anyone with teaching experience?
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Sorry, not a pun as the career change thread before, but I'm thinking about redirecting my career and try to start teaching at a college level. I've been developing for a number of years and am thinking a change might be in order. Does anyone have experience with this type of shift? Good or bad?
I've taught in 2 small community colleges for 9 years. The first 5 years were great. The last 3 years were bad. Students are now the Millennium Generation. They come into your class, sit down and don't study, read the text or take notes. They then fail. The dean of science then says that you can't fail so many students, you must give them a 'C". So do you homework first and go to the school you want to teach at and talk to the Adjuncts (not full time teachers - mostly at night) Many of the colleges where I am are like that - you must give them a C :(
The Irishman
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Sorry, not a pun as the career change thread before, but I'm thinking about redirecting my career and try to start teaching at a college level. I've been developing for a number of years and am thinking a change might be in order. Does anyone have experience with this type of shift? Good or bad?
Well, I have the equivalent of about 20 years' teaching experience in a tremendously diverse array of settings. I could write an essay, nay a book, aimed at answering your question. Some of my experience was really painful, some of it was fun. It depends first of all on where you work: sector (the higher the better), college and country. Countries like the UK have, what I would call, damaging institutions like Ofsted and the QAA with nonsensical legislation that tends to clog things up until you can't do your job. HE escapes some of the toxic red-tape, though the QAA is apparently campaigning to change all of that. Administrators can make your job worthless, so try to find a college which really lets you get on with your job. Teaching is a very difficult job and is certainly no easy option. Maybe do a training course first and get some experience as a part-time teacher before you commit. I am self-employed, I decided long ago that I didn't want to get too entwined in red-tape by becoming an official college employee. This also gives me some control over workload, which if left to administrators escalates exponentially.