School Board Teacher Career Guide and Counseling

Question: If I become a teacher in the state of Florida, will the school board pay for my graduate degree? I was told that once I receive my bachelors degree I can start working as a teacher in the state of Florida and the School Board will pay my tuition for whatever graduate degree I choose. Is that accurate?

Answer: nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…

Question: Should I sue my son's school, teacher, and/or the school board? What would you do? Twice, my 12 year old son's art teacher gave him a fish oil pill and hot sauce to dip it in - the teacher said he usually dips it in hot sauce when he takes it. Two vice principals and the principal were notified, other teachers at the school were notified, the board of education was notified, and nothing was done. No one investigated other than for asking the teacher if he did it, which of course he denied - on 4 separate occasions. This has been going on since January. Finally, after telling the school board I have been speaking to an attorney about their failure to investigate this incident, today I received a call saying they have talked to other students who were in the classroom and that my son's allegation has been validated - the teacher did in fact give fish oil pills and hot sauce to my son as well as other kids in the class. On the flipside of this, after the fish oil incident occurred, my son (who loves to make experiments) found some old amoxicillin capsules - one of which was leaking powder - and decided to make the rest of them leak powder. He emptied the capsules into a baggie and poked holes in it - kept flicking it to make smoke. He took his "new toy" to school and when a boy saw him playing with it, he accused my son of having drugs - that boy and his friend went to the office and said my son tried to sell it to them. My son was then suspended from school for 10 days, sentenced to a drug and alcohol class of 6 hours, expelled from the school, and they are now pressing charges against him as a misdemeanor which could land him 6 mos to a year in a juvenile detention center - with no proof of him doing anything other than making a toy out of the amoxicillin powder. What do you think I should do? I do have an attorney who is fighting the part about my son's misdemeanor - but what should I do about the school and the teacher and the board of education about the whole fish oil pill? Should I let it go or should I press further action now that other students have validated what my son has been saying for the last 3 - almost 4 months! No explanation has been given as to why. Apparently the teacher takes them himself - had them sitting on his desk and a student asked him what they were. He told her what they were and asked if she wanted one and then others asked if they could have them as well and he passed them out to anyone who wanted them. And believe me.... he will not be going back to that school!

Answer: Sue them, and then consider having your son switch schools. That must be so awful for him to go through, and equally as awful for you as the parent.

Question: What is a day in the life of an Elementary School Teacher like? A few months ago I made a career change and decided to become a teacher. I currently teach an after school program. The thing is, this position isn't really letting me know what it's like to be an elementary school teacher in the school board. I have many questions: 1. Besides teaching your specific grade, are you also required to do extracurricular activities with children after school? Such as drama club, etc.? 2. Are you required to do fundraising for your school? 3. Are you required to put on events like school plays, etc.? 4. Must part of your day be in the school library or cafeteria for a school period? 5. Are there enough free periods to grade papers and lesson plan while students are at other class periods like gym, art, computers, etc.? What I really want to know is, besides your actual classes, what else happens or is expected of you as a teacher throughout the day or year? Answers from teachers in the school board and who teach elementary will be most helpful.

Answer: 1. We are not required to do extracurricular activities, but it certainly provides a sense of fulfillment (and looks good to administration). 2. Teachers are required to allow their students' families to participate in PTO fundraising events. We're generally required to attend fundraising events (like fall festivals) unless we've got a good excuse. 3. We're not required to put on events, but again, it looks good to administration and provides the community a chance to see what's going on in school. 4. That depends on the school. At my school, we're not required to sign our students up for scheduled library time, but a good teacher makes sure students have the opportunity to access library books on a regular basis. I have to take my students to lunch and stay with them during the lunch period. It's only considered a break in that I can eat lunch with other teachers. 5. I have 45 minutes of planning each day. It's never enough. I rarely, if ever, actually plan during this time. It's basically my time to pee, check school email, clean up from the morning, and get ready for the afternoon. SOMETIMES I get a chance to grade papers. This is also the time that various required meetings are scheduled. My actual planning is usually done on Sunday evenings. I plan for the week and make adjustments throughout the week as needed. I share an assistant with 4 other teachers. I use her during my Reading class. Depending on what grade you teach and where you teach, your assistant situation will differ. The younger grades (K-2) usually have their own assistants or only share with one other teacher. Sometimes the upper grades (5,6) will have to share an assistant, which makes it virtually impossible for them to use the assistant with students. They often just use assistants for clerical work. Most schools require each teacher to have some sort of duty- monitoring students in the morning before they go to class, assisting with buses in the morning and afternoon, or helping with car riders. At my school we only have this duty once a week, and it generally lasts for 10-15 minutes. We're also all on some sort of committee that usually meets once a month after school. It's not difficult, and it's not too time-consuming, but a lot of times it feels like a waste of time. The part of my job that I dislike the most would have to be paperwork. It's hard to remember all of the little (but somehow important) things I have to turn in to someone. Being organized is not my strong suit, so without a calendar and constant access to my school email, I'd be screwed. Overall though, it's really not that bad. If you like working with kids and you like teaching (and in the process learning yourself), then elementary teaching is a great career.

