MissHoney
Chicago, IL
Female, 33
Changing lives and saving the world. I've taught various grade levels in MA, CA, and IL., always at schools with progressive education philosophies. So I've done zip-lines & ropes courses, traveled abroad with students, taught Sex Ed, done service work, performed in teacher-student talent shows, and initiated lots and lots of dialogue about friendships. The longer I taught, the more I realized it's the emotional and social lives of kids, rather than the subject I teach, that I really dig.
My most challenging conferences are ones in which the parents have expectations of what a 7th-grader should be, and yet they don’t see the child sitting in right front of them. Trying to gently guide parents to see who their child is can be heartrending. Some parents are reliving their issues as middle schoolers onto their kids: wondering why they aren't more popular, talking about other kids, wanting their kid to be The Jock or The Intellectual. No 7th-grader needs to be taking SAT prep classes (and I've had ones who are) and no 7th-grader needs to be feeling like they need to specialize in things already. High school might be the time... Read More +
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Yes. And yes. YES! Funny thing? I'm teaching that exact course this summer! But it's not for credit and is not required. Sigh. I totally agree and think anyone over the age of 18 agrees. So then, why isn't there a mandatory US curriculum? There isn't a US curriculum. Each state mandates the curriculum required in schools and required for graduation, so it would need to be a push at all 50 state levels (and DC too). For a while, only Utah and Missouri had personal finance requirementsI Now Tennessee and Virginia do as well. Indiana and Kansas, Ohio, New Jersey and Colorado are all also considering adding it. You can check out JumpStart,... Read More +
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Hmmm. There are a few parts to this question. "Smart drugs" generally refers to medications/herbs/supplements that purport to improve memory and brain function. There are varying opinions about efficacy and when/how/why/if some of them work or should be used. Heck, even nicotine could be classified as a smart drug because it is a stimulant. Do I drink caffeine to improve my function? Yes, I'm a new mom. I'd be borderline incoherent without it. Did I take NoDoz in college to finish papers? Yup. But I also know another teacher who has a buddy prescribe Ritalin when he has no diagnosed ADHD so that he can stay up late to finish work during... Read More +
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My gut response? MORE. I'll say a starting salary of 65,000 (assuming a certificate to teach and perhaps an advanced degree). Bear with me as I explain. Stealing from a Dave Eggers' editorial, the average teacher salary has sunk for 30 years (I'm 34, bummer). Average starting in under 40K. Average ending (after TWENTY FIVE years!) is 67,000. OUCH. He goes on to say that in over 30 cities in the US, that would make home ownership impossible. I'm not saying I should have a yacht and a butler. But a house? Seems reasonable. It leads to a few things. Many of us work extra jobs. That makes us tired. Not good for a room full of kids. And it... Read More +
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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)
Are postal workers more disgruntled than other workers?
Toll Collector
What's the rudest thing a driver ever said to you?
Sushi Chef
Is there a stigma against sushi restaurants that have non-Asian chefs?
Our schedules. Friends would joke that I worked 9am-3pm. That's classroom hours (and for the record every school I've worked at starts at or before 8am). I leave for work by 5:45/6:00am and get home after 5:00pm most days. Prep work, grading, reading, learning more about content, working on committees, being available to students and their families, and being a part of the life of a school is truly beyond a full-time job. Or, maybe I'd change the early start-time! I get cranky when I drive by people out for morning runs and I already feel like I'm running late to work. It's also hard not to punch someone who wonders aloud why I went... Read More +
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Absolutely. It’s all about the "9am-3pm” perception of our hours, which is grossly off-base. I've read that, on an hourly basis, teachers make the same as parking lot attendants. The emotional aspect of our job is also something to consider. What we do is tremendously taxing and exhausting. I think the underpaid aspect of the job comes from a general attitude in the US towards teaching. In some countries, teaching is considered a very high-status job, while here in the US it is not. We undervalue teachers and then wonder why the education system is broken (this is a problem in other areas as well, such as social work). If we paid... Read More +
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Ahem. It happens. A lot? That's a good question. I'd say no more than any other workplace environment. We have holiday parties. We have happy hours. Stuff happens. I've worked at 3 schools. There were couples that met and married while working at all three of them. There were couples that dated. There are two affairs I know of. There were a couple epic break ups. At one, there were at least six sets of teachers I can think of that were married. Two married while I was working there, one was hired as a married couple. I dated a teacher at that school (briefly, and dating is a generous word). Most schools seem to be ok with it so long as... Read More +
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