I'm a freshman in college in the United States and my current goal/plan/ambition is to become a high school history teacher. Is this a terrible idea? Are there any teachers etc. who can give me any insight/advice?
>>272938
self bumping
unfortunately i have no relevant images so have this mediocre shit instead
HS kids are pieces of shit
With your sights aimed so low you'll be sure to succeed :^)
>>273013
i know, i was one until like a year ago
>>273031
well i'm on 4chan on a friday afternoon so i mean
Im a hs history teacher. Ask and ye shall receive. Ill be able to respond more in the evening since i am in school right now. Ps it is lunch time so that is why i am on 4chan.
You will find that your passion for history is going to be expressed very rarely in thr classroom. You can lecture with enthusiasm to entice the students or bring up controversial topics like why do most textbooks suck through text analysis. That is about the only fun with teaching history that you will have. American education system is a mess right now and succumbs to the wants of students and their parents rather than visa versa. There are a few students thata re legit interested in the subject and will want to chat with you outside of classtime about it which is great, but they are few and far between. You will find yourself upset more than pleased but that comes with managing 30-40 teenagers in a room. Pay and benefitd are great plus you have the most vacation time than any other public domain job. Many history teachers use their time off to travel.
I can answer more questions if you have any.
>>273063
The pay is great? Do you work at a private school and around where do you live if you don't mind
>>272938
Tbh what I did was get my degree in history, then pursue the alternative certification to teach. A degree in education wouldn't be as fun if you're really passionate about history, but it'll prepare you more for the general populace of highschool which makes it worth it's weight in gold. It'd be better to get an education degree and a minor in history.
Tldr; history degree is fun, education degree is a lot more helpful
>>272938
>become a high school history teacher
Why do you hate yourself? You're still young. Choose life. Choose to live.
Not the OP, but also interested in this. That, or an elementary school history teacher. At a private school, hopefully a progressive one where I can hopefully have more control over the curriculum, and where there's sure to be brilliant kids.
I don't really see the point of being a teacher if you don't have some desire to teach kids that aren't already very intellectually engaged. You want to be a teacher to get kids who might not be inspired to do great things to do so, not to teach kids that are already very interested in what you have to teach and are basically on their way to success.
But I hear so many stories of teachers that just can't deal with the thickheadedness of students and prefer to teach at a private school where there are brilliant students, rather than try and do the more rewarding route of teaching more "normal" students. When I say thickheaded students, I really mean "normal" students, and not seriously difficult kids with criminal backgrounds or emotional disturbances, I can fully understand why people wouldn't want to go through that.
>majoring in history
This is /his/'s official epick meme
>PhD in History
>45k starting
>any 5 year old Honda Civic I want
I would strongly caution against it but I admit that I don't even vaguely understand the motivations behind someone who would want to be one.
Fuck, even teaching college kids would be bad enough.
OP here, thanks for the feedback. Couldnt respond because my uni's fucking power just gave out for like two hours. I think my motivation/desire is because i think history is interesting and I like studying it, and because I had some dope history teachers when i was in school. Plus the vacations are nice. But I'm not set on it yet.
>>272938
Just got my BA in History this year, working on my teaching certification now. I still have no idea whether or not I'll regret this, and I decided I wanted to be a history teacher when I was a college freshman. Take the time you have now as an opportunity to consider if there's anything else that interests you enough to earn a degree and make a career in. If you're sure that's teaching history, then do it, but first you need to assess if it'll be worth the sacrifices you'll be making.
>>273193
It isn't rewarding at all. It'll be day after day of shit. Private school kids are just btter in every way.
Teachers don't really have the capability of taking average kids and making them into book lovers. The kids will probably just treat you like shit, the parents will treat you like shit or ignore the fact that they have a meeting because little Johnny never comes to class.
Don't be a fool.
do archaeology instead
In the same vein, what jobs are there for history majors besides high school teacher/college professor? Not a history major nor am I planning to be, just curious.
>>273408
Yeah, I'm mostly interested in teaching at a private school, I was just weighing the pros and cons of private vs public.
>>273438
People always say to work at a museum, but not everywhere has museums relevant to people's area of interest. It's kind of pointless to work at a museum if your subject is say, ancient history or WW2, and the only museums around are Revolutionary War or local history museums.
>>273214
Doesn't sound too bad desu senpai.
What is the hiring rate at private schools? Is it hard for a freshly graduated kid to get a job there?
>>273214
Research? How hard is to get work on a research once you have a PhD?
>>273080
The pay will get your needs taken care of and schools will encourage you to get an ma which means higher pay scale. Most pay scales have you going up a tier every year until you lock in, but you can always take classes over the summer to have your pay increase into a new bracket. Basically you are paid more each year and for what degrees and credits you hold.
I work at a public school. Privates tend to pay less and have their own refulations on tenure and whatnot.
I work in california.
>>274771
OP lives in connecticut btw
