Reblogging from my other blog because I regret not putting it here, and wanted to add some extra thoughts on my autism blog.
I was barely out of high school for two years. I had only had one semester of education classes prior to this, and it was just an introductory course and a small special ED course. I had only had 1 field placement at this point at a high school where I did nothing but run errands for my teacher because she didn't want me teaching her class.
The shortage got even worse in the following years, and everyone downplayed how bad the situation was.
In fact, the only people who were honest with me about how outright crappy education was as a career were my English professors, and I'm so grateful to them because I dropped my education major and went for English instead.
This was AFTER my favorite professor appeared utterly DEVESTATED that it seemed like I had to stay in education. They were the only ones willing to be honest with me.
The English dean literally went "YAAAAAAAY! Oh wait I'm not supposed to say that" when I told her I switched to just English.
All of my friends in my year that graduated with me are quitting their fields and it's been less than 5 years. They all hate it and feel significantly underprepared.
Never once did we have classes that actually mattered. Oh yeah, I learned how to make lesson plans and powerpoints and how to operate basic tech, but we never once really sat down and had a productive class about student behavior and psychology other than lectures that amounted to "Even if a student beats you or someone else to a pulp, don't fight back or you'll get sued and don't die."
Whenever my students tell me they want to be a teacher, I reply with "No, you don't." My school is very small, and there are still times I absolutely am at my breaking point because teaching is so hard.
At least I'm not sexually harassed/assaulted every day like one of my other female friends is. She works in arguably the worst middle school in my district as a STEM teacher when her degree is in English because the former teacher bungled her paperwork. That's how bad it is for some people.
Truthfully, I probably shouldn't even be teaching since I'm not certified in education, but I work for a small private school where things aren't so bad and the requirements for certification are different. Again, it just shows how dire circumstances are.
I wouldn't wish the struggles of being a teacher on my worst enemy though. Even small student bodies have kids who will rip your heart out on a daily basis. Most of the time, I feel like a therapist who teaches English on the side.
If I could go back, I would have taken more electives in psychology so I could learn how to take better care of my students and myself.
Long story short, don't get an education degree because the skills I learned are absolutely useless.
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