Does anyone have any experience with the Troops-To-Teachers program...

[SKKY]

...I retire from the Navy in 3 years am looking at Education as my 2nd career. TTT seems to be a pretty sweet deal, and I was wondering about the level of educators the program produces. If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

[msongs]

1. lots of stuff on google or other search engines nt

[MADem]

2. How far along are you in your educational process?

Do you have a BA? If not, get moving. Get as close to getting one as you can.

If you do have a BA, start figuring out what state you're going to be teaching in. Try to knock down a few of the required courses to get certified as a teacher.

Here--check this page: http://www.proudtoserveagain.com/

You can figure out where you're at by following the eligibility link and seeing what's what vis a vis your situation.

They'll pay you five grand to get your certs, and up to ten grand extra if you teach in a hellhole school with high need.

The quality of teacher will vary. The good ones, though, stay. Often the military teacher has a slight adjustment, but the qualities of stick-to-it-iveness, goal orientation, discipline, hard work, all of that stuff, gives the TTT teachers a leg up on their civilian counterparts.

[SKKY]

4. B.S. in Information Systems Management...

...will have a Master's in Information Assurance before retirement. I'm also fluent in Spanish, and would like to look at the possibility of teaching that as well. I know a lot about the program already. I was looking more at what other teachers thought about the program, and the quality of educators is produces.

[MADem]

7. You're an ideal candidate.

I have some friends who have done it.

Two took to it like a duck to water--love it. Still at it, after several years. One stayed in a disadvantaged school, another moved on up to a jazzy district with good wages, small class size, and so on. One just didn't like doing it, and did it for a payday.

It's really more about YOU than about "the program." Do you like helping people? Do you like seeing that light go on in a little punk's eye, where they "make the connection?" Do you have patience? Can you handle dealing with kids who can be real shits and not lose your cool?

The "program" produces people with the qualifications to teach. The desire to teach comes from within, though.

[Catshrink]

3. I don't have experience with the TTT program.

but... many education courses are bunk and many are very useful. I don't think throwing people into a classroom with no experience is fair to the teacher or the kids. They at least need to spend some time observing a veteran teacher to see how he/see manages the classroom and curriculum.

What I've found most valuable in my teaching is my content knowledge (both academically and in practice) and life experience. Teachers I've seen fresh out of education programs, with no other employment experience, work off theories. When those theories hit reality they don't know what to do. All the Harry Wong, Fred Jones, and Madeline Hunter methods need to be used when appropriate but modified to fit the situation. They aren't worthless as many claim but they don't fit every situation. Every classroom and every teacher is unique.

That said -- go for it. Teaching may not be what you expect it to be, just be open to what it is. You'll have days that are exhilarating and days that make you want to quit on the spot. You'll have admins that are awesome and admins that are total assholes. I've had many good days and many bad days. Fortunately, my admins have always been good to me and supportive -- for the most part. That's about as good as it can get.

About the salary... it sucks. But we know that going in.

[SKKY]

5. Yea, but I'm a Network Engineer with several years of network security...

...experience. I could have taken the money and ran years ago. I'm not in the Navy for the money, and I don't plan on teaching for the money. Good thing, huh:?

[Lasher]

6. Great idea!

My dad was in the Navy during WWII and got his teaching degree on the GI bill. He was an educator all the rest of his life, serving as teacher, principal, county superintendant, and school board president.

Thanks for your service.

:patriot:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. Its not the program, its what you put into it.

Arguably its an optimized path to make the most of the uniformed experience. Implicitly it also assume a level of maturity that is well in excess of your average fresh out of college/22yo student teacher. If you are interested, go for it. High school are dying for competent computer instructors.

I have heard whining from some that TTT grads are somehow not as well trained as the 22yo fresh outs. Turns out it was just code for concerns that they would be radical right wingers etc.

[SKKY]

9. I think it's reasonable to expect a higher level of maturity as opposed to an out-of-college...

...student/teacher. One thing that is a plus for me is that I can do all of my student teaching here at the DoDS high school. I can honestly retire and hit the ground running, which I'm excited about. Too much down time will make me lazy. And I think it's understandable to assume that someone coming out of the military would be right wing McCain did get about 70% of the military vote), although I don't know how many of the right wingers I know in the military would actually want to teach.

[earthside]

10. Think again.

If you want to contribute to real education and learning, think again about getting a traditional teachers' degree and certification and a traditional teaching job.

We don't need anymore "traditional" teachers.

We don't need anymore "traditional" schools.

Read John Gatto's "Underground History of American Education."

Find out about Montessori, Sudbury, Free schools (Summerhill), etc.

Watch the video at this DU 'Education Forum' post: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=219x12991

There is finally a growing revolutionary movement against the corporate, NCLB, school establishment that has perverted real learning in this country, especially since Reagan's 'Nation at Risk' was presented in 1983.

There is a reason that there is a teacher shortage: Teacher Retention a Critical National Problem, and it is not primarily because of perceived low wages. From the teachers I have talked to it is because of NCLB, standardized testing, zero tolerance, state legislatures micromanaging curriculum, in other words, because teachers in traditional schools don't get to do enough teaching, but instead do a lot more 'paperwork'.

We need people with real world experience helping our kids learn ... maybe you have some of that, but we don't really need anymore of the same that has gotten us into our poor state of education now.

[SKKY]

11. That's excellent, excellent info!

:thumbsup: Thanks a million!

[LWolf]

12. I don't know anything at all about it. nt