Question about my math teacher

[Arsonade]

hi there
i have a question about my math teacher and i bet someone on this fourum could help
my teacher is a very tiny person, she's about 4-5 feet tall and one of the nicest people i know
she also has a lot of disorders that are all triggered by stress
after many years teaching, she has decided that she honestly cannot go on with it any longer, the current adminisration is cracking down and is not as accepting as they once were, she is at a risk of being fired while she has to set up a presentation to keep her teching licence. needless to say she is under enormous stress and has been in very high physical pain for weeks now
today i had to drive her to her parents house because she was at risk of pasing out.
aanyway, she would like to go into a diferent job, she is incredible at math (has helped me with a lot of theorums and teorys I've thought up, I am talking dimensional physics type math) and all she needs is a job with little stress
does anyone have any ideas? the only thing we have thought of so far is acountant.

Thanks a lot, hope you have some good ideas because i can't fit in that small of a car again hehehe

Adam

 

[Diane_]

That was nice of you, Arsonade. I'm sure she appreciated it.

She might look into some of the tutoring services out there. It's basically teaching, but it's done one-on-one instead of in groups, and you (generally) don't have the pressure of grading and lesson plans and so on.

If she has the kind of mind you indicate she does, she might also do well at computer programming - although she might need to go back to school for that.

 

[Danger]

If she went to her parents' place, I assume that she's still fairly young. It might not be too late for her to switch into one of the engineering fields, and she could skip most of the math courses. Also, there are think-tanks and commercial concerns that do tremendous amounts of number-crunching. There's the possibility, too, of data analysis for various types of experimental facilities.

 

[Moonbear]

I don't know what to suggest. If she finds teaching to be that stressful, I don't know how she could do any of the other jobs suggested, which all come with even more stresses. Accountants go bonkers during tax season, and every quarter, and I would think anything that put her into a corporate setting would be even worse.

 

[Arsonade]

good ideas, ill run them by her, yeas i know what you meen about the stress, its a problem in most workplaces, however, our administration right now has been signiling her out, short story, the boss is not a reasonable person (to the students as well i haveto say) so if she finds an understanding supervisor it might be just as well
i honestly don't want her to top teaching, she is very very good at it, but if its effecting her like this, she needs to stop.

 

[Diane_]

The stresses in teaching are different than the stresses in other fields - at least, the other fields I've been involved with. It's not all that common that a coworker starts crying or threatening you because you're going to call his mom, I wouldn't think.

Something like freelance programming might actually be better for her - there are certainly stresses there, but they don't tend to be people-caused.

 

[loseyourname]

Tell her to come to California. The teacher's unions own this state.

 

[Moonbear]

The stresses in teaching are different than the stresses in other fields - at least, the other fields I've been involved with. It's not all that common that a coworker starts crying or threatening you because you're going to call his mom, I wouldn't think.

Nope, they start crying and threatening to call their lawyer instead. If it's just a bad administration, then maybe she should just consider moving to a new school district. If she's that good, she should be able to get a job anywhere. Though, there are always jerks in adminstrative positions, so you just have to learn to not let them get to you.

 

[Diane_]

Actually, I've been pretty lucky in administrators. Most of them are English or history majors and haven't a clue what I do in the classroom. I have often been tempted to tell the Principal "I need a left-handed frannistan so I can willis an altibob." and see what kind of funding I can get.

I was head of the math department at one school, and the Dean of Studies was so math-phobic that he literally wouldn't come within fifty yards of my classroom when I was teaching. It made for a quiet couple of years.

 

[Moonbear]

Actually, I've been pretty lucky in administrators. Most of them are English or history majors and haven't a clue what I do in the classroom. I have often been tempted to tell the Principal "I need a left-handed frannistan so I can willis an altibob." and see what kind of funding I can get.
I was head of the math department at one school, and the Dean of Studies was so math-phobic that he literally wouldn't come within fifty yards of my classroom when I was teaching. It made for a quiet couple of years.

I guess you're lucky that their cluelessness allowed you the freedom to teach unhindered. Too often administrators lean the other way...they stifle anything that they don't understand. Of course it's also very saddening that administrators in charge of schools are that math-phobic. I don't think someone should be in that high level of a position without a well-rounded appreciation of all the subjects being taught.

 

[Arsonade]

Nope, they start crying and threatening to call their lawyer instead. If it's just a bad administration, then maybe she should just consider moving to a new school district. If she's that good, she should be able to get a job anywhere. Though, there are always jerks in adminstrative positions, so you just have to learn to not let them get to you.

well you see (and i would not have belived this had i not seen it myself multiple times) becasue of her stature and generally mild disposition (for a while i jokingly called her the mouse teacher) she tends to get taken advantage of a lot, plus my school that she's teaching at was her's from high school, i don't think she would want to go anywhere elce

so far freelance programing is good, I've talked to her about it and she actually has done some stuff, she knows 4 programing languages and she's ready to learn more, so far taht seems the best idea.

i have to agree with moonbear here as well, the administration in my school has gotten consecutavely more and more restricting, only the most influencial teachers getting away with anything. for everyone elce, the teachers are being treated horribly, my math teacher that needs a new job has also been threatened to be fired simply for having students stay after for extra help, the hall moniters regularly patroll her room, the reason there are always kids there is that she is well liked. so essencially they are trying to get rid of her becaus she is well liked. and i can tell you, the principal along with the rest of the administration is not.

 

[w79]

I reckon you could give her a job in your billion dollar company you started on your pmm that could run a city!

 

[Chi Meson]

A teacher getting stressed in Stratford, eh?

Tell her to stay away from Bridgeport.

Private school teaching is my suggestion. Like Kent, or Hotchkiss, or Choate, where the students are not too too high and mighty, yet there is a rarefied selection of students. Nice campuses too. Not as much pay, though.

 

[Astronuc]

The OP is now more than 18 months old. I wonder how it worked out?

I lost a great teacher in 10th grade. She resigned because of the health issues related to stress. We had her for geometry (a year's worth in one semester) followed by a semester (year's worth) of trigonometry. She quit after the first semester, so when we returned from Christmas break, we found a new teacher. All of us were bewildered and disappointed. Of course, as 14-15 yr olds, we didn't realize the pressures on our teachers and the whole dynamic of the school/educational system.

 

[Chi Meson]

The OP is now more than 18 months old. I wonder how it worked out?

Jeez, I didn't notice. I'm usually aware of the necroposts, but I guess I never read this one when it first came through.