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Hey Im a senior in High School out here in a dead end small town out in southern colorado. Last may i took a trip to NYC and New Haven and lets just say it changed my life.
Im planning on being a public high school teacher (a french/english teacher to be precise) and call me crazy but Ive really got my eyes set of NYC ))
My friend who used to attend Bayyone High School thinks Im out of my mind (a guy was shot by a gang member there a few years back) but how bad could it really be?
Id really love to hear from people whove been thru or are in it FIRST HAND and also some horror story rumors too but mainly first hand testimonies
Also keep in mind that the town i live is not the yuppiest of places (or schools for that matter) so Im not out expecting perfection
Bayonne is not New York, but sh*t happens everywhere
Hello,
You want horror stories, rumors? What for? You're moving to New York City to teach in a public school? Fine. You mention Bayonne which is in New Jersey and was famous for those 1997 violent incidents but it is now a safe school. New Jersey is not New York, but our public schools are mostly bad, highly segregated and failing. If you come here to teach you'll do it for love- teachers earn low salaries and can't barely live in Manhattan.
But I don't work in a school anyway so let's see if a professional steps in and tells you those silly horror stories and rumors you crave.
I'm not saying Bayonne is better than New York. I haven't said that. New Jersey will never be better than New York. Never ever.
What I said is that Bayonne is not in New York so don't look at Bayonne if you´re moving to New York. But schools in New York City are bad anyway.
Think about it twice or three times before moving to New York to teach in our public schools. But if you do come here and you´re a good teacher and willing to take a lot a crap from unruly students for a low salary and a long commute because you can´t afford Manhattan, thank you and bless you.
Teaching anywhere takes a certain kind of fortitude, but teaching in the public school system in metropolitan areas takes passion, fortitude and a dedication that enables one to overlook the impossible. Sort of like a Don Quixote.
My daughter, a resilient person, taught for 2 years in the South Bronx, under the Teach for America program, and later taught Science in a Manhattan High School. I can't ever remember her crying as much or as despondent. No matter how hard she tried, and she went the limit, the system couldn't support her enthusiasm or efforts.
Ultimately, she left teaching, took a leave in SA, thought about her choices, returned for a graduate degree and is much better off.
And although she had a miserable experience, I still believe qualified, motivated teachers are what we need in our public system--now, how do we get the system to support the teacher, the teacher to support the child, the child to be supported by his/her parents, the parents to support education....oh, dear, I've lost it!
How about a change if public school policy--for the good!
what about New Jersey? In fact what about ANYWHERE on the east coast? I mean there has got to be one place on the east coast where teaching would be a sane option rite?
Sure. You want the segregated failing schools of Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Baltimore or Boston? Maybe rural Maine is fine. But why don't you stay in Southern Colorado anyway? I don't think you're actually planning to move to the East Coast, to be honest.
I dont like southern colorado and its not all that yuppy here either so u know
and I was talking about smaller scaled areas NOT DC Baltimore NYC or Boston. seriously a teacher at my school used to live in NJ and told me it actually isnt too different from my school and even my friend from Bayonne said it was pretty much what we got going on in the french 1 class I aid/sub for. and honestly guys I can totally handle that! u just gotta know how to deal with the kids and I am a passionate and I suppose a little crazy when it comes to French and my love for public school. that french 1 class that my teacher despises and all the subs cant handle get on just fine with me. so to be honest i think i can handle whatever is over there on the East
If we don't try to fix it, we are going to have one uneducated population. As it is now, fewer people speak or write English with any clarity, know maths, or even some of the less necessary, but spirited courses I took in school--like social studies, geography, among others. It saddens me
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhattan-ite
I wonder whether it is too late to fix our monumentally-broke-and-permanently-in-crisis public school system.
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)) 
Bayonne is not New York, but sh*t happens everywhere
I mean there has got to be one place on the east coast where teaching would be a sane option rite?
