Becoming a teacher

[weinbergmath]

Hi,

I was in the same place as you - I also studied mechanical engineering as an undergraduate, and loved it, but decided that I wasn't ready to either practice as an engineer or go on to graduate school quite yet. I opted for an alternative route to certification since I had no education credits, but really wanted to be in a classroom ASAP.

There are many programs out there - Teach for America being the most well known. Depending on where you live, you might be able to find a program that suits your objectives and qualifications. I joined the NYC Teaching Fellows program immediately after graduation in 2003. This involved spending that summer in intensive training, teaching summer school, and taking college courses to make up education credits. I had my own classroom in an NYC public school by September.

It was a lot of work, and involved a lot of late nights due to college classes after full days teaching, the trials of planning lessons, and the urge to do more and more for my students. I could not be happier with my choice to join this profession - others have already listed the reasons why it is so rewarding.

This is my first time writing on Chiefdelphi - I have read for a few years now, but remained silent. I had to speak up here because while deciding to teach is quite rewarding on its own, it also put me in a position to mentor the FRC team that had been started at my school the year before I got there. It is a perfect opportunity to share my enthusiasm for engineering with the students that I teach. I have met and worked with some amazing individuals through this - Wayne Penn and Gary Israel from #395, Mike Siegel from #375, and even getting to meet Dean Kamen (and be incredibly star-struck in front of my students in the process) at the NYC Regional in 2005. They have all inspired me to push myself to be more and more immersed in the FIRST message and do whatever it takes to spread it everywhere. I had the honor of bringing my team home to the Buckeye regional (I grew up East of Cleveland) this past year. It made me realize how much FIRST has changed my life. If I hadn't entered the teaching profession, I might not have made this realization, or met the amazing people and students that I have met over the past few years.

The most amazing experience is sitting down with my students and working WITH them on tasks, particularly when I really don't know the exact way to do it. They get to see how I attack a problem, and then work with me to solve it. They see that I don't get the right answer the first time, and that this is perfectly OK, because I am still learning and always will be. I wasn't a member of an FRC team in high school or college, but I am having SO much fun, and I don't have to worry about graduating in four years.

My point is that anyone that is FIRST minded should consider teaching of one form or another. I have caught a very strong case of FIRST fever. I have come to believe that there is no better way to inspire students to join the FIRST cause than to be right alongside them in the classroom, reminding them to do their homework.

Enough of my sermon, enough procrastinating. It's time to plan my classes or tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

Evan