News Nuggets

Teaching is a great job, a noble profession,

Teaching touches the future. Teaching is the hope that we pin on human survival and the shared welfare of our society.

We even have "fast-track" job readiness programs, i.e., Alternative Certification Programs available in most areas.

So, why are so many jobs available?

Sidebar

Where are the Jobs?

Occupations With the Largest Projected Growth Through 2014:

1. Registered Nurses: 703,000


2. Postsecondary Teachers: 524,000


3. Nursing Aides, Orderlies, Attendants: 325,000


4. Management: 308,000


5. Elementary School Teachers: 265,000


6. Accountants: 264,000


7. Computer Software Engineers: 222,000


8. Computer Systems Analysts: 153,000

Source:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Cited by AOL on 6-17-2007

jobs.aol.com/article/onlinecampus/_a/where-the-jobs-are/20070618150.

The Job Outlook for Education

The Education Explosion

With about one in four Americans enrolled in an educational institution, education is the second largest industry in the country, accounting for about 12.7 million jobs. Most teaching positions -- which constitute almost half of all educational services jobs -- require at least a bachelor's degree, and many require a master's or doctoral degree.

Secondary school teachers are expected to increase in numbers by some 18 percent by 2012. Salaries are rising as well; the American Federation of Teachers estimates the average salary of all public elementary and secondary school teachers in the 2004-05 school year as $47,602. Additional benefits include flexibility in vacation time.

Postsecondary teaching positions are expected to grow 38 percent over the next decade.

Median annual earnings of all postsecondary teachers in May 2004 were $51,800. Postsecondary instructors enjoy flexibility comparable to secondary teachers, and are generally able to focus on their specific field of interest.

Source:
Cited by AOL on 6-17-2007
jobs.aol.com/article/onlinecampus/_a/where-the-jobs-are/20070618150.

Thin Shoes, Hot Pavement

Teaching is wonderful, a "warm fuzz-filled delight," an honor and a "blessing."

But, teachers work in school districts that range the gamut from the "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" to "Grand Central Station," to the "Weather Underground" to the "Gulag Archipelago." Some other school districts are mini-corporate cubicle clusters and others are lock-step military machines.

And, hugging children zero's suspicion upon teachers as though the human resources director needs to pass out ankle bracelets to all new hires on the first day of indoctrination, I mean, orientation.

You are not the Craziness

The first thing that teachers need to know is that are not the cause of the craziness that they feel and experience.

This craziness is mostly felt as "generalized stress," but it can be experienced as other things, i.e., gastritis, ulcers, colitis, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke.

Or, the affects can be personal and interpersonal, such as nervousness, irritability, family discord, anger and short-tempered outbursts.

So, our educational system has a "survival of the fittest" campaign to thin the ranks of the teaching corps (generally without the expense of health insurance, although some teachers qualify for food stamps and public assistance) to ensure that there will always be teaching jobs.

Shrinking Birthrate, Boomers Past the Fertility Years… still Lots of Jobs

The reason that the job horizon is so optimistic is because the outlook for first to fifth year teachers is so pessimistic.

Teachers was out in droves during the first three years on the job, and especially between the third and fifth year.

Why?

Is teaching so difficult that these trained and ready teachers can't make it?

Or, is the job situation so skewed, oblique and convoluted that remaining on the job is the worse between the unemployment evil, and begging in the breadline?

Sources of Job Stress

There are a number of sources of on-the-job teacher stress (particularly for the new teacher)…

• Principals that want all students to pass high-stakes tests and are on a mission to weed all "non-performers" out of the profession


• Budget cuts that force serious behavior disordered students into classrooms without assistance, generally in the classrooms of "newbie" teachers


• Inefficiency that keeps the new teacher working week nights until 11:00 p.m., and 1:00 a.m. on Saturday


• Placement in special programs (i.e., with Special Population students) with funding siphoned to the regular classes (where it will do the most good)


• Expectations that new teachers know technology better, so that they will be models for integrating technology (even though the "old hands" haven't made headway into this storm of under funding, either)


• A general public, whipped up by politicians that want to show that our public schools are "no good" so that they can provide vouchers for church schools


• The general irrationality and ignorance of bureaucracy as it tries to slop through the No Child Left Behind Act and punish schools, school districts and teachers for being "highly trained and of high enough quality"

Rosy Prospects?

The prospects for jobs in education are rosy…

Just make sure that that cherry red glow is not:

• The glowing embers of stress under your feet


• The enflamed ulcer in your tummy


• The lights on the top of the ambulance that is scurrying you to the emergency room


• The color of the red ink on your cash flow and statement of net worth

Real-World Help

Classroom Toolkit and the Classroom Toolkit Newsletter offer antidotes for teacher stress. We also offer methods of streamlining instructional planning and instructional management so that teachers have more time to rest and take care of themselves.

Remember: the Craziness that you experience is not you, but the system. However, the craziness can overtake you, make you a basket case, or encase you in a coffin if you allow fail to attend to your own needs.

Take care of yourself, so you can care for your students.