#abi teaches

[giggles-and-freckles]

One of my students made the mistake of telling me they’ve never seen Star Wars. So I replaced one of their history assignments with something ✨special✨

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oh, hey there! i love so many of your clone wars fics and i’ve followed you for a while. but - and bear with me, i might sound weird - i didn’t know you were a teacher? secondary school, is… i’m not american but it’s between junior and high school, i think?

as a sixteen year old who is thinking of doing a history degree, then that one one year course thing that equips you to teach, and then hoping to become a high school history/english teacher - do you have any advice, things you wish you’d known before going into teaching, or anything like that?

i think i’d love teaching - the only thing keeping me up at night is that i won’t be able to find a job because there are many teachers, that i won’t have any free time because i know the hours are long, and that i won’t be able to support myself financially/put any potential kids through schooling/save up enough money for basic expenses, due to stuff like the inflation rate and teachers being infamously not paid well— do you have any experience or advice regarding any or all of those things, if it wouldn’t be any trouble to share?

please feel free to ignore this - i know that adults are busy in general, but also, congrats on adopting your kid, i hope that y’all are doing great! - i just wanted to ask because i honestly don’t know any of my teachers well enough to ask them any of this, and my family isn’t exactly supportive of me wanting me to be a teacher (they…. don’t think i’ll be paid anything, but i don’t think that’s completely true!), so i just thought i’d ask. again though, no worries abt answering<3

okay whoa! just found this, but i'm going to attempt to answer now! truly don't know how i missed it. this may get a bit lengthy, so i'll put a cut.

first, thank you for your kind words! our bonus daughter is doing great. life looks drastically different now than it did a few months ago, but i can't imagine it any other way. <3

okay so -- yes! secondary school in america is generally 7-12th grade. i'm certified for all of those levels, but presently teach grade 8. which depending where you are living could be different for you. here, it's 13/14-year-olds.

i did things a bit unconventionally, but i honestly recommend it, now having the perspective of peers who did it 'the right way.' i studied something unrelated to education for my undergraduate (4-year degree). then, i did an alternative certificate program to get my certification. this means i graduated university in may 2020 and had my first classroom in august 2020. it was a bit much at once, but it worked well for my personality, because i'm a sink or swim person.

most of my co-workers studied education in undergrad, meaning they completed rotations of student teaching and spent four full years learning all of the things to know about teaching. which is a viable route!!! in my opinion, though, much of what is taught is not super applicable in a real life 2023 classroom so i'd just as well have all of that mandatory" material condensed into a one year online program i can zoom through while getting real experience. the big things to know about teaching is that you'll never know it all. in my opinion, there is no amount of training that will adequately prepare you because every child is different and every teacher is different. the only was to find your stride is to do it. you'll fail a little, for sure! but what better lesson to teach your students?

to address finding a job: i'm not sure where you're located and if this affects anything, but here in america i can tell you it is verrrry easy to find teaching jobs. there is such a shortage in education because so many veteran teachers who have been sticking it out for years have finally had enough and left the profession. i work at an incredible school with a ton of support, but we had three teachers leave us this year specifically to go into data analytics because they can work from home and have a more flexible schedule. of course, getting experience with children is valuable for your resume! but at least in the united states right now, the standard is sort of 'hey if you're certified and don't have a criminal record, we'll hire you!" which is...not great for education as a whole. but great for prospective teachers...i guess?

now for the money: hmm. so first off, let me say that teachers deserve to be paid more, without a shadow of a doubt. i think we all know this so i'll save the soapbox. but THAT BEING SAID. at least in my region, i make a livable wage. do i deserve more for the amount of work i am actually doing? yes! am i struggling financially? no. of course, there are other things to take into consideration such as the cost of living in your area. but to encourage you (and your parents possibly?): i am fully supporting my family right now on a salary. my husband just graduated from law school, so as soon as he passes his bar and gets a job (fingers crossed), things will change a little. but as of now, i am able to comfortably support myself, him, a toddler, and a teenager. i am a saver and don't waste money! but i have also not gotten to a point of misery or anywhere close.

