How to become a HS auto shop teacher? off topic?

I am presently an out of work computer information technology nerd. Specifically, a Linux/Unix systems administrator.

I dont want to go back, its never a 9-5 job, and an increasing trend is that you get woken up in the middle of the night either by a pager or a dude in Bangalore and you have to fix something. Then you gotta give up your weekends at times to fix stupid shit that someone else didnt.

But the strong skill I have that got me into this career is that I can figure out complicated stuff, either reverse-engineer and clone it, or fix it when it shits. Most of the time I would have to report on what the hell I did and how. Often I'd have to TEACH people what I knew. Many times I've been complimented that I'm an excellent teacher and communicator.

So its soul searching time for a new career. Something vaguely automotive would be cool, as this car addicction is clearly in the blood. I dont want to work on cars for a living, I know I'll quickly hate it.

But the auto-shop teacher thing is sticking in my mind.

*Part of whats wrong with the USA is that people either throw shit away when it breaks, or bend over and pay to have it fixed... often times never even having the thought come across their mind "Hey, maybe I'll open this thing up and see if I can see WTF is going wrong inside."

I think it would be cool to teach young people that lost skill that made this country great in the first half of the last century. If it broke, you fixed it. If you didnt have it and you wanted it, you MADE it, or kludged it out of other parts, etc. See where I talk below about "hacking."

* I think I can deal well with punk-ass kids... because I once WAS one! (I once did after school tutoring for freaking fourth graders as a stop-gap when the unemployment ran out, if that didnt drive me insane, then punkasses wont)

*My previous career taught me well about politics. Non-issue.

*Preliminary research shows the pay cut wont be that severe. I'm starting to realise its wiser to have multiple income streams anyway, and not to rely on only one. I think I can pull that together fairly nicely. Time off during the summer! My present career is on a downward trend salary-wise anyway.

*I have a perfectly clean criminal record, I try to live an ethical life, I dont smoke or do drugs, (anymore), I have nothing in my past I'm ashamed of, I'm hetero and girls under 20 dont interest me, no matter how sluttily they dress. Shit, I could run for public office!

*I like sharing knowledge.

*I realise that most of the job is teaching kids how not to maim or kill themselves or eacch other under my watch, making sure they dont steal tools, and inevitably cleaning up the mess they make. (until they are well-trained to clean up after themselves, which may be never.)

*Maybe, just maybe, I could SAVE one poor stupid kid from putting a damned WING on his family's four-door sedan.

Seriously tho, a lot of what hot-rodding really is, is analogous to "hacking." Car hacking. Hacking isnt always a bad thing, see? I really think its a survival skill that society is really fucking up by not teaching:

"Dont void your warrenty, no user serviceable parts inside. Consume, Consume, Consume!"

Then, theres the whole bit about getting a little use out of a well-equipped shop in the off hours, and calling companies to donate tools, equipment and supplies...!

So it must be a job that everyone wants and it'd be hard to find an opening?

My auto shop teacher in HS was a cranky old bastard who didnt know shit except for building and racing little old british Austins. He learned what a sway-bar did likely at the same time I did. But I still learned a lot, if only from the other kids, and had a blast.

I need a teaching credential? How effective are home-built hot rods and choppers as portfolio-fodder in such a gig?

Thanks,
Jason

 

How many fingers you got? Kids only listen to the tool safety lecture from guys who point like they're flipping the bird because they lost the index finger. 3 fingered shop teachers get respect. I think teaching the kids would actually be the easy part of the job. Dealing with the parents, the school district, getting on the phone all the time trying to line up parts and projects and fighting for your budget would be the hard part. I know a few shop teachers and they all say the same thing. "Every once in a while you see the look on one of those little assholes that tells you the light just came on!" That's where the real payoff is...

They all talk about how the year starts off with a room full of smart assed punks and 1 by 1 the light comes on. By the end of the year they have a team that works together and nobody wants the class to end for the summer. That's power.

Q: What do old indians do when they're too old to go on the hunt?

A: They teach the young braves how to read buffalo shit!

 

i dont know about cali, but in kansas and missouri you can substitute with no degree if you have college credits. my girl substituted for 6 months while the teacher was on maternity leave. if you take a few cerificate courses you then can be hired on full time. home built hot rods are proof that you know more than the administrators, and that should be enough. jm.02

 

I do have a bachelor's degree, its just not in edgy-macation. I do have all ten fingers intact... and I seem not to scar badly. I think I have one of those "Captain Hook" haloween costumes in the closet!

