Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

ivyleaf

Oh Sue, how lovely :j

Maggie Now that's what I call value for money

vivatifosi

Woooooohoooooo!!!! Congratulations James!

vivatifosi

Went away for Easter, got back today. We've always wanted to visit the numerous Smithsonian museums so finally went. Managed to get a great deal on flights and hotels as the legislators had all gone home and the Federal govt was closed for Easter.

Loved seeing the Spirit of St Louis, the Declaration of Independence, the Star Spangled Banner... then from the outside the buildings around the National Mall area, it's a very photogenic place.

I didn't realise though how close the Pentagon is,just the other side of the river... 9/11 got so close to the seat of government. I also found the Vietnam Memorial very poignant. 40 years on and people are still missing in action.

LydiaJ

SingleSue wrote: »

James got his invitation for graduation in the post.

Well done James! :T:T:T:T:T:j:j:j:j:j:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:
What does he plan to do next?

michaels

vivatifosi wrote: »

Went away for Easter, got back today. We've always wanted to visit the numerous Smithsonian museums so finally went. Managed to get a great deal on flights and hotels as the legislators had all gone home and the Federal govt was closed for Easter.

Loved seeing the Spirit of St Louis, the Declaration of Independence, the Star Spangled Banner... then from the outside the buildings around the National Mall area, it's a very photogenic place.

I didn't realise though how close the Pentagon is,just the other side of the river... 9/11 got so close to the seat of government. I also found the Vietnam Memorial very poignant. 40 years on and people are still missing in action.

Waan't the 4th plane supposed to be for the white house?

zagubov

Well done, Sue! :T

And James!:j:beer:

SingleSue

LydiaJ wrote: »

Well done James! :T:T:T:T:T:j:j:j:j:j:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:
What does he plan to do next?

He really isn't too sure to be honest. He was set on going into teaching but has been put off by all the stories he keeps being told. He does know he wants to pick back up the youth work he was doing before uni and possibly make a career out of that but will start off by transferring his uni job down to here (he has been recommended for their graduate scheme), keep on some hours at his old job, build up some pennies and take a view when things are more settled financially.

He's already been in contact with the youth group he volunteered at before and they want him back as soon as he can get there plus he has ultimate aims to head up his own Cubs/Scout group to cover the village, so will probably go back to being a leader at his old group.

zagubov

SingleSue wrote: »

He really isn't too sure to be honest. He was set on going into teaching but has been put off by all the stories he keeps being told. He does know he wants to pick back up the youth work he was doing before uni and possibly make a career out of that but will start off by transferring his uni job down to here (he has been recommended for their graduate scheme), keep on some hours at his old job, build up some pennies and take a view when things are more settled financially.

He's already been in contact with the youth group he volunteered at before and they want him back as soon as he can get there plus he has ultimate aims to head up his own Cubs/Scout group to cover the village, so will probably go back to being a leader at his old group.

Teaching's more challenging than a lot of people think. I'd suggest exploring other avenues and only going for teaching after talking to people already in the profession first.

LydiaJ

zagubov wrote: »

Teaching's more challenging than a lot of people think. I'd suggest exploring other avenues and only going for teaching after talking to people already in the profession first.

Yes, it is challenging. But then, people are all different. If you are the kind of person who gets a buzz out of explaining things and seeing people come to understand things they didn't understand before, then teaching is satisfying in a way that nothing else is. It doesn't have to be schools, and even in schools it doesn't have to be whole class teaching. Take my family, for example. My dad and my nephew and I have all got that "teaching gene" thing - not that I know that it's actually genetic, but the "being born that kind of person" thing. My dad was a university lecturer. I teach in a school. My nephew has spent a few years abroad teaching EFL, and is now going to come back to this country and try his hand a teaching drums. By contrast, my nephew was miserable in a sales job. Good teachers are, IMO, both born and made. You can learn to teach well, and then to teach better. You are either born with the mindset to enjoy it, or you aren't.

The youth work thing might be a good way for James to be helping and educating young people without the pressures of classroom teaching. It sounds like a great idea for him to pursue. I'd encourage him not to rule out teaching altogether, though. In many ways, people who do a bit of something else first and then try teaching tend to do better because a little extra life experience and actually just age do help to command respect, and this is all the more true if they've spent the time working with young people.

I'd second what zag says about talking to people in the profession, and add that it's a good idea to talk to people who are in the part of the profession that's under consideration. James should think about what kind of subject he might like to teach in what kind of school (or other educational establishment), and then discuss it with someone (or preferably more than one someone) teaching that subject in that sort of school. What teaching is actually like depends massively on which school you're at, so any stories you hear about teaching should come with a "YMMV" in big letters all over the place.

SingleSue

He's not ruled it out completely at the moment but he would like to take a year to examine his options and build up a bit of a buffer in his bank account before making his decision and adding to his student debt.

What he would like to teach? Philosophy and/or media but philosophy would require further study before he could teach it...believe you me he is kicking himself over not taking the Herts offer now but he thought their requirements were more than he could achieve. Turns out he blasted through what they wanted but by that point it was too late.

He's always enjoyed working with young people, either in his role as a leader at his cub group or at the youth club (even his job down here is child related) and he has come up with some brilliant ideas that he would like to put into place if he ever gets the chance that could help with teaching younger ones skills that appear to be missing in a fair few now (basic cooking, first aid, money management etc).