Question: is it okay my modern history teacher to wear board shorts to school? my modern history teacher natasha clark has been wearing board shorts to school for quite some time. are teachers allowed to wear this???

Answer: If it wasn't, she wouldn't be wearing them! Every school has different norms and rules. some give teachers a dress code, some don't. I'm pretty sure your teacher wouldn't be thrilled to be named here - it is a violation of her privacy and wasn't necessary to get an answer to your question.

Question: Can a school board disallow teachers from working at the school if they are shacked up with a boyfriend? Or as it used to be called, living in sin?

Answer: They certainly can and should suspend and fire the teacher. The teacher is an adult by definition and the student is a minor. In addition the teacher may be using her position in an unfair manner./

Question: Can a teacher sue parents/school board for being falsely accused of doing drugs in the class. Suspended w/pay?

Answer: Yes. It is called slander, or defamation. If the statement was made by a person who knew it was false (either intentionally, or negligently) and communicated it to a third party, and the teacher was damaged as a result, the teacher can sue the person who made the statement or whoever republishes (i.e. re-communicated) the statement. *This is just general discussion. For legal advice, consult an attorney licensed in the proper jurisdiction.

Question: Why do non teachers run for school board? Here in LA County, we have people running for school board who are not teachers. How in the world would they know about running a classroom and the challenges teachers deal with each day? Oh I see, If you have a son or daughter in school then you are a qualified candidate. I'm perplexed...... We can't forget that some teachers were once in the workforce as bankers,managers of some financial company,politicians before they were in education. So many do have experience and qualifications to make decesions concerning educational policies. Teachers are exceptional beings with exceptional knowledge and background experiences. But most are unaware of this since we assume that a teacher is just a teacher.

Answer: I'll take a shot at this one....I am a high school teacher, so I have a little experience about what type of parents want to run for school board. These are the parents who think their children have been "cheated" somewhere along the way by the educational system. These parents know how to run a school (that is what they have convinced themselves!!) better than the administrators and teachers there. Their time on the board (if elected) usually lasts only one term. Hopefully they will come out of the experience knowing how tough it really is to run a school, dealing with kids, and of course, dealing with parents. For parents, dealing with one, two, or three teens at home is so different from dealing with 35 in a small classroom!! In my 12 years of teaching, the best school board members are those who have retired from the educational system. They still know what its like in the classroom and what schools need in order to be successful.

Question: Do children of school teachers and school board members get preferential treatment over other students? I see this especially in the area of athletics. The teachers kids seem to always "make the team". This happens even if another student is better.

Answer: Well, this is a difficult question to answer as it really depends on the situation and the place. While there may be some examples of preferential treatment, it is generally not the rule. School boards are usually very vigilant in making sure that teachers and schools treat them the same as other students. Of course, there are always exceptions as you cannot change people's own opinions and unconscious behaviour towards particular pupils. As for my personal experience, it is sometimes harder to be the child of a teacher, often times they expect more from you academically and athletically. Other teachers and board members seem to think that your ability and behaviour is the same as your parent. It would be the same if your father or mother were a professional athlete. Often times children are held to the same standard as their parents regardless of whether they perform to that standard or not.

Question: Can teachers run for school board? Can teachers legally run for the school board that oversees the school they work in? I can definitely see the conflict of interest here but it seems like such a shame that they wouldn't be allowed to.

Answer: You probably need to check with your local school board. Every county has its own laws. But I don't think they should. Either be a teacher or be a politician. Not both.

Question: How do I become a teacher at a boarding school? I’ve been thinking about teaching English or writing at a boarding school. What do you think? Do you know anything about it? Do you know any website that offers jobs like that?

Answer: Most faculty at boarding schools also coach a sport and/or serve as a dorm master. It's a busy life! On the plus side, the school year is short, and your room and board are paid by the school. Jobs are posted on many boarding school web sites. You can also look here http://www.nais.org/ and here http://www.boardingschools.com/jobbank/s…