 

my HS shop teacher was a retired GM drafter, so it was just play money for him (I think he restored tractors)...but my parents are ORACLE database administrators. I don't know what that means or if it's easy to switch from LINUX tech support but they make good money. Also, I'm drunk right now so whatever I just said might be bullshit

 

For teaching K-12?
Minimum you will have to pass the CBEST test.
Here in LB school district, the week I got back the results that I had passed the CBEST they changed the requirements to needing a full credential to even SUBSTITUTE!

College you just need to convince the person doing the hiring that you have proficiency in the subject matter.
What makes you think there are any Auto Shops that haven't been turned into Computer Labs around here?

Be ready to do a Geographic.
(That means move to where ever the job is.)

 

I don't know about Cal. but in the great state of Georgia, you of course must have a high school diploma and then a minimum of 2 years experience in the field. If you're hired with enough time before school starts you attend the NTI, New teachers institute for six weeks. This helps you get some teaching strategies and how to make lesson plans and all that other stuff. For the folks that don't have any college at all you have six years to get your associate degree. Also now you have to pass the praxis test. If you have a degree , and you do, You can take the praxis test in your subject area and if you pass you can just start teaching without much trouble. You might have to take a class or two for certification but it wouldln't be a big dea. Good luck you might like working with the little darlings. Stafford

 

Send a PM to Flathead Youngin; he's some kind of a shop teacher is southern Ohio. He may be able to provide you with some good direction (or NOT)

 

More often than not, people who have good IT jobs got them a while ago... and will fight to the death to hold onto them. And make sure no new jobs get created. Nowadays, if you get your foot in the door, you are only a "disposable" employee, (contractor, temp) Once the project is completed, you are out on your ass... Thats my story since Jan. 2003.

A lot of times, like with database administrators for instance, the people that built the shit set it up so that they are the only ones allowed to work on it and mess with it... called built in job-security.


Doc, I heard the cbest was a pathetic joke?

 

hey jason... talk to samIyam about this.

i know what you mean... believe me. ever think about going into software? more specifically, 3D software companies since youve got studio experience?

the jobs arent plentiful but while i was interning, it was a cooshie little job compared to production... pay wasnt as good but it was deffinately a 9-5 and i always had access to the latest software releases and immediate support from the programmers.

 

Don't think it's a 9 to 5 job. Auto shop teachers are hard to find in Kansas as most go to work in the industry at twice the starting pay. If you have past work in the field you can go in as a vocational teacher without the education hours. As a regular teacher you must have the ed hours and a major in Auto Tech.
Pete

 

I found it about as hard as the placement tests they gave us in the 6th grade, (in 1959) Passed all the sections high in one session.
I met someone who took one section three times and still failed it.
The only part a grader can fuck with you on is the essay, obviously.
The rest is black & white T or F or multiple choice so yea, if you're good at those it's easy.

Just write a formula essay that doesnt have any 'tricks" in it.
I didn't learn until I took an English Comp class in college that essay structure was a presentation of a division of and then addition of an or several ideas.

An essay;

Can be one sentence.

A paragraph can be one sentence if it only presents one idea.

If a paragraph has more than one idea it has to have at least four sentences. An opening sentence briefly presenting the two or more ideas, then seperate sentences define each of the two or more idea, and a concluding sentence bringing those ideas together.

If those ideas don't "work" together in one paragraph the essay may need more than one paragraph.

If there is more than one paragraph there should be four or more paragraphs.
Introductory paragraph introducing what the following paragraphs will be, the two or more in-depth paragraphs on the ideas, and a concluding paragraph bringing the ideas in those paragraphs together in the essay.

As in the introduction, the concluding paragraph may be a single sentence, but probably will again be four or more sentences, due to the two or more ideas dealt with in the multiple paragraphs.

(If the paragraphs don't relate in the conclusion, maybe they don't all belong in the same essay?)

So, write four paragraphs to describe two ideas, five paragraphs to describe three ideas, etc.

Just too damn simple?

And then you forget all of that in order to communicate in a manner shop kids can understand.....

 

Well yes.. I can program crap, but I have no practical experience. And, it appears to be something I could burn out on VERY quickly. Beyond that, its THE most outsourced aspect of IT... Would provide teaching experience, tho... teaching Hadji's how to do my job!

