A Teaching Life

Updated! Thanks to Tommy for pointing out a previously broken link.
The job search is on. Can an experienced teacher with a Masters + bazillion credits, working on a Masters in Special Ed, but certified in Florida for Social Sciences 5-9 and 6-12, whose first name is not Coach, find a job in Hillsborough or Pinellas Counties, preferably in Alternative Ed.? We'll see. Yesterday's Hillsborough County Schools Secondary Job Fair was an interesting start to the interview season. Now I'm forced to decide if I should jump on an opportunity that has been presented, or hold out for something else.

That the job fair was held on June 1-2 brings me to a point about teacher quality and urban school systems. Hey folks, wake up, you will never attract a large percentage of the best and brightest if you continue to wait so darn long to hire people. That's not just me talking. The Education Writer's Association report Unintended Consequences blasts both school districts and teachers' unions for teacher transfer practices that delay new teacher hiring until suburban districts have pulled off most highly qualified teachers, particularly in shortage disciplines. For a less anti-union view you can read what the Democratic Leadership Council has to say in Help Wanted. Hillsborough and Pinellas won't lose an opportunity to hire me, I'll be around because the husband is stationed at MacDill. But, if I were completely mobile I'd be teaching in a school district able to commit to hiring in March, or even January as I did with our last military move. Pay is important, and there is no way any school district in Florida is competitive with the area I left. Even no state income tax and mild winters can't make up for a 25% pay cut. But, most people who stick with teaching long enough to call it a career are interested in making a difference in children's lives. Though we want to make a decent living for our own children while we're at it, many would choose a lower paying job in an urban school system if we just knew there would be a job. Why pass up a job in March for one that might materialize in June or July?

A little buzz from yesterday, overheard at the Century 21 table: "I thought the cost of living was supposed to be lower down here."