I apologize that posts have not been as frequent as they once were. When I made this career change back to teaching, I thought that I would have all of this free time. At least compared to lawyering. But dammit, I'm working just as hard. They've got me teaching U.S. Government classes, a U.S. History class, and coaching the Debate team (which takes up lots of after school time and weekends for tournaments).
Don't get me wrong, I really am enjoying it. I much prefer this to sitting in an office fielding phone calls from anxious clients, arguing with difficult opposing counsel, etc. But where's my free time? Where's EZ Street?
Teaching has changed since I did it ten years ago. First of all, my circumstances were different. I only had to prepare lessons for one subject (World Geography). And that was before the state and the feds went crazy with standardized testing. I could create the curriculum as I went along, because the state had no testing or standards for Geography at that point. Spend a couple of days on Buddhist philosophy? Sure. Watch some footage of Rwandan genocide and discuss tribal conflicts? Sounds good. That was cool. But these days everything is tested and mandated, so there is not nearly as much autonomy for the teacher. I've got to coordinate with the other Government teachers and the other U.S. History teachers and make sure we are teaching the same lessons, giving the same tests, etc. We've got state standards for this, state standards for that. You spend as much time making sure lessons are aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge Standards (affectionately known as "the TEKS") as you do actually getting to the substance of what you are teaching. I can still put in a little personal touch here or there, but not nearly as much as in the old days.
But on the whole, teaching is still great. The kids are maddening at times, but also a lot of fun. And in these uncertain economic times, I'd much rather be in a secure government job vs. scrambling around in the volatile legal market.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the update. I'm interested in how the job is going, especially (but not only) as a former debate nerd. I'd also be genuinely interested in your take on Obama and McCain's thoughts on education. My general feeling over the years is that Democrats are far too friendly with the unions to do much good, but Obama at least sounds like he's a bit more conservative than the average Dem on the issue. It's actually one of the reasons I like him. But I'd just be curious to hear your take on the whole thing -- Bush, No Child Left Behind, TEKS, McCain, Obama, charters, vouchers, whatever...
I love the "EZ Street" reference -- that would be a good blog name. I've always imagined that teaching would actually be one of the toughest gigs out there, made up for by some time off.
I would love to see you in action Dez. Teaching, debate coaching, the whole Mr. Kotter thing. If I can ever justify a trip back to San Antonio I might have to come watch you work.
I too would be interested in a post on your education policy views. My own right wing More Children Left Behind theories are alway good box office.
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