 

Doc, my degree is in Philosophy. I am a MASTER bullshitter!

 

How about teaching at community college?

 

I know that...

And they don't want to read or care about master bullshit, they only care if the BS is in a PROPER ESSAY STRUCTURE so when you write the essay KISS it.

 

yah sorta... most of the 3D software companies are Canadian. my first studio job they had me give an intro using a "special" 3D software to some pipeline people... it was recorded and headed to their Baliwood HQ. i tried to make the subject even more obscure than it really was.

you should have seen the look on everyones face when i was finished... "Huh?" haha, they never asked me to teach ANYTHING after that.

 

Well, I just happen to be a teacher, so I might be able to give you a little advice. These other guys are pretty much on course with what to expect from teaching. For what you have to go through, the pay sucks, but when you actually get through to one of the little punks, it's a good feeling, and it really pays off. Most of them usually aren't that bad, and the ones that are just want something that interests them and someone to show them what's up. My brother (lowburban) and I are both teachers, and we've been into customizing cars forever. Our kids practically worship us, because we do everything that they see done in the magazines. It's almost like we're celebrities sometimes. It makes it a lot easier on behavior issues, because they actually respect us (they think we're "cool"). And, you sure can't beat the vacation time! To become a certified professional teacher, you do have to get some sort of certification in it, whether it's college degree or alternative type cert. The best thing for you to do would probably be to call the local school district central office in your town, and ask for the Director of Personnel or Certification Officer. Ask them specifically what it will take for you to become certified. A lot of states will let you get on an "Emergency Certificate" for up to 3 yrs as long as you're enrolled in some kind of certification program. It's definitely worth checking into.

 

PM Gas stove-bolt, he too is a high school automotive shop teacher. He can give you his impressions and the requirements in Missouri where he works.

 

i am a HS welding shop teacher. in texas you can go through a alternative certification program with 5 of the last 8 years exp in the field you are going to teach. one thing this is only for industrial tech (which includes auto tech). Being that you have a bs degree you can do alt certicifation and teach regular edu also. I had to do my time at the junior high before a tech job like welding opened. Also auto tech down here in pasadena tx is not what it used to be. they are part of a program called AYES and which is involved in the things being taught. it is a 2yr program with the second year interning in a dealership. They are not event allowed to have a carberator (old technology)in the shop. dont get me wrong its a good job and we love what we do. the pays not half bad either 45 yr starting. that about 30hr with our 180 day work year .

 

I've been a teacher for quite awhile and have yet to work "only 40 hours a week", I have also never had a "summer off". I wouldn't hang your star on those two myths if you are considering teaching...

 

I am a shop teacher, and I'm concidering leaving the business. I've only been at is a few years, but I've already decided to take this year off from teaching. I had a very bad experience with administration and school politics. I'll probably end up back in education eventually, but I'm seriously burned out on the system. Every one in the district has their opinion of what is best for kids. My experience is that it's the teachers who know best, but it's the administration that makes all the decisions. I also averaged 80 hours a week at school with no extracurricular activitied. I think most of the problems I had I wouldn't have if I had taught in a different district who's administration didn't have their heads quite so far up their asses. Also, Tech Ed programs are being cut everywhere. It's usually the most expensive subject area, so when it comes to budget time, you have a big red bullseye on your back. I'm not trying to scare you off because we need as many quality teachers as we can get, I'm just telling you of my experiences.

 

I'm currently in my last quarter of getting my teaching certificate. Here in Washington, high school auto shop facilities are drying because there isn't enough funding to prepare kids for careers working on modern cars. I originally started because I wanted to teach "shop", but now that is a dirty word. Technology education is the current buzz word. It sounds like computers, but it is just an updated version of industrial arts with design and computer technology added. I personally have nothing against old school industrial arts and I feel there is still a need for it. It alone kept me from dropping out when I was in high school.
If I was offered a job at a school that still had auto shop, I would gladly take it. I already have a degree in vehicle design and auto shop is where I would feel most comfortable. I believe No Child Left Behind messed alot of things up for people who want to teach without certification. It really hit vocational programs hard because they get cut when districts don't make the numbers that the feds dictate. Here you can teach vocational classes with a 4 year degree with something like 4000hrs in a related work field. I think you can teach without a degree for twice the amount of hours. If you have the teaching certification + the 4000 hrs your program gets extra funding, which is kind of nice.

