Parents Gym parents who are/were also teachers/in the education field?

[SkiBumGymMom]

I've just noticed, particularly in another active post currently going, that many of us gym parents are also teachers. I think it's an interesting background for raising kids and helping them through activities like gym, both in good and bad ways. Just thought it'd be interesting in sharing our educational background if you feel so inclined!

As I've shared before I'm currently a special education coordinator for our entire school district (a relatively small one infrastructure wise with one high school, one middle school and about 4 to 5 elementary schools, but it covers our entire county over 600 square miles in the mountains, so things can get tricky!) I go between the district admin offices in one town and the middle school in the other. I got this promotion after finally finishing my masters in special education with an emphasis in Deaf education through a lot of travel and online work to the closest university than had it. Before then I was a special ed coordinator at the high school level, and before then a special education teacher at the middle school and elementary school level. Before I finished my bachelors in special education I had an associates in educational interpreting and interpreted for various children of various ages who needed that service. Not a lot of Deaf kiddos where we are now though and I mostly did this where we used to live. When my girls were 2 and 4 we moved from the major metro area in our state for my late husband's new job, and I was finishing my bachelors around that time.

For a few years I had my own DD in my elementary school group and that was very complicated. I could only imagine having to coach your own child! In a way having a background in education has helped me keep gymnastics in perspective, particularly for my own DD. Also we deal with crazy parents everyday and also know how different kids have different ways of approaching things and are all unique... and not perfect. I also think it's given me more appreciation for what DD's coaches have been able to accomplish. After all gym parents are looking at the big O, crazy parents in the classroom... maybe they're looking at college but that's it.

 

[flipper's fan]

I have a Bachelor's degree in elementary ed, (I studied special ed too in college). I taught for several years in the eighties, but I got my MEd in counseling and have been doing systems based and family work in different settings/professions since 1990. DD attends a small private totally alternative school and I have come to view traditional education with a ton of skepticism. But DD is thinking of going to a regular high school so I may finally get my chance to be a crazy parent!

Gymnastics instruction and coaching over the years has been dd's connection to the type of structured learning environment her school attending peers have experienced, in some ways.

 

[lilgymmie7]

I was wondering the same thing; how many of us are teachers. I teach literature, reading and writing, in a large city district. My students are in 7th and 8th grade. I have my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a Masters in Educational Administration and Supervision. I just recently obtained my Reading endorsement that where I teach allows me to work in the middle schools. Although my district does not have 'true' middle schools, it was a mandate.
Being a teacher also helps me to appreciate my DD's coaches. Hence I refrain from asking too many questions, as well as expecting too much from her. I have come to realize that each child WILL develop on their own, and it is imperative that they do if they are to stay in 'it' what ever 'it' may be. I constantly ask DD if she still loves/likes gymnastics. Her love and hard work will carry her through the good and bad not my 'pushing' her.

 

[kamgymmom]

Wow..another deaf educator gymnast mom!! I bet that doesn't happen often! I have a bachelor's in speech path and a master's in deaf ed. I just started my 14th year at our state residential school for the Deaf. I also have much appreciation for the coaches..and trust their decisions. I know what's best for my students..they know what's best for my gymnast!

 

[MaryA]

I have my BS in Music Ed and my MM in Ethnomusicology. And am doing nothing related to music. I'm working in adult ed and also running a program for at-risk youth. These days my time in the classroom is spent teaching "Resume Writing" or "Stress Management" rather than music. And my time in the schools, if it's not related to my own kids, is spent visiting high school kids and helping them with obsticles keeping them from graduating and/or finding a job and/or going on to post secondary school or military. It's been sort of a wonky road to get here, but the work is rewarding.

 

[SkiBumGymMom]

kamgymmom- You're in the state res system? Good for you! I don't know how much you do or don't know about me and my DD who is active on CB (she actually got me to join) but she's Deaf and I mainstreamed her in public schools. I'll PM you so I don't have to publicly ask what state and such... but I did go on a tangent about teaching Deaf kids English on a thread not too long ago!

And it's great to see all the teacher/gym moms!

 

[cher062]

BS in Early Childhood Ed with a minor in child Psych.
Deciede to change professions with no jobs out there and Have recently gone back and finished school with an AS in Business Management Accounting.

I've been out of the education field for 4 years but unemployed for 2 years now. Still looking but for the pay they are offering I might as well go sling fries at McDonalds and have no responsibilites what so ever.

