[manofbess]

Hey everyone,

I will begin nursing school in January and I left the education world to go back to school. As a former middle school teacher for one year, I have had the opportunity to get my feet wet in the teaching world. I have grown to discover that I miss the school environment and I think I might want to teach again...either do that or maybe become a school nurse.

Is there anyone here who teaches or taught at the secondary school level? I would love to hear from anyone who has taught high school--maybe a Health Occupations class or something along those lines. How much experience do you guys suggest I get as a RN before I try to go into teaching? Do you find that the kids are more serious about learning? This was a problem as a middle school teacher--many kids don't like going to school and really don't take the content seriously. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[puggymae]

I taught A&P at our local high school for dual credit after the teacher who was hired to do it quit after 4 days - and it was a nightmare. That is the short and long of it. The kids wanted to have a party every day or watch a movie every day. (Because they did that in other classes). I had to act like the biggest "B" you ever met to keep control of the class. I threw cell phones/MP3 players/CD-DVD players out the window. The students complained that I was mean, the parents complained that I was mean, and the principal complained I was mean (hey I expected them to sit in their seat, do their work, and pay attention for 2 hours). At the end of the semester I refused to go back, and the program wasn't offered again.
Since you are a guy - you may get more respect than I did. Good luck. I would shove manure on a pig farm before I ever go back to the high school.

[bookwormom]

I would think your teaching experience would be useful in a number of areas--I'm thinking peds especially. Why not just see what you like in nursing as you do your clinicals? If you do want to be a school nurse or do voe-ed(Health occupations, etc). I think you'll want to be in a BSN program. I think the more experience you have as an RN, the better teacher you will be -- at least several years.

I have taught some high school classes as a guest speaker, and find that sometimes the kids are just awful. But, there is a terrible need for health education. Some of the questions I got indicated an incredible ignorance of basic self care. I think some of the reason the kids don't behave is that the curriculum isn't addressing their needs and interests. (That's what is nice about being a guest speaker).

The class I enjoyed most was for a family living class in High School. I taught about breastfeeding. I started out asking the class why people had breasts/ nipples, and why guys had them. It cracked them up. Then I talked about breastfeeding. This is a very conservative community, but it went over fine.

[augigi]

The title of this thread cracked me up - I thought "are you thinking of becoming a male, or an educator, or both?" Heh.