Any teachers out there?

[GoPackGo]

I'm contemplating going back to school and becoming a high school teacher.

[packinpatland]

Oh, you brave soul.

[Deputy Nutz]

Hopefully you do it in a state that has a teachers union.

[GoPackGo]

Hopefully you do it in a state that has a teachers union.

why so?

[Badgepack]

Teacher's pay is getting better, summers off, christmas break, spring break, every conceivable holiday off, not a bad idea.

Both my daughters will be teachers or mental health counselors in the school system, as is my wife.

[GoPackGo]

right now work in Telecommunications. I've been supporting my wife through school and she will be graduating soon and interviewing to be a professor. I would then get a free education at whichever University she teaches at. If I became a high school teacher, we could have summers and holidays off together.

[oregonpackfan]

I'm contemplating going back to school and becoming a high school teacher.

Packface,

I took early retirement as an elementary school teacher a couple of years ago. Though I never taught at the high school level, I taught in the public schools for 19 years and a private school for 4 years.

I have a couple of questions. First, do you already have a BA or BS? Second, what subject field would you like to teach, such as English, math, etc.

I encourage you to sit down and meet with a number of people involved in education--teachers, Principals, Dean of Education at your local university, your State Department of Education rep, teacher union reps, etc.

You may also want to visit a couple of schools while school is in action to get a more realistic "feel" for the atmosphere.

If you already have a BS or BA, go back to college and get certified at the Master's degree level. Many states are now requiring a Master's Degree in order to teach or get your master's within 5 years of teaching. You may just as well get your Master's rather than go back at the undergraduate level.

Some colleges have special programs for taking someone with a college degree other than education and training them at the Master's level. George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon has such a program. The quality of their program is so strong that my principal limited her student teachers to just George Fox. The student teachers were older, more mature, more focused on life goals, and were better prepared by that university in creative lesson planning, etc.

If you are a minority member, there are tons of scholarships, grants, etc. for minority members to get into teaching.

If you wish to teach in the sciences and/or math, and become certified, you will have school districts come pounding on your door. The math and science areas have huge needs for teachers.

Good luck in your search. Bottom line is that I urge you to spend considerable time researching this area before making the commitment.