Midlife crisis? Epiphany? Or am I insane?

[Allen]

I probably should have added that I taught and did research at UND for a few years. I really LOVED the teaching part, I just found dealing with the uncertainty of being on soft money for the research side to be more stressful than it should have been for the amount of money UND was willing to let me make off that research. Otherwise I may still be there! Granted, teaching at a university is a different than teaching at a high school, but teaching in and of itself is a very rewarding thing. I still remember the thank you notes I received from students after they had taken my class and been out in the workforce a while. It's just something you don't get from many other occupations.

Granted, I also really enjoy what I do nowadays, but I often fondly think back about those years I spent teaching.

 

[JCNodak]

I have to admit that I'm trying to talk myself up a lot, too. This HAS to be what's right for me. I can't let too many negatives fog my vision, because it's a significant investment and I can't afford to fail. That's not to say that I'm looking at everything through rose-colored glasses. I realize teaching is not for the faint of heart. And your wife's experience certainly is valid. I can't just ignore that.

So I'll take that with everything else I know and am learning about and hold it close and pray this is a course I'm supposed to be on. '

Seriously...thanks for your "hard truths." You're right in that they need to be heard. I've had a lot of support and pushing to get going, which is motivating. But it's only the beginning of an arduous marathon. To keep up momentum, I'll need more than that. Maybe you're right...maybe this is something beyond me. A push through trial. I'd like to hope so. It definitely gives me a new perspective on life and what's really important in the grand scheme of things.

Please don't take my hard truths as trying to talk you out of it. I am just speaking from my own experience. I originally went to school to be a teacher but things went sideways in college and I didn't cut the mustard. I have since looked into going back as the summers off are quite tempting, but it's not my passion. When I figure out what that is I will let you know. For now, I make a good living, with a great company doing something I enjoy that in the end helps people. Did I settle? Probably. Do I think every day what if? Most days. I think most of us do. The ones that don't are the ones that chase their dreams. Since I was very young my dream was to be a professional bass angler. Of course it is an achievable goal, but the likelyhood of success is low. It would mean uprooting my family and being apart from them more than I am willing to do. Moral of the story is if you know your passion and have a plan and it will work, please do it. Do it for all of us that either never realized our dream or chose not to peruse them for whatever reason.

 

[bigv]

I have been a teacher/coach for 20 yrs now. As others said...probably like any other job. Good days and bad. Also like other jobs where you have certain people making decisions that really have no clue. But you have to go along with it. Can be frustrating. My best advice for being a good teacher is to learn to understand what makes kids tick. Anyone can master facts and info and regurgitate it. A good teacher is a good brain washer. They get kids to believe and motivate them to try. It's the relationships you build with children that mean more than the curriculum you are force feeding. Test scores mean a ton to my state. They do mean something to me as well as it shows growth. To me that is key...growth--not necessarily the end #. I also read an article a few years ago. Someone did a 5 yr study and surveyed Americans about stress in jobs and respected jobs etc. It came out that a teacher was the #1 most stressful job. It also came out that a teacher was the #1 most respected job in america. I think that is probably accurate. Good luck!

 

[johnr]

I have spent the last 18 years in the insurance industry, for about 8 of those years I was responsible for staffing a sales force in the SW part of the state. I hired close to 70 people over those years of which a few were teachers, that after getting the degree, spending some time in the class room, they realized they were not cut out for it.
Not saying this is going to happen to you, but maybe spend a week or two in a classroom.
Best of luck, kids nowadays are probably the same as 25 years ago when I was one, but sure seems like a good strong challenge beyond what I would be looking at undertaking.

My sister has taught for 24 years, she loves it, I would love my summers off, otherwise even though I have 4 kids, I really don't like being around kids(other peoples kids mostly)

 

[Retired Educator]

Only you will be able to decide whether the change was the right move for you. I can tell you that I retired from the teaching profession after 30+ years. Was every day great? Find a job where every day is great. I can assure you that at the end of my career I did enjoy the job. There is something about working with young people that keeps you young. Seeing student success is very rewarding; seeing student failure makes you wonder what you could have done better for them. Working with a student who is struggling and finally seeing them enjoying what you offer brings joy to the job.

