‘A classroom’
courtesy of ‘Ryan Stanton’
So the times are bad. You’re on furlough, you have to pay for all your health insurance, and you know at least three people who have been laid off. I’ve been there (the laid off part, too, thank God that’s over!) and I know what it is like to be faced with the question of – well, what are my options?
Going back to school is on the rise, higher ed enrollment skyrockets in economic downturns. But I’ve got an ex-coworker who is looking at going back to school in a different way – as a teacher. I considered this option myself when I got laid off from my job in 2008 – DC Public Schools runs a teaching fellows program that I thought about doing. I wound up going another route, more for other reasons than I was scared off by DCPS itself, but that thought DID cross my mind.
My ex-coworker is mulling the DCPS teaching fellows too, but is understandably apprehensive. Given DCPS’s track record for keeping teachers and staff support, it’s scary to take the jump. Then again, if you don’t try, you’ll never know. No matter what you think of her, Rhee is on the warpath to closing the achievement gap. The public schools SO need people who want to teach, who are passionate to teach, and who are ready to take on the challenge of even the most unmotivated student. Plus, my ex-coworker admits the salary is more than she makes now.
So what do you think? If you were faced with a chosen (or forced) career change in these economic times, would you be a DCPS teaching fellow?
