As part of my research project, I interviewed two teachers who are already practicing the profession. My first interviewee was Emma Mansour who is a 2nd grade teacher. Emma attended college the following fall after graduating from high school. Upon completing her college level education which took her four years and three months, she graduated with a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education. After graduating she took a year off in order to settle down in marriage first before finding a job placement. She started off as a kindergarten assistant and after a year moved to grade two.
When asked about her starting salary as a BA teacher, Emma said that it was close to 50,000 a year. She went on to say that she’s heard that those with a Masters degree earn a salary that is above 70,000 and those with experience and PHD degree earn double her salary. I went on to ask her about other career choices within the degree that she has and her response was that they include preschooler teacher, childcare centre director and anything that revolves around children.
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Emma’s response to the question on the availability of Chicago teaching jobs, she said that they are not hard to find. However, she said that one needs to know what he/she is looking for even before looking for one. About the jobs available in this field, the interviewee cited examples of special education, kindergarten, 1 st grade and 2 nd grade before reaching the 3 rd grade. In response to the question on working in teams, the interviewee said that sometimes and happens and at other times it does not. She went on to explain that they work in teams when making lesson plans, when formulating strategies and when discussing the weaknesses and strengths that they come across. She added that when it comes to going to the classroom, there is no team work since each teacher has to deal with his/her own students.
About workshops, the interviewee stated that she attends workshops every Wednesday. She stated that she has attended workshops on classroom management and a trusting workshop. The interviewee stated that she feels like more of a leader in her career because all the children in her class hang on her words. In addition, she stated that she feels respected and she is shown her worth. Emma stated that being cheerful, hardworking and appreciating small victories are the right mindsets in this field. Finally on her responsibilities, her responsibilities as she stated them include making lesson plans, modifying lesson plans, ensuring safety for the children, grading, and assessments, respecting families and children and being available for all children. She added that she was willing to do them all.
My other interviewee was Lina Dajani who is a kindergarten teacher. Lina took four years at the University of Illinois to get her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. From the interview, Lina got a job placement which was for a temporary leave six months after graduating. After the teacher who was on leave returned, they hired her on a permanent basis. The interviewee’s starting salary was 45,000 a year. Those in advanced levels earn 70,000 and added benefits. About career choices, she said that she can teach any elementary grade. The interviewee feels that Chicago teaching jobs are not hard to find. According to her, all one needs to know is what he/she wants beforehand.
When asked about working in teams, Lina said that they work in grade level teams when planning lessons, workshops and tier strategies. The interviewee further stated that she attends workshops on class management. Lina feels that she is a leader in her career because her students always look up to her for guidance. Responding to the question on respect, Lina said that she feels respected in her career. According to Lina, the right mindset in this field is patience with the kindergarten students.
From the two interviewees, Chicago teaching jobs are readily available and this shows that there are openings. In addition, both interviewees feel that they are respected; they work in teams and they attend workshops on class management. Furthermore, both interviewees feel that they are leaders in their careers. However, the starting salaries of the two interviewees differ. This could because of the fact that the grades they teach in different schools that vary in payments. The interviewees have a variety of what they think about the right mindset in this field but they are all student centered.
From the interviews, it is evident that the nature of the work to be done in this field revolves around children. The nature of work in this field involves developing lesson plans, teaching the plans developed to the students in class, follow up on student progress, develop tests, create merit, ensure safety of the students, manage classrooms, develop and reinforce class rules and regulations, inform parents on student progress and any other duties that revolve around students while in school (Edlin & Frelin, 2013). In addition, the nature of this work also involves parents because there are those responsibilities that are shared by both (Alisauskiene & Kairiene, 2016). Currently, there are job openings for elementary teachers assistants in Chicago public schools, special needs teacher and title 1 teacher at Catapult learning, just to name a few. Job openings for teachers in the future are likely to increase because of the increasing needs in the field of education (Jones & Roberts). Therefore, it is important that teachers advance in their education levels so that they increase their chances for job openings in the future and an increase in salary too. As seen from the interview, those with higher education levels have higher salaries.
References
Edling, S., & Frelin, A. (2013). Doing good? Interpreting teachers’ given and felt responsibilities for pupils’ well-being in an age of measurement. Teachers and Teaching, 19 (4), 419-432. doi:10.1080/13540602.2013.770234
Alisauskiene, S., & Kairiene, D. (2016). Shared Responsibilities Of Parents And Teachers In Inclusive Early Childhood Education. EDULEARN16 Proceedings . doi:10.21125/edulearn.2016.0875
Jones, L., & Roberts, J. (2016). Portfolios that improve your teaching practice and career prospects. Set: Research Information for Teachers, (2). doi:10.18296/set.0044
