Why Not Teach Next?

By VALERIE MARCHANT

Pouring sprites at 31,000 feet when I'm 51 years old" was not what Alan Loper wanted to be doing in the winter of his working years. By age 33, he had already been a wrestling announcer, sportswriter and flight attendant. When Eastern Airlines closed, an event he later recognized as "a blessing in disguise," Loper sought a more meaningful career. He became first a classroom English teacher and later the head counselor at Chamblee High School, a magnet school outside Atlanta. He no longer has doubts about his present or his future. "When you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'I helped a young person be a better human being today,' that is a great reward," he says.

With all the hand wringing about education these days, it is heartening that at least some people are doing something about it. All over the U.S., thousands are leaving their business and professional jobs to become teachers. Career switchers are the fastest-growing group in teacher training today. More than half the students admitted to postbaccalaureate education programs are choosing teaching as a second career. At Chamblee, Loper is just one of more than a dozen teachers who have left other careers. Among his colleagues, there are an ex-paralegal, ex-talent agent, ex-chef, ex-engineer, ex-international banker and ex-Governor's aide. First Sergeant Terry Horton, 47, retired from the Army three years ago. Currently, instead of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or traveling with the Army drill team, he teaches the 160 boys and girls enrolled in Chamblee's Junior ROTC. "I have a great rapport with the kids," he says. "They respect me, and I respect them." And, he adds, "there is not a day that goes by when I do not feel blessed. I would not change this job for anything else."

It isn't hard to imagine the enjoyment and job satisfaction experienced by Loper and Horton and to see oneself teaching some fascinating subject. But in fact it's hard--often very hard--to become a teacher. So before you quit your present job, ask yourself some practical questions.

WOULD I MAKE A GOOD TEACHER?

Michael McKibbin, an administrator with California's teaching-standards board, knows what it takes. "If you have a foundation in your subject, if you really believe that all kids can learn and that you are responsible for their learning, the chances that you will be a good teacher are enormous," he says. But "if you are becoming a teacher so someone will love you," he warns, "find something else to do." Remember: this isn't about you.

It's also important to know whether you're comfortable in a modern school environment. Today's K-12 classrooms--where 3 million students are learning English as a new language, where 35% are minorities and 11% are challenged or impaired in some way--are probably not like those of your childhood. To help you find out if you suit the new classrooms, particularly those in inner cities, Martin Haberman, distinguished professor in the school of education at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, has developed an interview process that 50 school districts use to select effective teachers. You can take a written version of the test at home.

However you do on the test, experts advise that you spend time with children in various settings and get into the classroom, as a volunteer or an aide, meeting the kind of children you are likely to teach. Ellen Schechter, assistant commissioner of education in New Jersey, suggests you ask a school principal or superintendent if you can shadow a teacher for a couple of days, taking part in the life of the classroom. Linda Andryc, 44, a former Wall Street portfolio manager who is working toward her master's degree in education at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., recommends that "you keep asking yourself, 'Am I enjoying this? Can I picture myself in this setting?'" Alex Cutler, 42, a former lawyer and film producer, seriously considered becoming a teacher after he volunteered at his son's elementary school. But before committing, he wanted to be sure he would be happy spending every day in the classroom, so he got a temporary permit to work as a substitute. Despite the reputation of substitute teaching as one of the toughest ways to enter a school, Cutler enjoyed himself immensely. He went on to become a full-time teacher at John Marshall Middle School in Long Beach, Calif.

CAN I AFFORD MY FANTASY?

They may spend as much as 60 hours a week creating lesson plans, teaching, advising students, grading, supervising extracurricular activities and meeting with colleagues and parents, yet teachers may earn 25% to 40% less than other white-collar professionals. While Frederica Capshaw, 52, is thrilled to be teaching math in a Bronx, N.Y., school district, she is aware of the price she paid for leaving American Express in 1992. "It has taken me eight years," she reports, "to catch up to the $52,000 I was making as a financial planner."

The average starting salary for U.S. teachers is around $26,600; the average for public-school teachers, who are generally more highly paid than their private-school counterparts, is about $40,600. Averages are misleading, though, because some districts pay much higher salaries, even for novice teachers.

CAN I GET A JOB?

