Teaching offers midcareer opportunity

By Anita Bruzzese
Gannett News Service

You're at the midway point of your career, and you're feeling restless. What is the point of filling out another report, attending another meeting and schmoozing the same people year after year? What you would like to do, you believe, is have a job with meaning.

Some people prefer to work with older students; others, like Rosary Bolanos of Cleveland, would rather work at the elementary-school level. Advertiser library photo • Nov. 9, 1998

You may initially scoff at the idea. After all, you're well established in your life and your job, and teaching would throw all of that into another dimension.

Exactly.

While the rising enrollment experienced in the past decade is expected to wane, the number of new teachers also is expected to drop dramatically, with only a 5 percent increase projected through 2013. School systems will be looking for qualified candidates, and according to the National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse (www.rnt.org), the curriculum areas most in demand will be special education, mathematics, science, bilingual education, and English as a second language.

So why would you want to teach?

The answer, to teachers, is obvious. Just ask any one of them about the sense of fulfillment they get, the contribution they make each day by molding the nation's youth with knowledge and challenge. It's a chance to share your knowledge, your real-world experience and your maturity with young people often hungry for such input. At the same time, many who teach talk about what a wonderful opportunity it is to "give back" to a community or society.

But what does becoming a teacher entail? Do you have what it takes to be a worthwhile teacher? Can you accept a possible salary cut? (The average annual salary is about $42,000.) The answer may only come when you do some homework. The National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse recommends:

• Checking out your state's online education department's Web site for further details on teacher requirements and procedures.

• Finding out whether there are alternative route programs for midcareer changers in your state. Almost all states (46 of 50) offer some type of alternative to going back to college and majoring in education in order to become a teacher. Consult the directory of State Departments of Education or the National Center for Education Information (www.ncei.com) about options.

• Requesting a licensure/certification information packet from your state department. It should include information about licensing requirements, alternative certification programs, scheduling of tests and financial-aid sources.

• Visiting the Educational Testing Service Web site (www.ets.org) to find out what tests your state requires, and what tutoring is available.

• Thinking about what kind of program you would like to take. A program with night and weekend classes? One with a lot of real classroom time?

• Contacting universities and colleges in your area to find out if they offer any programs or special services for midcareer changers. Do they offer incentives, financial aid, or credit for work experience?

• Researching salaries in states where you would like to teach. Check out The American Federation of Teachers (www.aft.org) for more information.

• Considering becoming a teacher's aide so that you can learn firsthand from a qualified full-time teacher how the system works. Or, you may want to volunteer for a semester to get a feel for teaching.

• Researching what makes a "good" teacher, and what kind of job may best suit your skills and personality. Some midcareer changers prefer to work with more mature students about real-life situations, while others may only want to work on the elementary-school level.

• Inquiring about support systems for new teachers available in school districts that interest you.