My cousin is going to college in NY to become a teacher and he recently got a DWI. Apparently in NY State you cannot be a teacher if you have a DWI or DUI on your record.

I did a quick search on google and didn't find anything . . . does anyone know of any similiar restrictions in NC?

[Edited on January 4, 2007 at 5:05 PM. Reason : ]

1/4/2007 4:55:58 PM

sucks for him

1/4/2007 4:57:15 PM

My boy couldn't get on in Durham because of one

1/4/2007 4:57:39 PM

another reason not to fuck up.

1/4/2007 5:04:24 PM

i know if you get one and you are a teacher you can keep your job. but sorry, i dont know about intial applying. sorry for your cousin. has he actually been convicted?

1/4/2007 5:06:50 PM

What you do in life now, can close doors later on in life.

1/4/2007 5:08:49 PM

thank god. he's the worst kind of person in our society

1/4/2007 5:08:53 PM

im sure he will make more money if he doesnt become a teacher.
of course now he has to work 12 months instead of 10

1/4/2007 5:13:43 PM

Teachers in NC can have a DWI and still teach. My wife used to teach in NC and atleast two teachers she worked with got DWI's and never lost their jobs.

1/4/2007 5:19:02 PM

^ yeah but he's not asking about being able to get a DWI and keep your teaching job. He wants to know how the DWI effects the hiring process.

1/4/2007 5:35:09 PM

Well it obviously doesn't help you get a job, but I don't think NC has a law saying teacher cannot be hired if they have a DWI.

1/4/2007 5:39:38 PM

It probably just hurts your chances, as mentioned above. So you may can only get a job in an urgent need area & in a higher need school district.

1/4/2007 5:45:46 PM

Yeah, you have trouble being HIRED if you have a DWI. There are questions specifically about whether or not you have a DWI on the application. It goes the same for substitute teaching.

1/4/2007 6:44:19 PM

Teaching is such an underpaid and unrewarding line of work that he will certiainly be able to find employment somewhere.

1/4/2007 6:49:30 PM

did i mention he is going to school to be a PE teacher?

1/4/2007 7:19:18 PM

If he's willing to teach in an under-privalged area, he can get a job. Places like Wake County, however, are very competitive. It took some of my peers (HS. English. . .it's easier in some other subject areas) months and months to find a job in Wake and others couldn't survive that long, so they ended up going to different areas.

Right before August, I received numerous phone calls from school systems in rural areas, but I couldn't just pick up and move because I'm married.

1/4/2007 7:23:55 PM

^^going places...

1/4/2007 7:25:45 PM

^^what kind of rural/under-privalged areas are we talking about?

1/4/2007 7:38:16 PM

Well, there are places with high teacher turn over rates which are usually the results of being rural, low income, and/or poor teaching conditions. The top ten are (in order) Hoke, Warren, Weldon City, Franklin, Edgecombe, Vance, Charlotte/Mecklenburg, Tyrrell, Hertford, and Person.

1/4/2007 7:55:53 PM

well he damn sure wont be teaching drivers ed LOL

1/4/2007 9:33:01 PM

im finding out you cant get a job (without knowing anyone) if you even have felony CHARGES on your record

talk about fucking suicidal

1/4/2007 9:35:24 PM

dude that law in Ny is fucked up, why should you be punished for something in your career that happened before you started your job. You could be 17 and get a DUI, yet eventhough you have grown up graduated and might be a great teacher, not teach b.c of something that happened when you were younger.

1/5/2007 12:19:58 AM

^^Yeah, that scares me.

1/5/2007 7:05:39 AM

He's not screwed yet. Plea bargain with the DA for a lesser charge. Offer to do community service, write in a letter why you understand why you made a mistake, and state that you were celebrating getting a job as a teacher in NY and it was a serious lack of judgement on his part.

The big thing is to fully accept the blame and OFFER some form of restitution in addition to whatever they might want to give. Some judges are viscious when it comes to this charge. You have to show without a doubt that you understand what you did was wrong, and that you want to make good for it.