however, it needs to be said, only you know your propensity for saving vs. spending. i have many friends who DO financially struggle because they live a different lifestyle than me. and that's okay! but it's a give and take. you have to decide what is the most important to YOU and go from there. for me, it's supporting my family and prioritising family experiences over things. for many, it's a nicer house or food or entertainment or whatever. and none of those things are bad!

in conclusion: teachers (at least in my area) are paid a livable amount. but it is absolutely not the amount they should be living on, in proportion to the work they do. remember: we are not paid for summer. many districts will spreadout paychecks to include the summer...but that's the money from the school year. NOT more money. i have mandatory trainings and symposiums i have to attend this summer and i'm not being paid for them. i spend hundreds of dollars on supplies/decorations/snack for students and i'm not being paid for them. i stay at the school until almost 7pm every night to watch my students' games and concerts and i'm not being paid for them. i could say no to many of these things! but i won't because i'm a good teacher who knows these things are *necessary.* it's a hard reality, though.

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one of my kids brought MOON SAND to school and i am absolutely losing it because they dumped it on my computer keyboard on accident and now there is MOON SAND everywhere. no i am not being dramatic MOON SAND is just THE WORST. every time i type, i just hear this...gritty, grindy disgusting MOON SAND sound.

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You’re a teacher?

ahahaha correct! I’m not sure if this is an actual assumption from a new friend or someone being facetious because I never shut up about teaching haha. but either way: YEAH! AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH. in fact, all my baby padawans got knighted yesterday (aka they graduated my class and are moving on to high school 🥲).

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it’s my first day back at school after covid/hospital scare/February freeze so I’ve got my best chunky sweater and a smile on because I’m gonna see my kids in person for the first time in three weeks!!!! but I walked in and immediately got called down to the office where they have a conference room reserved for me to do planning and grading all day since I’m really behind on all that. which is kind but like...I WANNA SEE MY CHILDREN. LET ME OUT OF ISOLATION.

so the point—do we think I can sneak out just to go say hi to my kids? and do we think the sub in my class will be chill about it or rat me out?

[giggles-and-freckles]

update: I did it. I snuck out. and they wrote me adorable little cards while I was gone. I will absolutely be posting the cute ones later today so unfollow me if you’re uninterested in seeing me gush about my sweet little angel baby students. they’re fourteen and would kill me for calling them that on the internet but I don’t care I wanna squish all their faces AHHHHH

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What's your favorite happy story about your 8th graders? Or silliest story lol!

OH OH! Thank you for the excuse to absolutely be so annoying about my kids–

Happy story: I have a student with autism in one of my classes. She just so happens to be in the class with all the athletes and ‘cool kids,’ so theres a discrepancy sometimes between the meshing of their personalities. I over-emphasise the importance of empathy because I think it’s the basis for kids being able to understand the emotions of others and their own (which is a whole other rant I could go off on because the American public education system does not understand the importance of this!!!). But they’re kids and so there are lots of moments where empathy is just......not happening. BUT ONE DAY, the kids all got caught up on their work, so I took them outside to play soccer with me. Two of the ‘cool guys’ were team captains and I realised my own mistake too late...I knew they were going to pick their friends and leave my sweet student with autism last and alone. But...my kid–my 6 foot 4, football stud, popular punk of a kid. Chose my student with autism for his team first. When I talked to him afterward about it to tell him how proud of him I was, he shrugged me off and said, “it was just empathy, Ms. [redacted].” Yes, I cried right then and there.

Silly story: Most of my kids call me Mom. HA. It’s never really a problem until someone from admin is in my class and a kid is like “Hey, Mom, can you explain industrialisation again?” and my principal or superintendent or whoever looks at me and is like, “did they just call you......Mom?”

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there is no power like getting onto a student in such an effective way they squeak “yes sir” and then immediately correct it to “ma’am” and burst into tears in shame and embarrassment and run out of the classroom.