 

[Bella's Mom]

High school biology teacher here. I teach at a mid-sized county school (about 850 kids). I have a B.S. in biology and spent about a decade working in laboratories doing research. Left the lab about three years ago to become a teacher.

 

[Shewhodrives]

BA Elementary Education, minor in special ed.

My license is K-6, but I used to teach Kindergarten. I took a leave of absence when my son was born and I've never really gone back. I've taught summer school, taken long term sub jobs and I'm even doing a para job this year, but I'm not sure I even want to go back to teaching. I'm laughing over Cher062's post! SOOOOO true!

 

[clrmom]

I teach middle school language arts. I am currently certified middle grades English with my Reading Endorsement. I have also taught intensive reading in the past for some of our lowest readers. My original background was in public relations and marketing, but I decided after a few years in the business world that teaching was more for me. I have a bachelor's degree in Communications with a minor in English Literature. I added on Education courses after my degree to receive my certification. I love teaching and am glad I made the switch. It is interesting to me to see how many parents on this blog are in or have been in the education field.

 

[MyBoysFlip]

I am a high school chemistry teacher at a large (1600+) city high school. I took a nice long break - 5 years - when I had the boys, but have been back working for three years. I have a masters in school counseling but have decided to stay in the classroom because that's what makes me happiest!

 

[SkiBumGymMom]

BS in Early Childhood Ed with a minor in child Psych.
Deciede to change professions with no jobs out there and Have recently gone back and finished school with an AS in Business Management Accounting.

I've been out of the education field for 4 years but unemployed for 2 years now. Still looking but for the pay they are offering I might as well go sling fries at McDonalds and have no responsibilites what so ever.

Oh I feel you cher. The cost of living where we are far exceeds what the jobs, particularly public service, are able to pay. They like to tell us we should be content because we should be lucky to live where we live, where people spend thousands to vacation at. That's all fine and well until grocery and hydro bills come in, then comes gymnastics tuition... When I'm not teaching during winter holidays I teach ski school (where some private tips will be more than a weeks salary at my old teaching position in the school district) and in the summer I'm a raft guide. Not lucrative but until I was promoted it was absolutely necessary. Helps that I love it, but still a sad statement about the education system. I'm also lucky that while my new job is more on the administrative side of the spectrum, because of the size of our district (3,000 pre K -12) and partially because of budget cuts I'm still mostly in the classroom, just across the district.

 

[MaryA]

I've been out of the education field for 4 years but unemployed for 2 years now. Still looking but for the pay they are offering I might as well go sling fries at McDonalds and have no responsibilites what so ever.

It's a bad time to be an educator, isn't it? Or anything in the "public sector." I've come close to being laid off several times since the fiscal year ended on July 1. I would look for something more secure, but I can't think of a job I'm qualified for/interested in that would be any more secure. I'm just not a "private sector" kind of gal. I suppose I could try to get a job teaching GED classes in the prisons. That seems to be the only place where spending is being increased instead of decreased. But I'll stop now before I end up on a soapbox...

 

[gymmomof1]

BA psychology , post BA Special Education teacher & MA Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant. Have been in the education field for 30 years. Wow what a fun thread. My dad was a teacher and when I was going for my degree the teaching field was not doing well but my dad said he noticed that it's like a pendulum and hopefully would be turning back to by the time I was getting out of college. Sure enough that's what
happened and at that time they raised the starting salary. Hopefully things will once again turn for the better and we can figue out a better education structure less top heavy and more teacher based . As far as gymnastics goes I have conversations with parents who complain about coaches, I compare it to school -sometimes your child does not mesh with that teacher's style but you have to learn to over come the differences and do your best regardless of how you get along with the teacher/coach.

 

[eme777]

Hi! I'm a secondary math teacher. I was teaching high school, but I left when I was pregnant with DD #3. It was getting too complicated to try to get my own kids to school & still be able to get to work on time. It was also frustrating because administrators always wanted us to stay REALLY late for meetings. I also became frustrated by the administrations' decisions on curriculum and discipline. Unfortunately the curriculum problems are at most of the districts in our county. I have been tutoring for the past couple of years & this past year, the only reason the girls needed a tutor was because the book was so bad. The good news is that it helped pay for gym!

I had always planned on going back and just subbing, but with all the budget cuts, the districts aren't even hiring subs. I need a job with flexible hours during the day, so now I'm just looking at anything that I can do at night. I'm not too picky.