God help him if he was smart mouthed with the officer.

1/5/2007 7:18:50 AM

HUR would you honestly want a teacher that had DUI's on their record. That's just the moral teacher I want for my kids :/ A lot of people in NY feel the same way and thus the law was passed.

What surprises me is most people think it's unfair. I've never been arrested, and I've gotten like 1 speeding ticket in my life. Nothing personal but if you have a fucking felony on your record you reap what you sow.

Now you get to pay the price for the lack of judgement. You can get charges on your record removed if they never went through but it cost money and requires a lawyer.

1/5/2007 7:25:03 AM

Yeah, and in another thread they were saying drinking tickets don't matter. They do.

1/5/2007 7:44:23 AM

Quote :

"Teaching is such an underpaid and unrewarding line of work that he will certiainly be able to find employment somewhere."

So untrue. If you find somewhere that takes as much vacation as teaching (you can get another job for the summer) that you don't need an advanced degree to do and that pays as much as teaching, I would be SHOCKED.

Unrewarding? I dunno, I guess that depends. I would grant you unappreciated, because some little bastards don't get how important that job is to their futures.

1/5/2007 7:50:16 AM

Quote :

"Yeah, and in another thread they were saying drinking tickets don't matter. They do. "

a dui/dwi is very different from a drinking ticket.

1/5/2007 8:33:09 AM

Quote :

"So untrue."

I would beg to differ. Teachers do not work simply from bell to bell and a free planning period is a thing of the past. If you broke down the actual number of hours that teachers spend working (lesson planning, grading papers, helping students outside of class, on the phone/emailing parents, teacher work days, seminars, meetings, professional development, etc), you would find that most teachers are making something like minimum wage.

1/5/2007 8:38:33 AM

^^ It is a type of drinking ticket.

1/5/2007 8:51:41 AM

no, its a drinking AND driving ticket. big difference. the thread that you alluded to was only about drinking tickets....not dui/dwi.

plus, dui/dwi is not specific to only alcohol, so its very possible to get a dui/dwi without drinking a thing.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 8:58 AM. Reason : df]

1/5/2007 8:57:44 AM

some huge % of people have drinking tickets, no one gives a fuck unless you have a dozen or so... it's the drinking and driving ones that fuck you

1/5/2007 9:18:54 AM

In NC it's possible, don't know about NY. There should be someone in the education program there that does the placements for student teaching, deals with the certification, and/or assists in the license application process who will be able to tell him about this; I'm sure he's not the first to be in this situation. He should find out who deals with the schools and talk to them about it. It's better to get it out of the way now because they will do a background check before he student teaches (it will come up eventually). They may be able to give him advice now that won't help him a week before the background check.

Though I must say the equivalent of that person here is very nice, and understanding that people fuck up every now and then. If the person at his school is a douche he may want to be a little hesitant and ask some other people just for the fact that certain people have to sign off on your student teaching and what not.

I can tell you that in similar situations here you may have to write something explaining what happened and reflecting on it, perhaps talk about why it's not going to be a problem in the future, etc.. 2 people review it, if they don't both agree in favor of you then it goes before a committee who decides whether or not they're willing to place you in a school for student teaching.

The other thing is that if he hasn't actually gone to court yet he may want to get a lawyer and try to fight it if at all possible. It may be very much worth it in the end.

1/5/2007 9:30:44 AM

Tell him to apply around hempstead

1/5/2007 12:50:16 PM

Quote :

"If you broke down the actual number of hours that teachers spend working (lesson planning, grading papers, helping students outside of class, on the phone/emailing parents, teacher work days, seminars, meetings, professional development, etc), you would find that most teachers are making something like minimum wage. "

Wow... Do you have any clue what teachers make?

Or do you have no clue what minimum wage is?

Even giving them 50hrs./wk., paid overtime, & using the new minimum of 6.15, that's a monthly salary of ~1500. And since they work only 10months, that's a yearly rate of 15,000.

Are you seriously that ignorant?

I'm a grad student. I know what it's like making ~minimum wage. I'd love to make what teachers make.

