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Old 09-20-17, 01:15 PM  
Sancho
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: My body is in Louisville but my heart is in Atlanta
Question for Teachers or school administrators

Hi,

Sorry for the off topic question, but I know this is a safe space for a personal type of question and I did not know of another place on the internet to ask it.

I am almost 50 and my kids are seniors in high school. I was a CPA for about 6 years and a recruiter for accountants for 5 years. I was miserable. The work was repetitive and very boring. Eventually, I quit working to stay home. With the kids off to college next year, I find myself in the position of being able to pursue anything I want. Among some other things, I am considering teaching. BUT, based on my experience with accounting and recruiting, I'd like to dip my toes in before jumping. I thought maybe I would try to volunteer at an elementary school. I'd like to assist a teacher in the classroom. I would want to be there around 20 hours a week on a regular basis so I could get a real feel for the work. Would it be weird for me to cold call schools and ask if they would be interested in someone doing that ? Who should I contact at the school ? As a teacher, would you want assistance ? Any suggestions of how I should go about this?

We moved to a new city when my kids were in middle school, so I do not have any elementary school contacts and I do not know any teachers and no one I know has any contacts either.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Lauren
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Old 09-20-17, 01:36 PM  
Sissy B
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Have you thought about signing up to be a substitute teacher at your local schools? I have a lot of friends that do that. Here they usually have a meeting for interested parent volunteers/substitute teachers at the first of the year. Call the school office and ask.
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Old 09-20-17, 01:38 PM  
rvagal
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Virginia
I was a teacher for 8 years. Now I'm a stay at home mom.

It probably depends on your school system, but around here it's fairly easy to volunteer in a grunt work kind of capacity -- I laminated and cut out some cards for my daughter's teacher this week. But to be in the classroom with students for 20 hours a week, you would probably need some kind of credentials and employment status. This is for the school's protection as well as your own. Imagine if some skeezy pervert thought volunteering in a school would be a good idea.

I know many teachers would view a volunteer spending half of their professional day with them as more of a burden than a help. Many teachers like to do their own thing. For example, my daughter's kindergarten was technically over capacity by one student and was supposed to have an aide, but her teacher who had been teaching for 30 years said she'd rather not have an adult she'd have to "babysit" in there with her. And I know when I had a hearing impaired interpreter in the classroom with me, having another adult in the room just made it feel totally different.

Around here, it's easy to volunteer at struggling schools because they need mentors and already have organizations in place to vet and train the volunteers. But that's just coming in for an hour here and there in a contained setting.

You could try substituting. Around here you just need a college degree and they are always in need of substitutes. If you like that, then you could try long-term subbing for someone out on leave before trying to find a permanent position.
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Old 09-20-17, 01:45 PM  
Sancho
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: My body is in Louisville but my heart is in Atlanta
Quote:
Originally Posted by rvagal View Post
I know many teachers would view a volunteer spending half of their professional day with them as more of a burden than a help. Many teachers like to do their own thing.
Yes. This was my fear. I was the mom that did the grunt work volunteering when my kids were in elementary school and I always felt like I was in the way more than I was helping. It felt like they were just trying to appease us lonely mommies who miss our children and need something to do.

I thought about substituting, but that seems more like baby sitting. Also, my understanding is that subs are selected by the teacher and there is usually a long list. I do not know any teachers, so my guess is that I would be at the bottom of the list. BUT, this really might be my best "try it" possibility. I need to consider this more seriously.

I had hoped that my willingness to volunteer might be enticing for a 30-35 kid classroom. But I would probably be one of those teachers that did not want help, so I get it.
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Old 09-20-17, 02:01 PM  
amery
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Packer Country! Go Pack Go!
Another option could be to be a para-professional for a while. These positions are usually around 30 hours per week, sometimes less, and usually either helping a teacher as an aide, or working with individual/small groups of students. This would give you time in the school to see what you think, and get paid. We are always looking for para professionals.

As far as subbing, at least in our district, we are so low on subs that there have been days that we can't find one, so everyone has to go into that classroom during their prep times just to get the class through the day. Subbing isn't baby-sitting, I think it would give you a great feel for the job.
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Old 09-20-17, 02:17 PM  
starbelly
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Netherlands
I have worked in grades 6-12 and now teach at university and I don't think that I would have been able to make good use of someone in the way that you propose-- it would feel more like making work for you than something of actual benefit.

