Any math teachers here?

Anything to do with the traditional world of get a degree, get a job as well as its alternatives
WFJ
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Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:32 am

Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by WFJ »

jacob wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:19 am
Undergraduate too. When I first interviewed for my grad student position I told the committee that I wanted to be a professor because I wanted to teach students who unlike HS were all really interested in the field. They laughed at me. Later (as a TA) I saw what they meant. Quickly developed the attitude that I was really only teaching about the 10% of the class that was there to learn. The convention was that the rest would pass with minimum effort as long as they showed up and didn't bother anyone---excellent corporate training.
Are you sure, 10% seems high.

chenda
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Location: Nether Wallop

Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by chenda »

guitarplayer wrote:
Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:20 pm
I wonder to what extent teachers (particularly in the UK) are officially accountable for the results of the pupils they teach, @chenda do you know?
Essentially it's the schools responsibility but teachers are accountable to a degree if they haven't made the progress they are supposed to, according to government targets.

@WFJ The stabbings are very unlikely to be an issue for teachers personally. There has been a lot of media attention about knife crime in London recently and whilst it is a serious problem it predominantly effects only certain communities in certain areas.

My understanding with teacher salaries is they are largely the same across the country (although some areas provide col supplements such as London) which is not so good in the south east but could work in your favour in lower col areas, such as the Highlands and Islands. If you are in the accumulation phase then it could work very well.

guitarplayer
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Location: Scotland

Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by guitarplayer »

chenda wrote:
Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:06 am
Essentially it's the schools responsibility but teachers are accountable to a degree if they haven't made the progress they are supposed to, according to government targets.

[...]

My understanding with teacher salaries is they are largely the same across the country (although some areas provide col supplements such as London) which is not so good in the south east but could work in your favour in lower col areas, such as the Highlands and Islands. If you are in the accumulation phase then it could work very well.
Thanks @chenda. The first was what @ducknald_don was hinting at, setting boundaries and yup not getting promoted but hanging on there; I could do it. Yes I am aware of the geoarbitrage. Same applies to nurses and minimum wage jobs, and probably some others.

Realistically I still have 5-10 years of full time employment ahead of me, but trying to get there joyfully hence doing lots of research on different avenues.

ETA: One intangible benefit of being a teacher particularly in a rural or small knit community (like for example where @theanimal lives) could be to get to know members of the community. Most people have children, and I imagine as a teacher one would inevitably meet the local plumber, local carpenter, accountant etc. A bit like being a local GP, or at least this is how I imagine it. But maybe this is not happening anymore?

chenda
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Location: Nether Wallop

Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by chenda »

guitarplayer wrote:
Wed Aug 25, 2021 6:56 am
A bit like being a local GP, or at least this is how I imagine it. But maybe this is not happening anymore?
Oh that definitely still happens :)

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unemployable
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Location: Homeless

Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by unemployable »

In the US, private school. Pay is worse but the students are more motivated because the parents want to see results from the checks they're writing. Level of motivation generally correlates positively with parental wealth -- the richer kids are trying to get into Ivies. Often you don't need grad school or certification, and many private schools hire teachers straight out of undergrad. Also, you have more opportunities for private tutorials and random summer work such as babysitting and housesitting, which can kept from the IRS.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Instantly becoming part of local community is one of the upsides of teaching. This is one of the main reasons why I consider it to be an enjoyable neutral (what I might otherwise choose to do as volunteer work) up to the frequency of 2x/week. At frequency of 2x/week, you become a known entity (friend), but you don't get sucked into all the long-term drama and bullshit politics and overwhelming bureaucracy.

ducknald_don
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Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2020 12:31 pm
Location: Oxford, UK

Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by ducknald_don »

chenda wrote:
Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:06 am
@WFJ The stabbings are very unlikely to be an issue for teachers personally. There has been a lot of media attention about knife crime in London recently and whilst it is a serious problem it predominantly effects only certain communities in certain areas.
It's also in decline. The government were getting a lot of criticism about it and they appear to be doing something about it.

guitarplayer
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Location: Scotland

Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by guitarplayer »

The news about me studying Maths and Stats spread around the community where I live, not least because I gave it as a reason to step down from my management post.

Lo and behold: one of the managers here asked if I'd have time and be willing to tutor her 14/15yo daughter in Maths. For those UK (Scotland) based, she is in S3 which I researched to be covering the penultimate year of the general education 'curriculum of excellence'. Scotland prides itself to be separate from the 'national curriculum' of the rest of the UK, but I would imagine effectively the topics covered are similar.

Any advises from @daylen, @7w5 or others (especially UK) about what to say to that + tips about the teaching/learning process? I would generally be keen to try.

7Wannabe5
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Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

It looks about the same level as recommended (not necessarily achieved!) 8th grade proficiency in the U.S. If the child needs help, it is likely that she is missing some previous rungs on the ladder and will need what is called "scaffolding." The Khan Academy has well organized review materials at each grade level which you might skim to evaluate current level and needful review. For instance, you can't present early algebra if the student has not yet mastered working with negative numbers and fractions. Picking up any missing skills such as these should increase confidence or reduce math phobia.

There are also many students who are competent to perform the work, but seriously disinterested. With these students, you will simply be facilitating their focus on the task at hand for the period of tutoring.

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GandK
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Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by GandK »

I am more a math coordinator: I homeschool an 11 year old in all subjects, including math. But we like to use certain favorite YouTubers to introduce new math concepts*. Is that something you might consider, or supplement your plans with? Homeschooling (outside of one's local school system) is widespread in the US. About 4% of students are homeschooling here, last I checked. The online learning audience is so wide... who knows what students and learning styles you'd be a great fit for?

*My son is significantly ahead of his public school peers in math and a few other subjects; I am certain this is in part because we choose his lecturers to suit his needs.

daylen
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Re: Any math teachers here?

Post by daylen »

As for keeping the attention/interest of the student, it helps to familiarize oneself with their side activities and relate the material to that. For instance, one of my current students is a high school football player, so I intend to relate his geometry coursework to football play patterns and so forth. Though, in the middle-school years (11-14 ish), many kids that use to play sports no longer do and instead orient more towards finding social groups that may or may not be related to out-of-school activities. For these students, connecting seemingly dry material such as math or chemistry to the wider world of historical application may suffice so long as you steer away from politics.

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