Teaching

“My cousin's daughter subs elementary school, and she says she likes the little kids better cause the older ones are always staring at her boobs.”

“Now, if I can just learn the correct use of a '?'...”

“That's one of my all time fav Far Sides! The dog is in the car bragging out the window to the other dogs that HES was going to the vet's office to get 'tutored'!

LOL!”

“SG - I tutored calculus in college and really enjoyed it. One summer I stayed in the small town I grew up in and put a sign at the local JC about tutoring. The college called to see about hiring me as a teacher. I was out of the house goofing off, so whoever called is talking to my mom about offering me a job. They freaked when they found out I didn't even have a BS yet. Pretty funny.

Consider going to a few of the local middle schools, talk to the principals and see if you can meet any of the teachers in math or science. Tell them you're considering becoming a teacher and would like to offer tutoring services.”

“"My cousin's daughter subs elementary school, and she says she likes the little kids better cause the older ones are always staring at her boobs."
twigeater
01:39:07 PM
07/22/04

Hey twiggie, is she single? ;-)”

“

Artex, if I could get my boyfriend to marry me and support me, I'd quit my job and start subbing now. ;)"
smiley girl

I could twist his arm a little for you!”

“LOL...sorry Artex, she's taken. :)”

“Naw, bonecrusher, things are perfect the way they are right now. :)


Well, I'm off to my "Mainstreaming and Inclusion" class. See you all tomorrow!”

“Right now I'd love to get an outdoor leadership degree and teach anything outdoors related.”

“Shame is HPM, that you could teach the courses to begin with.”

“Artex - I teach mostly college upperclass students and adults. I find relate to the more experienced students since I got earned my last two degrees after I was 35.

Find a mentor or two from among the experienced teachers where you are and ask them lots of questions.

My first week of teaching was my hardest because I was trying to match the stereotypical "professor" image. After one week I realized I couldn't do that for a whole career. The tie came off and I became myself...much to the joy of myself and my students.

I did try to teach drafting at the junior high level two times. The students had my number. They would draw one line and then raise their hand and say, "What do I do now?" They had me practically doing their work for them because I was so "enthusiastic." Class would be over and I was beat. If I had it to do over again, I would have them tell me what they thought they should draw next, then let them keep answering until they got it.

In your area, you can let students review each other's work. I had a friend who taught animation who made each student get 5 other students to initial their work before he saw it. The students really learned a lot that way.

GOOD LUCK!”

“Geesh! I need to proofread more!!”

“I start teaching September 7th, 3-4 behavioral special ed. Self contained class with 8 students and an aide. I am starting at the ripe old age of 45 as I was in sales for 22 years. It should be a blast. Keep in touch as I would love to know how you are doing and maybe we can compare notes. I have live in advice as my wife has been a teacher for 23 years. Good Luck.
JC”

“Phil, great suggestions. Thank you. I definitely plan on having the students critique each other's work, and do so constructively. My friend, the previous instructor, did this everytime and it apparently worked out very well. But of course, if a student says someone's short film "sucks" or is outwardly hostile, they'll land themselves a lower grade and/or detention.”

“OMG - Artex is now a terrorist (NEA)!”

“Congrats Artex.... do they need a history teacher out there?”

“JC - your new gig sounds great as well. Sounds like we're definitely on similiar paths, I would love to compare notes. My e-mail is in my profile. Best of luck to you.

Buddha Bear - my school only needs a math teacher at this point. If you're serious though, I will definitely keep my ears open for you and check around. There are other schools in my county that may need a history teacher, so I'll loook into it.”

“I've tutored at the high school, junior high and college level. My advice is that you better know what you're doing and that you're better at it than most. You have to be able to explain things a hundred diffferent ways sometimes to just get one "AH HAH!!" out of a student and then you have to be patient while they go through the occasional phases of blowing off studying and relying on you to carry them through. Don't ever let them get away with that, no matter what age and be prepared for them to test you: patience, knowledge and boundaries. Try not to become a solution manual for their homework sets and get absolutely STELLAR letters of rec so you can go to colleges and tutor individually or in groups. That was where I had my best expereinces and if I didn't like my students...I got to drop them and hand pick the ones I did want.

THAT'S how you tutor.

Anymore questions, email me.”

