(08-18-2013 06:14 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I might also add that knowing how to manage a history classroom of forty 8th graders six times a day can go a long way in giving you common sense on how to run a museum - which is basically an educational institution.

Wow, that class size is almost scary. I taught 8th grade for 28 years and also had 6 classes a day. Over the years I averaged about 32 per class, with a top of 39 one year. I found 39 to be difficult, to say the least. The only advantage that year was that (for once) I had enough students to make a decent-sized jury during my mock trial unit. The smallest class I ever had was 23; that made the mock trial near impossible as so many students had to play multiple roles.

The Washington, D.C. suburbs experienced a huge boom in babies in the 1950s as well as a huge boom in development. Farmland in Prince George's County started being sold to developers, so one family per 300 acres became 300 families on one-acre lots - or even higher density.

I began teaching in 1965 as the boom hit the educational system. Our schools took a beating and couldn't build new schools fast enough. At the same time, we were going through desegregation and busing in order to meet federal guidelines. Even my remedial classes were 30-35 kids. I truly had my baptism under fire.

Laurie, it would be a huge honor to apply for your position when you retire. Thank you for the recommendation and the advice on taking a few Museum Studies courses. I am actually taking one this semester. I will definitely apply for the job when the time comes.

(08-19-2013 12:10 PM)KateH. Wrote:  Laurie, it would be a huge honor to apply for your position when you retire. Thank you for the recommendation and the advice on taking a few Museum Studies courses. I am actually taking one this semester. I will definitely apply for the job when the time comes.

Hi all, been absent from the forum most of the summer but now work has slowed down...

Speaking of Museum Studies...anyone know of a school or organization that offers an online course?

Matt, be prepared for anything in student teaching and remember you're the expert in everything compared to the students. First thing I taught as a student teacher was welding. Had never welded anything in my life. The teacher gave me a 15-minute lesson and said 'now you know 15 times what they know.' Also taught math (my least favorite topic) and totally unprepared for that experience--but I knew more than they knew. I had to teach the cow's reproduction system with instructions from the teacher to do what I could to impart a "real-life application" that would help bring the school's pregnancy rate down. My most vivid memory though was the sophomore who was so proud his daddy was buying him a pulpwood truck so he could drop out of school. Thirty years later I had to turn that man down for a job because he didn't have the requisite high school diploma.

I was already working at the police department when I finished up my agricultural science education degree. I decided facing bad guys on the streets was preferable to 30 8th graders in the classroom.