Teaching, Bearing the Torch 2/e   Pamela J. Farris
	For the Student

Welcome to the field of education! This chapter is full of pertinent information that all educators should know:

• Public perception of teachers
• Issues to consider when choosing a career in teaching
• College and university certification programs
• State certification requirements
• Alternative certification
• Teacher contracts, salaries, and fringe benefits
• Teacher tenure
• Supply and demand: Where the jobs are

OBJECTIVES

After reading Chapter 1, you should be able to:

• Identify and describe the various ways in which you may become certified to teach.
• Discuss the main issues you need to consider before choosing a teaching career.
• Identify and describe various techniques new teachers use to introduce themselves and their abilities to potential employers.
• Compare and contrast salary schedules, merit pay, and differential pay.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the components of a teaching contract.

Quiz Questions for Chapter 1

Quiz Help! Check here for related page references and feedback.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

1. Visit a teacher chat room and connect with both a first-year teacher and a teacher who has just retired to find out why they chose to be teachers, whether their careers did or did not meet their expectations, and what they found to be the most challenging problem.

2. Look up the websites of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association (web addresses are found on p.29). Compare and contrast their goals and their mission statements.

3. Choose a specialty such as early childhood or physical education. Visit the website of the educational organization in that specialty area and look for information about student memberships. Is there a student chapter on your campus?

4. Many school districts now have their own websites. Call the districts you're interested in to find their addresses or "surf" the net to find them. Pages 30 and 31 list search engines that may assist you.

5. Create your own web page to advertise your teaching skills. Include sample lesson plans, a resume, and pictures of projects you've done with children.

OTHER SITES TO EXPLORE (Also read p. 29!)

http://www.classroominc.org/working/classnotes/archive/jan98/teachers.ht ml
ClassNotes: A newsletter for teachers and administrators.
ClassNotes, published by Classroom, Inc., includes in Volume V, Number 5 --- January, 1998 information regarding how to create a teaching portfolio.
Textbook link: see pages 24-28.

http://www.ncei.com/
The National Center for Education Information
The National Center for Education Information (NCEI) is a private, non-partisan research organization in Washington, D.C. specializing in survey research and data analysis. NCEI is the authoritative source of information about alternative teacher preparation and certification.
Textbook links: see page13.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7862/
The New Teacher Page
The New Teacher Page is a resource site for Education students, student teachers, first-year teachers, teacher certification candidates, and those considering a career in teaching.
Textbook links: see pages 21-25. http://www.privateschooljobs.com
The Private School Employment Network
The Independent Schools Association of the Central States created this site to advertise vacancies in administration and teaching at private and independent schools.
Textbook links: see pages 18 & 23.

http://www.teachingjobs.com
Teachers' Employment Network
The Teachers' Employment Network claims to be "the web's most complete educational employment resource." Their site offers job-seekers a list of over 1,000 schools looking for teachers, and offers school districts access to the resumes of qualified individuals.
Textbook links: see pages 21-25.

http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/tthmpg.html
Teacher Talk Home Page
Teacher Talk is published by the Center for Adolescent Studies at the School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington,IN. It is a publication for preservice and secondary education teachers that exists as a series of World Wide Web documents. Visit Volume 2, Issue1 for facts about teacher employment in the year 2000.
Textbook links: see pages 21-22.

OTHER RESOURCES

Ayers, A. 1993. To teach: The journey of a teacher. New York: Teachers College Press

Freedman, S.G. 1990. Small Victories. New York: Harper and Row.

Johnson, L.A. 1992. My posse don't do homework. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Kidder, T. 1989. Among Schoolchildren. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Ryan, D. 1991. The rollercoaster year: Stories of first-year teachers. New York: Harper Collins.