College Dollars

Let me begin by saying I will be in 24,000 dollars of debt when I leave NC State University. (Not counting the loans my father has taken out for me). This is sadly about the amount I will make in one year as a teacher in NC.

The major difference between high school teachers and college professors is not the phd on their letterhead or the amount of zeros on their paycheck--it is the fact that they are free to teach whatever they want. Theoretically, you could take a course on poultry and learn all about dress making, if that is what your professor chose to talk about.
Example: In FOR 252 I am supposed to learn the basics about forestry in North America. My professor spends over half of the class venting about America's inability to sustain forest land, yet my test is still on forestry in NA. This is my college dollars at work.
Example: In Gardening with Herbaceous Perennials all I have learned is my professors favorite flowers, and why. Remember, these classes are mandatory for me to graduate.

In college, you are forced to take general education courses. I plan to teach Hort or Animal Sci at a high school level, yet a shop class is ruining my gpa. I am glad I will know how to weld in case one of my plants becomes unruly or I need to shoe a horse. Last year an economics class threatened my gpa. These courses do not relate in any way to my future goals as a teacher, yet they rear their ugly heads every semester around final exam time.

Many professors are old. I am spending a great deal of time learning how to teach & as I sit in the classroom I am finding that rarely do my professors know how to do what they are paid to do. At a certain age, you are out of the loop. Newer and better ways of teaching are out there & these 60 year old farts are still practicing 'teaching as usual'.

Would you go to work every day if you knew you weren't going to get paid? Would you purchase something if you never got to reap the benefits? This is similar to how most students feel. Working hard...for nothing.