Problem is people are just stupid. I know quite a few people who know TERRIBLE teachers that they even personally had and I've always pointed out how big unions suck because they stop these terrible people from getting fired... they ignore it completely.
I've known teachers to be drunk and high at school, get caught, and they still just went on temporary leave at most.
1 teacher dated a student (and later on they got married). Their dating was known at the time, the teacher was "suspended" for awhile (he was just moved to the nearest other school, then moved back when the student's grade graduated).
I've known STEM teachers who couldn't speak English and their class averages were close to 50, one of them actually getting a class average below that. Now yes, the classes should be doing better even without understanding the teachers (textbooks are actually better than teachers for learning) - but teachers who can't string a full sentence in English should not be teaching science and math courses in a fucking English speaking nation!
A lot of people's fall back plan for a career is teaching.
That being said, some people do it for very different reasons. Some want the lenient hours. Some like (whether they realize or not) the low expectations. Some like the authority. Some like people, in particular kids (and I'm not talking about in the Epstein/Biden way).
Where I live teachers after 10 years on the job make decent money and even from the beginning have about 3 months off in total. And honestly, 3 months off alone is enough to get people to forego extra cash and I get why. Who cares if you have more money if you struggle to find time to spend it on vacation, relaxation, family, etc.
Some of us just found out that they liked teaching their subject. My job prospects were: 1. working at my uncle's law firm and passing the bar (uh, no; I loved my uncle; he was a great lawyer...but I didn't want to work for him); 2. working at an alphabet agency (again, no; other relatives have worked for those..and, no); 3. keep working at the newspaper (oh, hell no); 4. teaching -- and I really liked it because I got to delve into and share the intellectual things I love the most -- grammar/language formation and literature/writing.
Because I've worked both public and private schools and the college, I never got summers off; and while the pay was decent, because I was always adjunct faculty it was never great...but, I got to do what I like to do and had access to resources about the intellectual topic I loved the most, so it was worth it for me. We all have our own motivations in life that we're willing to trade off other things to get. Just allow me to study the origins and evolution of Indo-European languages, and I'm a happy camper.
This comment really spoke to me. I have a linguistics degree (and similar passions as yourself) but a hesitation of teaching because of the political atmosphere. I had wanted to keep going in university and eventually get a doctorate but since becoming more conservative I find i want to stick around my home, have a family, and be a part of my community and teaching seems to be an ideal choice for that (just as long as we can maintain our hobbies). But it is hard to stomach these changes to official school policy as if they're fact that we have all agrees upon. And i know where i live teachers can lose their jobs for wrongthink.
I experienced this when attending undergraduate math classes shared with the education students. The difference in intelligence between the math and education students was day and night. They might be good with young kids, but I wouldn't trust them with any higher-level reasoning.
Problem is people are just stupid. I know quite a few people who know TERRIBLE teachers that they even personally had and I've always pointed out how big unions suck because they stop these terrible people from getting fired... they ignore it completely.
I've known teachers to be drunk and high at school, get caught, and they still just went on temporary leave at most.
1 teacher dated a student (and later on they got married). Their dating was known at the time, the teacher was "suspended" for awhile (he was just moved to the nearest other school, then moved back when the student's grade graduated).
I've known STEM teachers who couldn't speak English and their class averages were close to 50, one of them actually getting a class average below that. Now yes, the classes should be doing better even without understanding the teachers (textbooks are actually better than teachers for learning) - but teachers who can't string a full sentence in English should not be teaching science and math courses in a fucking English speaking nation!
A lot of people's fall back plan for a career is teaching.
That being said, some people do it for very different reasons. Some want the lenient hours. Some like (whether they realize or not) the low expectations. Some like the authority. Some like people, in particular kids (and I'm not talking about in the Epstein/Biden way).
Where I live teachers after 10 years on the job make decent money and even from the beginning have about 3 months off in total. And honestly, 3 months off alone is enough to get people to forego extra cash and I get why. Who cares if you have more money if you struggle to find time to spend it on vacation, relaxation, family, etc.
Some of us just found out that they liked teaching their subject. My job prospects were: 1. working at my uncle's law firm and passing the bar (uh, no; I loved my uncle; he was a great lawyer...but I didn't want to work for him); 2. working at an alphabet agency (again, no; other relatives have worked for those..and, no); 3. keep working at the newspaper (oh, hell no); 4. teaching -- and I really liked it because I got to delve into and share the intellectual things I love the most -- grammar/language formation and literature/writing.
Because I've worked both public and private schools and the college, I never got summers off; and while the pay was decent, because I was always adjunct faculty it was never great...but, I got to do what I like to do and had access to resources about the intellectual topic I loved the most, so it was worth it for me. We all have our own motivations in life that we're willing to trade off other things to get. Just allow me to study the origins and evolution of Indo-European languages, and I'm a happy camper.
This comment really spoke to me. I have a linguistics degree (and similar passions as yourself) but a hesitation of teaching because of the political atmosphere. I had wanted to keep going in university and eventually get a doctorate but since becoming more conservative I find i want to stick around my home, have a family, and be a part of my community and teaching seems to be an ideal choice for that (just as long as we can maintain our hobbies). But it is hard to stomach these changes to official school policy as if they're fact that we have all agrees upon. And i know where i live teachers can lose their jobs for wrongthink.
I experienced this when attending undergraduate math classes shared with the education students. The difference in intelligence between the math and education students was day and night. They might be good with young kids, but I wouldn't trust them with any higher-level reasoning.