I was in the profession long enough to go through many new eras of best teaching methods. After you've been through a few yourself you will find that they are all a politician's catch-word for doing the same thing. Education is always changing because of new knowledge. Teaching that new knowledge doesn't change as much.

When I started there were no computers in the schools, hell, we didn't even have calculators when I was in HS. In the end, between all those years and changes in education 2+2 is still equal to 4. The change might be in the fact that there is more than 1 way to learn and remember that 2+2 = 4 and that not everyone learns in the same way. Don't every remember having a term for visual learning when I was in HS but today I do know that if I see something I remember it much easier than hearing the same data. Other students might be the opposite. When I was in HS all notes had to be copied off the blackboard or interpreted from the teachers lecture and then entered into your notebook. Now a student might just pull out their smartphone and take a picture of the board where the teacher had written notes or used a computer to generate some picture or data from their smartphone, computer, or surface. Times have changed more than actual teaching.

Times have changed, most for the better but not all. I dealt with a few parents who disagreed with my teaching but most were really concerned with what was best for their child. Over so many years I was bound to have a few parents that I just stored in my information bank as evidence that it wasn't necessarily good for all parents to reproduce. Good communication eventually will lead to both realizing that they have the same goal in the education of the child. Be truthful with students and fair. Realize that not all students are the same and it's BS to think that all students are to be treated the same. All that is required is that all students be treated fairly which is not the same.

You mentioned that you live in Fargo. There are many smaller schools within a short drive from Fargo. Don't dismiss them from the job opportunities. Working with a smaller student body allows you to get to know your students a little better. You may not want to move your family but since you are on this site I'm assuming you are an outdoorsman. A job further from Fargo will place you much closer to lots of outdoor activities. Places where you could drive a mile from your house and you could be hunting. Or get to know some students who's family owns some land that holds lots of roosters. There are pluses and minuses to living in larger cities and smaller communities both. That change requires much debate about what is best for your family.

Good luck on your new endeavor. From my experience I never intended on education for a life-long career but have never regretted making it my career. I retired when I reached the rule of 85, now 90 I believe, because I had a chance to collect full retirement and enter another career. Made sense financially to be collecting a full salary and full retirement benefits.

 

[fly2cast]

As far as I'm concerned, a good teacher is worth their weight in gold. My 4th grade son has a excellent teacher this year. I have no doubt that this teacher will change the direction of his life. His third grade teacher was ok for most kids, but didn't reach my son. I was very close to getting my son counseling and possibly putting him on some medication for attention deficit issues. I knew things were different when I met his fourth grade teacher from the first day I met him. He wears a three piece suit every day and has the respect of the kids. According to this teacher, he's had no problems with my kid and says he a leader in the class. My son went from being an above average kid in math and reading (but at his grade level) to testing as a 7th grader in math (just took the test yesterday).

He's a teacher that runs by his own rules. The kids are allowed to chew gum, eat whatever they want as a snack (not just "healthy food"), and even eat things with peanuts in them. But they don't goof around in his class. He treats them with respect and has high expectations of every kid and they respect him back. If only there were more teachers like him.

 

[ndfinfan]

Best of luck to you Duck...I think you have adopted an excellent attitude. This is an opportunity and it sounds like you are going to take advantage. Teachers are needed everywhere...I don't believe they have ever gotten the respect or appreciation they deserve. Good on ya Sir!

 

[Captain Ahab]

I think everybody thinks their career kinda stinks at some point in their life. All of them have their pluses and minuses. I've loved mine, thought it was no fun, and loved it again multiple times.

 

[Duckslayer100]

I think everybody thinks their career kinda stinks at some point in their life. All of them have their pluses and minuses. I've loved mine, thought it was no fun, and loved it again multiple times.

Ha, you got that right.

The most gratifying jobs I ever had were ones that resulted in a finished product. Where you put your sweat and effort to make something, and could stand back and see the results. Was every slab I helped pour and finish perfect? No. Some, for whatever reason, were downright embarrassing. But the good outweighed the bad.

