Working vs. Stay at home mom

[cararolen]

Thanks again everyone - if I come to a life altering realization, I will definitely provide an update

Have a great weekend!

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I will not disagree with anything else you’ve said, but I think this is a very inaccurate and unfair description of elementary teacher training, at least in my state. If you are degrees in a discipline such as math, science, or English lit, a basic teacher-training course may enable you to teach at the middle- or high-school level but certainly not in the primary grades.

DD took four years of education courses, then did two six-week practica under close supervision and then a complete semester practicum with an experienced teacher. When she began teaching, she had to work under the supervision of a master teacher for a full year. That’s a lot of education, supervision, and support, a far cry from what you described.

Perhaps in your state that abysmal training is all that an elementary teacher receives, but it is far from the norm in my area and those with which I am familiar.

My mother and sister are teachers as are most of my aunts. The difference in training is vast not just across state boundaries but it is generational as well. When the models moved away from classical education up to and until common core is when troubles started happening. My sister received a lesser education than my mother did and it showed. I recognize that a majority of teachers are not only proficient but rather quite adept at teaching. And in no way was my post a shot at anyone who chooses the profession. It is a wonderful job with wonderful people in it. But from district to district and state to state it varies. And I am sorry but there is no state that is exempt from this. Almost every state has an ability to even waive a college degree requirement for inner city or rural teaching areas.

My sister majored in theater and got a teaching degree from a college on the west coast where she “graded herself” My mother, majored in elem ed and has a masters. Both of them have their strengths. My mother (retired now) was an excellent teacher, but even with her schooling most of that came from decades of experience.
My sister, though energetic and caring, will be going back to modeling again next year because she does not like teaching. This was her second stint in the business of education.
My original point was not to start a war with teachers, but rather to point out that parents who think that they need some sort of spectacular training and education to teach a curriculum do not. Because if you were to move into a new neighborhood and your kid started school next fall, it very well could be to a 30 year teacher who knows how to educate, or it could be to a 30 year teacher who is just waiting to retire, or it could be to an excellent energetic first year teacher, or a 23 year old “wooo hooo” girl who doesn’t know anything about kids except what whatever college she happened to go to has told her.

I love teachers, but there are some pretty good ones that are pretty dumb. No parent should feel like a teacher is intellectually better to educate a child than the actual parent.

Again, the state can feel that a 23 year old strait out of college with no major in the subjects being taught is good enough for 20-30 kids, I think caring parents can also make it work.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Thanks again everyone - if I come to a life altering realization, I will definitely provide an update

Have a great weekend!

Take your time! This is not something that needs to be permanent or immediate! Time and the ability to have options are on your side!

Good luck!

 

[DJgang]

Thanks again everyone - if I come to a life altering realization, I will definitely provide an update

Have a great weekend!

My children have been in our parish school and we homeschool. I worked part time in both occasions. I can honestly say the hardest on me was while they were in the parish school. I missed them and wanted to spend more time with them. In the end, our time at home in the evenings consisted of supper time and homework. An hour of homework every night, bless their hearts, they had been at school all day and just wanted to rest. In the end school just wasn’t for us. So we went back to homeschooling.

As for healthcare, look into alternatives and policies, this coming year changes are going to occur in the “company groups” sector, right now it’s hit mostly individual policies. Most should know their changes come October or so of this year. Premiums will go up and so will deductibles. Maybe without your job, you will qualify for subsidies and your prenium won’t be too bad.

Sounds like you need to just make some choices and the first one would be, homeschool. Husband on board with that? What do the kids think? Do you have friends that homeschool and can be of support… Do you have any support that might allow you to work part time if you wanted to? Just some things to think about. Don’t worry about teaching the kids, the curriculum out there is wonderful.

 

[gardenswithkids]

Take your time! This is not something that needs to be permanent or immediate! Time and the ability to have options are on your side!

Good luck!

I agree. If the op has some vacation days saved up, maybe she can use some to cut back her hours without quitting her job outright. My transition from full time working mom to SAHM and eventually homeschooling mom took years. I worked part time for several years. Eventually I stopped working. We didn’t start homeschooling until several years after that. If the op is serious about homeschooling, she might want to use some of her vacation days to try it for a little bit in the summer and see how it goes.