I love seeing all the teachers, but as a high school teacher, I didn't have so many problems with crazy, overbearing parents. Way too many were neglectful. So many had no clue what their kids were up to. I did learn a lot & thanks to the students, my own children will have a harder time trying to con me!

On a side note, we're having some problems w/ one of the coaches & have found out that he's called the girls stupid a couple times. Another mom (who's also taught) agrees that if we said that to our students we'd be in so much trouble. The situation is really frustrating!

 

[3stars]

Former teacher here. I have my BS in Elementary Education and specialized in Early Childhood and Special Education. I have a semester's worth of my Masters done, but have not finished it. I taught second grade in an inner-city magnet school for a few years, but bad administration and a frustration with not being allowed to teach anything beyond the test led me to leave. I worked in medical education for a few years (worked with resident physicians during their training), but have been a stay at home mom for just over 5 years nows. In that time, I've done some tutoring and such, but honestly the school that I started with ruined teaching for me.

 

[UnoMas]

I am a certified K-12 teacher and speech language pathologist...I work for the schools doing assistive technology for special education now!

 

[SkiBumGymMom]

I had no idea how many of us were teachers! This is pretty neat. Lots of special ed folks too, which makes me smile. It does seem a teaching background helps in certain ways with relating to the coaches (though I'm sure backgrounds in different industries have advantages in different ways) but at the same time it's very different. A lot of us seem to come from the public education field-- which is definitely different than a gym. (We also seem to be a bit jaded by public education, there's a lot of us who seem to have left the field, mostly to be with our families, but other factors seem to prevent some from going back... I suppose that's another OT thread though) I wonder if it's fair to think a private school is more comparable to a gym? I also wonder if our backgrounds have an effect the way we educate our kids, do we homeschool less? Are we more likely to try to fit gym around school and not the other way? Maybe there's no effect at all. Just things that pop into my head as I have my Sunday morning cup of coffee and read online news (and the CB)

 

[thnkGd4kds]

I haven't been on CB for a long while, but I thought I'd chime in here. For a few years before our oldest (now 14) was born, I taught English and Journalism in a middle and high school. Also, I was the advisor of the yearbook and newspaper. Because of my educational philosophies, we decided to homeschool our children. (I'm a huge proponent of child-led learning, for example.) One of our children now goes to a day gymnastics program where the girls practice, have an hour and a half break, and practice again in the afternoon. Although most girls there are homeschooled for gymnastics, our dd has been homeschooled her whole life, so it fits in well with what she was already used to.

My experience as a teacher, however brief, helps me to look at situations and decisions from a coaching perspective, I believe. However, I also get frustrated sometimes if there is a lack of communication when I think it would be necessary or beneficial. In those situations, I think about how a teacher and anyone else working with children should explain certain things for the sake of the children. But, I have seen many crazy gym parents, and I do believe that some or much of the lack of communication comes from coaches getting annoyed or even burned by those types of parents.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

I am so impressed with the educators here on CB!!! WOW!!!! It really takes dedication to stick with this work!

My background is not nearly impressive, but here goes!

My got my BS in Child Psychology. Completed a semester of grad school back in the '80's while trying to work full time for a very demanding law firm in DC. Back at that time, there was no "internet" as we know it. If you were lucky, you could connect all of your dedicated word processors/ computers to a LAN (local area network). Since everything was so new and I was technologically advantaged, I became the training coordinator for the DC office and then started to travel to Texas and NYC to conduct training for those office's lawyers/paralegals/secretaries as well as the DC office. Great job... L O N G hours. I quit that job when my boys were 4 and 6. Then along came DD and I didn't go back to work again until she started first grade.

I have been working as a special education assistant in my neighborhood school for 8 years. Because I have a college degree, I (as well as another TA) are frequently pulled to actually teach classes, not just "assist." It's been very interesting, challenging, at times frustrating and at other times just delightful!!! I HAVE thought about going back and getting my teaching credentials, but at this point, with NCLB and all the stress of dealing w/parents (of SPED kids), I just don't really want to do it. I see the battles our SPED teachers have to go through to get services for our kids... and the battles involve our own administration. It's crazy. They hire people who are supposed to oversee the SPED staff for their own school, but these people have NO SPED training at all. So.... no... I'll keep doing what I'm doing. I get to work with the kids and don't have to deal with any of the headaches!