Based on how graciously you’ve responded to all of the comments I can tell you are going to be a great colleague and probably a leader at whatever school is lucky enough to get through. I’m glad that you’re coming to Oakland and again, I wish you a great school year!

If I were to teach in Ohio, the only place I’d want to work in is Cleveland (I belong in a high-need, urban environment). I’ve tried many, many times to secure a full-time post. I still have a headache from the running the gauntlet. My two-year provisional license expired after I spent a year teaching abroad and then failed to find a full-time position the following year. The red tape to reapply for a new provisional license is so lengthy and expensive, I was effectively shut out of the system. I’ve been teaching at a history museum all the while, (www.wrhs.org), and I’ve loved it. But I’m still at my best in a classroom. So I sought out a program that would expedite the placement process, and OCTC was it. I like seeing new places, too. Outside of my comfort zone is where I push myself most.

I understand the competition for social studies posts. I’m also capable of teaching Calculus–I was first an engineering major at CWRU, and I’ve tutored SAT/ACT for years at Huntington Learning Centers. I could just have easily sought certification in that content area. But it’s not where my passion is. All I can say is that I’ll do my best to make the costs of recruiting me through OCTC well worth it.

As for the rest of the comments about Allyson’s concerns, let me say that I don’t think there was any negativity in what she wrote. In fact, one of my first student-teaching experiences was with a teacher that sought more students in her classroom because of the bonus pay it would earn. She had over 40 students in almost every class. She had also long since given up on her pupils. She’d tell me horribly derisive things about them while they were still in earshot. She stuck around because she was milking the system. And her bloated salary kept out many new, enthusiastic teachers. All I’m saying is, I think it was just fine that Allyson offered a kind warning about a hint of such a thing.

Thanks,
Dan

Social studies is not one of the hard to staff areas. I’m surprised that OCTC is recruiting for social science positions. OUSD does pay quite a bit of money for this recruitment.

i am 2008 corps member with a social science placement, and i was also extremely anxious given how often we are told that soc sci is full. knowing that it could take until the last moment to get a job, i worked the openings posted through octc and ed-join calling every principal i could starting as soon as i was accepted. i was lucky enough to get a position at my school of choice before june was over.

now, i will say that i got “lucky” because i wanted to teach in alt ed and they are starving for teachers, but i also know that octc will provide as many contacts as possible for you to interview. the phone part does seem like a disadvantage, but hang in there. being a corps member is a good start and if your personality comes through on the phone like it does in your blog, you’ll be good.

best of luck and thanks for choosing oakland!

I fail to see why one has to live or teach in Oakland to understand that it is a failing community highly segregated between haves and have-nots. Like Cleveland, perhaps. With a racial spoils system in place, wrapped in political correctness so the losers in it’s society don’t get upset and stay in their place.

One can pick this sort of thing up from the Wikipedia article and light internet research. You don’t have to “live or teach” in OUSD to at least suspect what is going on. The state takeover of OUSD is on record, the rotten math and verbal scores are on record, the demographics are on record. The turnover of the administrative staff is on record. List goes on.

Dan, don’t get discouraged. Once you arrive here if you don’t like the place you can always move on. The weather is choice. And you will always be needed. It’s nice when you’re young to be needed – a lot. There are a lot of kids. In that population you are going to quickly run into kids who’s trajectory can be greatly affected by you. You will be very important very quickly. You can make a difference to many people.

What I’d say to any worker about to enter a jobsite is to watch for doubletalk and use your eyes as well as your ears. If the treatment you get as a worker in this workplace is not up snuff, move on. If they lie to you in any way, fail to deliver on promises, or treat you in an unprofessionally, get out. Otherwise, enjoy your career here.

Workers of the world unite.

Apologies for the negativity. Dan is one of those people who join the teaching profession for noble reasons and he should be commended for that. Welcome, Dan. Congratulations and good luck.

turner

For goodness sake! It was clear that Dan did not mean he was only planning to teach in OUSD in order to pay his student loans! I’m glad that you are realistic as well as being idealistic, Dan.

In terms of the placement, I am an elementary school teacher so my experience might not apply to you, but when I first came to OUSD I wasn’t told what school I’d be in until late in the summer, though I signed my contract in February. I completely agree that a teacher who’s had the summer months to prepare, get to know the situation and community, etc., can be more effective. Unfortunately such commitment is not recognized or facilitated by OUSD bureaucracy for the most part.

If you start to get any flack that a proposed employment requires you to sacrifice yourself for the good of the employer and the employer’s interests – run like hell. That’s not a job it’s a cult. A healthy workplace respects the workers and the workers respect the employer with each staying within their boundries and obligations.