“artex are you from maine? i love coming up to nh and me. we'll be up that way in sept. what are some good rivers to canoe without alot of whitewater? we usually to the saco but the water was down the last time we did it. so i guess you won't be coming to ocala part 4.”

“No cydee, I'm actually from Gainesville, FL. I don't feel qualified to give advice on rivers and such just yet, but you may want to get in touch with twigeater. She's a native Mainer, and can offer better advice. Monkeyboy and Skeetah Bait also lived most (if not all) of their lives in Maine until recently moving to NH. They might also be able to point you in the right direction.

As for Ocala 4, it's safe to say most definitlely not, unfortunately. Ocala 3 was a hoot.”

“Artex - I did the same thing as you, but I would teach summer school in the Vid department that I maintained.

We used the Video Productions book by Zetel. It's the book that is used in a lot of schools, plus it was (is?) used at Specs Howard, which is one of the top private schools in my area.

I structure my class based on what we would cover in the regular year, but much "looser". Five projects would have to be completed, in any order, after introduction to theory and equipment. I spent one good class session (which was five hours) on the power of the media, its influances and bias. Before they could begin on their porjects, I would have them take a hands on test on the equipment, just to show the knew how to work it.

The five projects I had them do were:

On camera editorial, in which I had to approve the subject matter and content. I never turned down a project idea as long as it was tastful. And yes, it was very subjective, but I didn't want to get sued.

Music Video - This was one of the more popular projects.

P.S.A. - Very creative stuff came outta that one.

Interview - This was a tough one for most, but taught them a lot of stuff. It isn't easy to interview someone.

The fifth project was that they had to work all positions, once at some time during the course, when we put on our dailey news broadcast. Producer, Director, Floor director, etc...

At the end of the course, there would be a 30 question, multiple choice test on things we covered during the session.


I just recently left the educational field (I did not teach class, but did teach students hwo to run a theater). One of the things that worked for me was knowing when to push and knowing when to pull. In my last job, I gave my students a lot of space and they thrived. The only issue at times is when you get students that "have" to be there, instead of "wanting" to be there. I have found that in both areas I taught, I was lucky because for the most part, the kids wanted to be there. To me, that was almost half the battle won. Also, I showd them respect and listened to them if they had any issues they wanted to talk about. What doesn't work, and this is just from what I have seen, are instructors that are "authoritatuve" in nature and this "my way or the highway" additude. There is nothing wrong with that philosophy, but kids will turn you off if you start "imposing your will" on them. A lot of the kids I encountered the last few years are looking for respect and will not tollerate hyprocrites. High school level has become a real touchy phase, more so than in latter years.

If ya want any ideas or help, I would be more than happy to email ya or send ya some of the stuff that I did during my years teaching. Just let me know.”

“Can you tell I didn't teach English?”

“Well, I e-mailed my local Sylvan Learning Center. They're not hiring tutors. Found the number to call for my local school district's tutoring program. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Also signed up for info on the "MathCounts", which, ironically, is supported by the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers, perhaps I could coach a team, and I'm also looking into helping with the Future City competition again this year (through the Engineering Society of Detroit).

Its turning out that I can get what I want out of tutoring/coaching while fulfilling my professional society quasi-requirements at work. :)”

“SG - Two things. Can you get credit toward your student teaching by tutoring?

2nd - Call the ISD of Oakland and the one that's next to ya (I can't remember the county). They might some work for ya, as they service the whole county.”

“Regarding your earlier post, laqtis: sounds like you had an exciting job. I totally agree on giving kids their space. The previous instructor (and my friend from another job several years ago) did just that and the kids thrived. Another plus I have is that the kids have to apply to be in this program, and I get to choose them. It's competitive to get in, so the kids that are there want to be there, for the most part. I'll keep you in mind for any advice or what not. Very generous of you, so thanks. :-)”

“Not a problem, Artex.

Anytime.”

“Artex...I teach technology at the high school level, and love it. Be yourself, don't be afraid to say no..You'll develop your own style over the course of the year and will get more and more comfortable with your students and subject matter...”

“Cool deal, wsdavies! That's the plan.”

“Oh..and find someone who knows the school culture..It won't take you long to figure out who you can "really" talk to, and who you can't. Also pick your battles...HS kids hate to feel like they are under your thumb..It's all psychology.. I've found that a pointed joke will do wonders with some of my "special students" Also, start off fairly structured(not strict but organized)..get the kids used to a routine..and relax with them as the year rolls on...”

