Salary varies depending on location and degree. Higher degree naturally means a higher salary. In Los Angeles area it is about $49,400 for a bachelor's degree, and $55,100 for a masters; $43,400 bachelor's and $48,700 master's in New York; $39,900 bachelor's degree and $ 41,000 master's degree in Philadelphia; In Chicago it is about $43,000 with a bachelor's degree or $46,200 when you have your master's degree (Lorenzo 2011,1).
Without a doubt, there will always be a demand for some number of teachers. In a rapidly advancing world, education is a must. However, the economy currently affects schools and teachers greatly. There are a lot of lay offs and pay cuts. Entire schools, both teachers and admin, have been completely shut down. Every employee fired and students left looking for education elsewhere (Neas 2011, 3).This means a higher demand for lower salary teachers. The more experience you have the higher the pay. Also, the longer you stay at a school or the more years you've taught, the more likely you are to have a bonus or salary increase.
Most new technology involves the internet. The world is literally beginning to revolve around it with green websites meant for earth friendly homework assignments students can do online. For example, Gambassa. On sites like these, students create accounts in which they can interact with their teacher and fellow classmates. It is mainly used for projects that generally waste a lot of material like paper. Another thing is online teaching. Online teachers need just about the same credentials, but a different work ethic. They definitely need to be organized and always prepared. An online class would be basically pointless if you watched a movie in class once a week. Online teachers also need to be confident, for they will usually be teaching one on one. Sometimes online teachers get higher salaries as well (kearsley 2011, 2). Another option is homeschooling, which some parents prefer. In this case, a teacher usually is not needed. Teacher or not, most of these kids have to take standardized tests and score very well (king 2011, 1).
Conclusion.
Being a teacher is a highly demanded job. Although in this poor economy many are laid off, they are absolutely essential to the success of incoming generations. We are dependent on them to teach us basic, and standard knowledge. In order to have this responsibility, you need a few things. You definitely need a high school diploma and a bachelor's degree. Some extra work in your particular subject base couldn't hurt either. The credential process includes mandatory grad work and internships student teaching. There are several options for schooling, such as the University of Redlands or the University of California at Riverside. Typically a new teacher makes about 35,760 dollars a year. This usually increases over time, especially for online teachers. More recent technology has allowed this. In fact, online homework and learning is pretty popular, and very green.
Personally, I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl. I always loved writing on the board and the smell of expo markers. Absolutely the long summers are a plus, and winter break, and spring break. I actually already have some teaching experience. I have been working at my dance studio as a dance teacher. I am already used to explaining in great detail to be sure my munchkins understand everything. Talking for long periods of time is just fine with me. I personally feel it would be an honor to help shape the next generation, especially when so many of them can be so gosh darn adorable.
On the other hand, I have a lot of different interests. I may end up an entrepreneur. One of the biggest problems I'd have with it is the salary. My fear is that I would leave college, fully prepared to teach, and not be able to land a job because the economy is still in the dump. Whatever I do, I really want job security, and unless you've been teaching for years, it's not really a stable job currently. Also, I don't have too much patience. Ignorance is definitely a problem for me. Therefore, I probably would not teach high school students. The egos, hormones, and drama would totally push me over the edge if I had to deal with it everyday. If I did teach high school it would probably be Honors. Any grade level below that would be fine, so long as the class paid attention.
Bibliography:
1. Anonymous c. Requirements to be a Teacher.
2. Kearsley, 2011. Preparing K-12 Teachers to Teach Online.
3. King, 2011. Home Educator's Guide.
4. Lorenzo, 2011. There is Always a need for K-12 Teachers.
5. Neas, 2011. No Child Left Behind.
6. Owen, 2011. A Day in the LIfe of a Third Grade Teacher.