Judging by the numbers, yes. Over the next 10 years, about 760,000 current teachers will retire; during the next six, 3 million new students will enroll in the nation's schools. These figures suggest America will need to hire some 2.2 million new teachers in the coming decade. But don't assume there will be a job in your subject or in the region in which you want to teach. Even in such states as Texas, where there are shortages, it's hard to land a teaching job in some desirable districts, like Keller in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where more than 1,800 people applied for 150 openings in 1999.

Emily Feistritzer, president of the National Center for Education Information, believes the teacher shortage is overblown. "Before you enroll in any education program," she advises, "make sure there is a job on the other end. The first place to go is the school or district where you'd like to work, because they--not the state's department of education--are responsible for teacher hiring."

Your odds improve greatly if you plan to teach math, science or foreign languages or if you are an ESL (English as a second language), bilingual or special-education teacher. It will also help if you are a person of color or if you are applying to an inner-city or a rural school. Being older may actually be in your favor. The average age of U.S. teachers is 44, and 25% of them are over 50. Michael McKibbin, who sees many career changers in the California internships he supervises, recognizes that teachers need enormous energy and wisdom. "I always take guile and savvy over youth and exuberance," he says.

WHAT QUALIFICATIONS DO I NEED?

Each state has its own credentialing system and may have scores of certifications in different subjects. Many promising teachers give up in the face of numerous and sometimes baffling license requirements. Says the University of Missouri's Michael Podgursky: "I don't know of any other profession that has such a bewildering set of regulations, which lack coherence and have such complexity." Ken Gibson, a former geophysicist who teaches physics at Chamblee High, found the process of obtaining certification "demeaning." Though he has a bachelor's degree in physics, a master's in geophysics and plenty of engineering experience, he had to "jump through hoops," gaining certification only after two years of teaching and three years of education courses at various institutions.

To obtain a license, a teacher typically must have a bachelor's degree, an academic specialty or proven knowledge of a subject area; he or she must also have passed various teacher tests, taken pedagogy courses and done at least some teaching. If you have a bachelor's degree but have taken no education courses, you may, like a majority of career switchers, go for a master's in education. Fortunately, almost 30% of universities nationwide offer programs geared specifically toward second-career teachers.

If the graduate-school route seems too time consuming or expensive, you may be able to gain credentials by participating in a one- or two-year alternative program, available in 40 states--and well developed in about a dozen, including California, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico and Texas. Some 125,000 new teachers have been certified this way--24,000 of them just in the past two years.

These alternative programs, which in California, for example, range in cost from $500 to $16,000, usually begin with workshops or classes in basic teacher-survival skills. Next comes teaching in a paid, supervised internship while you continue your education course work, mostly on weeknights. You will be evaluated by your principal and guided by a mentor, who helps you meet the many challenges you will encounter in your first year. You may also be expected to keep up on developments in the subject you will be teaching.

You may not be able to find such an alternative program in your area, but some schools in some states will hire you anyway, issuing an emergency or provisional certificate until you can fulfill all the state's requirements.

"There are loopholes whereby you can get hired in many districts where there are real shortages," explains Robert Dale Ballou, a University of Massachusetts economist who focuses on the teaching profession. "The unions and the schools of education don't like the loopholes, but they exist because districts need teachers." In New York City, for example, more than 10% of teachers work without a standard license.

If you choose not to become certified at all, you might find a job at a religious or an independent private school or at a charter school, as many do not require certification. "Compensating for the lower pay they offer," says Podgursky, "is the fact that teachers, who rate them more highly than public schools, have more control and influence on the curriculum."

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN CLASS?

All teachers, whatever their age or background, often have to cope with lack of support from administrators or parents, too many meetings, excessive bureaucracy and the nearly ubiquitous social ills--drugs, parental abuse or neglect--that harm children and hamper learning. Adjusting to the environment of a school and learning to balance all the demands, says Long Beach teacher Cutler, can take three-to-five years. "You have to be prepared for that learning curve."

Despite the obstacles, those who have made the leap say there are few professions more rewarding than teaching. Cutler doubted he would ever find satisfying work in his first career, although he "traveled all over the world, made lots of money, had lots of status." As an eighth-grade history teacher today, he can say, "I never loved doing anything as much as I do now. When I talk about my students, it brings tears to my eyes." And satisfaction to his heart.