“wsdavies - Very sound advice, thanks! I've already met a couple of teachers who have very positive attitudes and are successful that I'm going to lean on a little as mentors. And true about being structured at first and relaxing a little. Just looking back when I was in high school, that always worked well.

smiley girl - what's new with the tutoring?”

“Oh, not much Artex. Nothing solid to report yet. I'll keep ya posted, though!


Hey teachers out there - I've got an assignment for my Mainstreaming class - anyone want to answer some questions for me about your experiences with special needs kids in your classroom?”

“smiley,

Shoot.”

“Smiley, I'll see if one of my in-laws will email you with their experiences. They've been teachers for years and can tell you a lot of horror stories and good experiences. My father in law teaches at high school level (he's been bounced around by the system for years.) My mother in law teaches elementary and/or middle school level. They have so much insight in the school system down here that they don't want Laurel attending ANY public schools, and that's frightening. They're both over in Tallahassee right now taking 2 week courses, so when they get back this weekend I'll let them know.”

“Artex,

You're certified now, eh?! Wow! Congratulations! And you have a job to boot! Excellent! Welcome to the wonderful world of teaching high school!

First bit of advice: Don't grow a mullet. ;-)”

“LOL!”

“Well, I've been looking for opportunities for tutoring and such, and boy, do I have them now!!


First, there is a Future City competition held in the Metro Detroit region. MIddle school kids build a city on SimCity and then also build an actual scale model of a part of the City, do a presentation, write an essay, etc. Every team needs an engineering mentor, since the whole point is to bring engineering into the real world for these kids. So, I'm teamed up with a middle school close to both work and home, and I can't wait to get started on it! I bought SimCity 3000 the other night, and have been spending all of my spare time playing with it. :)

Secnod, a woman at work (who is also working on her teaching certificate) asked me to tutor her 9th grade daughter in algebra. I'm so excited about this opportunity also! Its what I've been looking for, and I also get to brush up on my algebra skills, which are long forgotten by now!!

I tell ya, when you pray, good things happen. :)”

“Secnod, that's a funny name. She's not from France, is she?”

“LOL! No, her name is Lucy. That's supposed to say "second" but my brain gets ahead of my fingers quite often. :)”

“Good for you, Smileygirl! Hope you have as much fun with teaching as I am. :-)”

“HOw's it going with that, Artex?”

“Great! Have fun!”

“It's going very well, but school hasn't started over here yet (begins late next week). I'm VERY excited for the upcoming school year! I know my students are going to learn a ton and have an absolute blast in the process. I've already met half of them, and they're a great group of kids. The faculty here is also outstanding and very helpful.

Best of luck in your quest(s)!”

“You're going to be surprised how hard it can be to tutor lower level math. There is a 10th grader across the street from me that I tutor. He totally wasn't getting algebra last year. The teacher would only explain it one way. I would show him different ways to work the same problem until we found one that clicked for him. The teacher marked his stuff wrong. It really pissed me off. By the end of your freshman year you had more math than a hs math teacher, yet because it wasn't "her" way she lit the kid up. I'm taking a different approach this year on his geometry. I'll work it multiple ways until I find one that works for him, but then tie it back to what the teacher wants.

Congrats on the opportunities.

There is also a West Point bridge competition where the kids design bridges online and then build and test them. Pretty neat stuff.”

“My boyfriend (HS Science teacher) did a Spaghetti Bridge Competition last year with his kids.

Dayhiker, that's interesting, and sad. Sounds like the teacher was looking out for herself only, and not the best interest of the kid.

I hope I can remember enough algebra to help this girl! I have some reference materials I'm going to brush up on. I'm not sure exactly what to expect, but hopefully we'll both have enough patience to make it work!”

“Smiley Girl, I think I need an Algebra tutor ;o)”

“You'll probably run into the same problem I had. I really didn't realize just how many steps I do in my head when doing algebra. Us structural types actually use the stuff. It took me a bit to slow it down and show him each and every decision. Amazing how you can become unaware to dozens of decisions that are being made.”

“no - oh well. I hope the classes go well anyway SMiley G :o)”

“Lol! Sorry Y2, you're on your own. :)”

“Here's some algebra for ya...

Y+2= horndog”