I envision teaching that way. You go into the day with a goal and passion. You end the day hoping you've done the best you could with what you had. And when the semester or year is over, you look back and see what worked and what didn't so that the next year you can make an even greater impact.

 

[Bed Wetter]

Duckslayer this is great!!

Something else you might consider: it's not just kid schools that need teachers. If you're a SME, people will pay you to train others. For those of you wondering, I am an educator... but I teach for a company, not a school. I get to write manuals, decide curriculum, all that fun stuff that I couldn't do if I were teaching for a school.

 

[Duckslayer100]

Duckslayer this is great!!

Something else you might consider: it's not just kid schools that need teachers. If you're a SME, people will pay you to train others. For those of you wondering, I am an educator... but I teach for a company, not a school. I get to write manuals, decide curriculum, all that fun stuff that I couldn't do if I were teaching for a school.

I had no idea! Although to start, I'd like to teach kids. I figure with a decade in the "real world" hopefully I can bestow some knowledge they may not get from books.

 

[WormWiggler]

Congratulations on having the balls to take that step, I sometimes wonder about being a teacher, usually after I teach a hand or a crew a method of doing something. But 25 years in the patch means I will just as likely tell someone to STFU as Hi....

 

[BrokenBackJack]

:;:thumbsup

 

[Auggie]

Congrats! I'm working on my Ph.D. I am about 1/2 way through the courses and just finished my first research season (Soybean fertility in NW ND is the study). I have 2 more research seasons and a few classes to go. I'm taking one class a semester and have hardly had to go to Fargo. It's stressfull. The night before a test, I stay at the office till late in the late and not with my family. But, like you, the hard work and dedication will pay off. Good luck on your journey!

 

[luvcatchingbass]

FYI. By the time you get done and if you choose to work at a smaller rural school in the FM area I got kids that you might have to deal with :;:muahahaso choose wisely.

 

[Rowdie]

I've been a teacher for 21 years. I'm not sure why you chose education, but I wouldn't recommend it. Low pay, and a lot of hours, especially if you coach. In an earlier post I seen where it the most respected job....IDK.....maybe on a survey, but it seems like teachers are thought of as they couldn't do anything else, whinny, get too much time off (jelous, even my wife), and you can't do that to my kid. I'm not saying you won't love it, but whatever you think its going to be like, It'll be different.

 

[guywhofishes]

whatever you think its going to be like, It'll be different.

ha ha ha - perfect for just about any job

 

[Lapper]

I have a buddy doing the same thing right now through Dickinson. He did some engineering in college but never finished then went info farming with his father in law. After a number of years in tha he was ready for a change and is on his way to becoming a math/science teacher. He is enjoying the process much as you said you were. Sounds like you have a great mindset for the teaching profession. Best of luck to you and God Bless your journey!

 

[zoops]

Sounds like you're going into teaching English? No idea how they do it but most seem to be okay with it. I've taught science for ten years, as most have said there's pros and cons. No doubt a challenging job with many frustrations and things you can't control but plenty of rewarding things as well. When you're handed kids that have just moved in from foreign countries, kids that have deadbeat (or basically no) parents and have been taught no social skills or respect or don't know where there next meal is coming from, kids that have mental health issues, learning disabilities, etc, etc, etc all in the same classroom there are definitely things that are frustrating and things college won't teach you. There will be kids you can't reach but the ones that you end up developing a relationship with are rewarding. I know I have developed more patience than I ever thought I would. Pay really isn't bad in most of the bigger districts considering the time off and benefits.

 

[Allen]

...but whatever you think its going to be like, It'll be different.

I agree with Guy, many if not most degrees are like that. I picked up a geology degree and a ton of geologists think they will be spending their life out cracking open rocks while hiking around some of nature's coolest spots. Then in pretty short order the realization sets in that those jobs are not only few and far between, but don't pay very well. Instead you get a desk and spend all your time writing.

On the plus side, nobody's ever asked me to do calculus or differential equations once I got out of college!