Dave

 

This is totally ON topic. I could go on for days about how backwards society is with shitbag-ghetto-fuck athletes and rappers at the top of the monetary foodchain and our most important citizens, teachers, near the bottom.

If you want to spread knowledge to kids MORE POWER TO YOU! I could never do it because I really can't stand kids. So I appreciate teachers even more.

 

What he said, I can't stand them either...
Good thing I don't have any of the bastards, that I know of anyway...

Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do

what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from

children."
--Author Unknown (but I got it from AV8)

 

Here in NY state, the requirements for "shop teacher" are quite stringent requiring a Bachelors degree and obtaining your Masters degree within a few years of starting a teaching position in a public school. My older son attends the State University of NY at Oswego which is SUNY's main Technology Education curriculum campus. I just got off the phone with him and he was rebuilding an old Briggs and Stratton mower engine I gave him for his class. I told him I was impressed that he used the term "ring lands" referring to the piston cleanup he was performing and that he would not have known WTF I was talking about if I used that term before he actually did the job. He also told me he made a nice shift knob on a lathe from aluminum stock.

It feels real good to know the money being spent for his education ACTUALLY appears to have him learning skills I know will be important in the REAL world. I believe a number of students in the program are "old timers" who need the degree to teach but have worked in the field and share their experience with the young novices.

PS I work in a SUNY Community College which had an excellent machine shop for their Tech Curriculum with oldtime Rockwell milling, lathe and related machines as well as top Lincoln welding equipment and blast cabinets etc.. The administration decided the program cost too much per student and ditched it, selling off the equipment for pennys on the dollar. Now it is a generic computer lab teaching temporary skills to generic students for low cost.

Powerband

 

It sounds like HS auto shop is still alive in parts of the USA by some of the posts, thank God. Not in the commiewealth of Mass unfortunately. Are you sure you even have the possibility of a school shop job where you live?

In many towns here, auto, wood, & metal shop are quaint & nostalgic but ultimately dangerous concepts. Kids could get hurt with all those whirring, spinning, sparking machines around. Best let the kids at the voke deal with them. The "regular" kids can spend that time in the computer or multimedia lab and the school doesn't have to worry about a megamillion lawsuit because Justin got his tongue stud caught on the lathe chuck.

Second, all your equity is in what you were doing. If you change careers, are you willing to smile & live with both the new financial situation and essentially a restart at the bottom of the seniority pile?

None of the preceeding is meant to discourage either. You might have more satisfying results trying a trade school rather than the local public. I learned to TIG earlier this year at the Tri-County voke in Franklin, MA. The nicest thing was that since kid's future careers were on the line, they listened attentively when the teacher spoke and put their noses to it when it was time to practive what they'd just been told. These kids gave me hope about the current generation.

 

I am in FL and have been teaching high school shop (wood and metal) since 1967. I am retiring Jan. 2 because my traditional wood and metal shop is being coverted to a Tech lab. You can have my job. There is a national trend to close high school auto shops, wood shops and metal shops. So be careful.Your best bet is to get a job at a vocational center , community college or private vocational school where you can maximize the IT skills, knowledge and talents you already possess and also get credit on the salary scale for your industrial experience.Take what you already know and make it work for you instead of "starting over" from scratch. Contact school district Personnel Dept. in your area and ask what you need to do to get certified. Just want to warn you that students are definitely not what they were like when you were in school. It's not easy and the parents will drive you nuts the second you even try to discipline their kid. My advice......... work with adults who want to learn. PS: The starting highschool salary for a new teacher with a BS Degree and no experience in Broward County,FL is about $35K before taxes. The median price of a home is around $375K. Gas is about $2.78 a gallon. Get the picture?

 

KIRK!
11-10-2005, 06:29 PM
This is totally ON topic. I could go on for days about how backwards society is with shitbag-ghetto-fuck athletes and rappers at the top of the monetary foodchain and our most important citizens, teachers, near the bottom.

If you want to spread knowledge to kids MORE POWER TO YOU! I could never do it because I really can't stand kids. So I appreciate teachers even more.

Don't hate...

Rappers and athletes are successful because they earned it. Spend a little time in the gym and compare the results of your hard work to what a professional athlete has accomplished.

Rappers sell millions of records in a free market that they created. Will Smith was a 17 year old High School student when he carved out his future. So was JJ Cool "J".

Teachers deserve more pay, but with the condition of local school system budgets, they will have to go outside the classroom to earn their fortune. That's life. Don't blame a rapper...