I subbed while in graduate school and, while in some cases it was just crowd control, once I got to know a few teachers I was able to fill in on longer term leaves in areas in which I had knowledge. This allowed me to actually teach instead of simply handing out worksheets or putting on a video. Of course it depends on the district, but places where I have worked had chronic shortages of qualified substitutes. The application will likely involve fingerprinting (at your own cost) as well as a check of your credentials. It is a good way to get to know the schools and find some place you would like to work (and those you wish to avoid). It's a good way to build a network should you choose to pursue a career in teaching.

With teacher shortages many districts offer alternative certification which will let you complete a limited number of credits in education instead of an entire degree. I don't know if this is true for K-5, but it could be a relatively quick entry to the field.

I have been in the classroom for more than 20 years and I still love what I do. It's not for everyone, though, so I think that working as a substitute (which can be very challenging) would be a good way for you to test the waters and your level of interest. Good luck to you!
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Old 09-20-17, 03:14 PM  
wendug
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Chicago burb
This is a topic I might be able to help with as I worked for a high school district as a substitute coordinator and worked in HR. Many have suggested becoming a substitute teacher to get a feel for teaching. This is probably your best plan of action. Check with the state you are in to see what is needed to become a certified sub. You'll have to apply to sub for districts and go through the necessary background checks to make sure you are eligible to work with kids. You didn't mention what grade you would like to teach. The district I worked for was high school only, so it might be a bit different for elementary level schools.

A lot of districts use an automated substitute system, so a teacher can put in a request for a sub and choose a specific teacher. However, if no teacher is selected a sub can log into the system and select that she is available to sub for a certain teacher/day. The important thing is to get in the door at the school and meet the department chairs. If you were previously in accounting, the business department of schools would love to have you! Introduce yourself to the chair of the department and tell him/her that you were thinking of going into teaching and would love to get some experience subbing in the business department. Just as it is in many fields, connections are key!

Nowadays even volunteer positions are advertised on the district website just as a paid position is. EVERYONE has to go through background checks before walking through the school doors to work with kids. So check the school websites to see what positions are open (volunteer or paid). But I think in your case being a substitute teacher might be your best option.

Someone else mentioned being a paraprofessional as well. That is also a route you could take, but taking a paraprofessional position means you are locked into working a set amount of hours a week. Also, some of the paraprofessional positions are damn challenging. I remember one particular student needed a one-on-one paraprofessional with him all day. He was challenged and would lash out in violent ways and especially loved biting people. The woman that worked with that student was a saint!

Again, I think being a substitute teacher is a great option for you as you can see different schools and different classrooms and find out if it really is a path you would like to explore further. Good luck!
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Old 09-20-17, 06:30 PM  
ellaenchanted
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Look for a part-time aide/assistant position. Teaching assistant get a much better sense of what teaching is actually like than substitutes.

Also, consider researching middle and high school as well. Many mid-career candidates have found it difficult to get full teaching jobs at the elementary level. The education industry can be a little ageist and tend to hire younger candidates that they can mold and train. In addition, experienced teacher are seen as too expensive which can make it harder to switch jobs. This is based my experience and in reading blogs and forums for educators.

Another thing to consider is return on investment. You will probably have to do some type of teacher prep program to get licensed. It can be expensive so you may want to consider if this is something worth the cost or if the money can be used in other ways (investing, paying off a mortgage, etc) that may provide you with better lifestyle choices.

My friend and colleague is a library tech (aka library assistant) and she enjoys the hours and the hourly pay is good. She has a similar story as you and considered doing an educator program. But, after looking at the cost of teacher prep, potential salary vs. work load/hours, and no guarantee she'd find a job, she saw that she was much better off staying an assistant.

So, I don't want to sound negative but I do think education field is in a strange phase at the moment. Check out the forums on ProTeacher and you can get a sense of what it is like from the postings on various boards.
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Old 09-20-17, 07:11 PM  
wishiwasinhawaii
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: NJ
I'm not a teacher, but both of my parents were. Teaching really is a 'calling' so I think you need to ask yourself why you want to do this. Not trying to be a debbie downer here, but it is not an easy job and not something to take on lightly. Maybe you could see about teaching at a community college (I think you need a master's though) instead.
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Old 09-20-17, 07:23 PM  
sherry7899
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
You may also want to check the job market in your area. A friend of mine got her Masters in Special Education from an excellent university. Even with that degree she had to work as a long term sub for two years before getting a permanent position. She said it is really hard to get jobs unless you know people in the school system. We live in a very populated area with a ton of schools.
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