# Questions about becoming a teacher **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161 "2010-02-16T04:00:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161/21 "2010-02-17T04:09:19Z")
Some states pay better than others. It goes without saying that it is easier to find teaching positions in the lower paying states than in the higher ones. A couple rules of thumb: The farther south you go, the lower the salaries get. The lower ranked a state’s public schools are academically, the lower the salaries get. So, the last time I was job hunting (1991) it would have been relatively easy to get a job in Missouri or Mississippi (just for examples) but they were offering starting salaries in the neighborhood of $14k. Even by 1991 standards that was crap money. Judging by what I’ve heard from student teachers who were job hunting, things haven’t changed much. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161/22 "2010-02-18T03:34:37Z")
Is it still customary for students to address teachers by Mr. or Mrs. Lastname? Or has that loosened up? I’ve never been keen on being addressed as such - I’d much rather people just call me by my first name. The other thing is, there’s a bit of a twist in my case. My last name happens to be the same as that of the school counselor on a certain animated show that takes place in Colorado… ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161/23 "2010-02-18T13:39:56Z")
It is not a good idea to have kids call you by your first name. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161/24 "2010-02-18T17:40:54Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > It is not a good idea to have kids call you by your first name. Agreed. Too touchy-feelie. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161/25 "2010-02-18T17:41:50Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Is it still customary for students to address teachers by Mr. or Mrs. Lastname? Or has that loosened up? I’ve never been keen on being addressed as such - I’d much rather people just call me by my first name. > > The other thing is, there’s a bit of a twist in my case. My last name happens to be the same as that of the school counselor on a certain animated show that takes place in Colorado… At my wife’s school (public elementary school in California), the teachers are still called by their last name by the students – Mr. X, Mrs. Y. Just as they always have been. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161/26 "2010-02-18T17:57:20Z")
You want to be addressed by your last name. It separates (in your own mind), you teacher persona from your “real” persona, which keeps the censor/filter more firmly in place. You can (and will) acquire nicknames–mine is a shortened version of my last name–but it’s a nickname for teacher-you, not real you. ---
**Author:** ![dragoncat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@dragoncat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragoncat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161/27 "2010-02-18T18:52:35Z")
**GESancMan** , you keep mentioning “15 or 20 years” in teaching and it makes me laugh. Very, very few teachers stay in teaching that long! Teaching is a difficult, thankless job. We spend too little time actually teaching and too much time dealing with bureaucracy. We have to answer to the politicians, the parents, and the administration before we even consider our students. We are talked down to by our superiors as if we were students sitting in the chairs in our own classrooms. Most male teachers quickly leave teaching for administration, where they can actually earn some money and feel some self-respect. That being said, the **most** important thing in your decision should be which group of students you would rather work with, children (or a particular age of children) or (young) adults. You become a teacher because you love teaching, not for any other reason. You have to get a charge out of being in the classroom or the lecture hall showing them new information or explaining material. That’s what makes teaching worth it, so don’t sell yourself short! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-becoming-a-teacher/529161.md?page=1)