[Taminy]

Originally Posted by fastboy21 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I teach an AP class. I am qualified to teach at the college level. Why?

1. if you want to teach at a low end college you will not make as much money as in a good high school district.

I just started teaching at a 2 year college - a "low end" college if you will. They gave me about 2 years worth of experience for my grad working TAing and tutoring as well as a lot of the private tutoring I did after my undergrad. Even without that slight pay bump, I still make more than *average* high school teacher in my state. Not more than the average starting salary, but more than the average of all salaries. I also get more time off: 1 month in winter and a solid 3 months in summer. If I teach then I get a pay bump. I have some training I can complete then or during the regular year but unlikely more than regular high school teachers. Also I'm expected to work about 37.5 hours a week during the school year and that includes lecture time, prep time, grading time, and office hours. The only sucky part is the night classes [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Originally Posted by fastboy21 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

2. if you want to teach at a higher end college you will need to get your doctorate before you can get a professor's position. Without a real position, you will make less than in a good school district. If you do get a professor's position you will be expected by most universities to do research and publish on a regular basis. This is not what I want to do with my career.

Yep I do not want to do that either. Most of the cool stuff (at least in math) you learn at the advanced undergrad and beginning graduate level.

You can sometimes teach at a big university with "only" a master's. One of my classmates is teaching at the school where we both got our master's degrees. Sometimes they don't have that because it's cheaper to get the grad students to do it.

Originally Posted by fastboy21 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

3. I enjoy my high school community and am fond of my students. I am able to get involved at a very different level by working with students at a high school age than a college teacher would be able to, which I find rewarding.

I've worked with high school kids before. I like adults more. You usually don't get as involved with them but you can also have a bit more of a casual relationship with them. And of course no behavior problems with adults (just entitlement issues).

Originally Posted by fastboy21 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The assumption that there is a direct correlation between the level of instruction one teaches to the ability of the teacher is a huge error. Most college professors are not very good teachers---they may be experts in their field---but teaching is not about just "knowing" the subject matter.

Agreed 1000000%. I like teaching at my current school, and I think I'm a better teacher than I am a mathematician. And yes a lot of my professors weren't the greatest teachers (some where still good though). Not that I think research is absolutely useless, it's just not for me. I think one day if a brilliant idea comes to me I can publish it, but I'm not going to get in the publish or perish cycle of BS [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Originally Posted by fastboy21 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Believe it or not, but many AP teachers in good school districts are much more knowledgeable and skilled in teaching than most of their counter-parts at many colleges. Most 101 courses at major universities, including the ivies, are taught by grad students. The work expectation might be larger over a shorter period of time, but the teaching itself is probably stronger at the high school level.

This is very true at the big university level. At community colleges and 4 year liberal arts schools though you are likely getting a more trained teacher than someone at the high school level (I have to have a master's degree in anything but at least 18 graduate level credits in the subject I want to teach). In high school you might have someone teaching AP calc who "only" has a bachelor's degree in chem and a teaching certificate. Calc may well have been the highest math class they took themselves.

I understand being an expert in one's field isn't the same as being a good teacher, but would you want someone teaching your kids Algebra I when they never took Geometry or Algebra II?