1/5/2007 2:56:22 PM

A friend of mine got a DUI and blew a .21 ... and that was in Wake co. two months later and she is teaching 2nd graders. but then again, this is NC. Not NY. and the educational system here speaks for itself.

1/5/2007 3:23:56 PM

teachers are underworked and overpaid. stop trying to act like they slave away for minimum wage.

1/5/2007 4:07:36 PM

teachers are underworked and overpaid???

wtf???

1/5/2007 6:46:07 PM

They're not working for minimum wage, but they're certainly not paid well for the job either. It's also worth noting that not all states only require a college degree for their teachers. NY requires that you have or be working towards a masters.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 6:47 PM. Reason : sadf]

1/5/2007 6:46:47 PM

Quote :

"teachers are underworked and overpaid"

WOW

1/5/2007 6:48:38 PM

Quote :

"Wow... Do you have any clue what teachers make? Or do you have no clue what minimum wage is? Even giving them 50hrs./wk., paid overtime, & using the new minimum of 6.15, that's a monthly salary of ~1500. And since they work only 10months, that's a yearly rate of 15,000."

No, I am someone who actually spent a semester teaching. I was at the school at 7 am every morning and left at 4:30 every day and then spent 3 hours at home grading papers or planning. Then I also put in 10 hours or so on the weekends. I know that I spent 60-70 hours out of the week at school or doing work for school -- given, I taught English which means a lot of time spent reading bad essays, etc. but a majority of teachers who actually care about their job put a lot of time and effort into it.

And most teachers don't spent only 10 months out of the year working. Many of them spend the summers somehow involved in professional development or preparing for the up-coming year.

Given, minimum wage may be an exageration, but I resent the hell out of the comment that I was responding to because it was made by someone who has obviously never taught or knows anyone who teaches particularly well.

1/5/2007 7:25:38 PM

Quote :

"Nothing personal but if you have a fucking felony on your record you reap what you sow. "

1/5/2007 7:41:03 PM

Well with many schools going year round, teachers are losing their summers, and thus the opportunity to earn additional money.

Not many places want to hire someone for 3 weeks at a time.



As a teacher, I will say that the salary is probably fair if you only look at teaching/grading and if the teacher only works for 10 months.

BUT...

The biggest thing that most teachers will say is that there is too much crap that goes into teaching that has nothing to do with teaching. Schools today expect teachers to be social workers too. They expect teachers to do parents jobs. Many kids don't care about education, the parents don't either, or they spend their time giving the teacher crap when its their kids own damn faults. The stress associated with this kind of stuff makes teachers feel unappreciated and the salary isn't enough when you factor that in.

1/5/2007 8:23:27 PM

Quote :

"I was at the school at 7 am every morning and left at 4:30 every day and then spent 3 hours at home grading papers or planning. Then I also put in 10 hours or so on the weekends."

good lord, you need to learn how to use your time better than that.

1/5/2007 8:27:02 PM

Quote :

"good lord, you need to learn how to use your time better than that."

Well, capymca hit the nail right on the head. Any time that I had before classes began at 7:20, during my lunch or planning period, or after school end at 2:30, I spent doing a lot of things that had absolutely nothing to do with actually teaching.

And the enormous amount of time I put in isn't any different than most teachers the first time around because you're starting from scratch. No tests, no quizzes, no lesson plans, no nothing. And even good solid veteran teachers put in a lot of time because they're constantly tweaking and perfecting their work.

Then I also taught AP students who were always in my classroom during their free time looking to suck up or find out what was going to be on the test and a low level class with an over-whelming number of ESL students who sought me out before and after school for extra help.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 8:41 PM. Reason : .]

1/5/2007 8:40:14 PM

Quote :

"The biggest thing that most teachers will say is that there is too much crap that goes into teaching that has nothing to do with teaching. Schools today expect teachers to be social workers too. They expect teachers to do parents jobs. Many kids don't care about education, the parents don't either, or they spend their time giving the teacher crap when its their kids own damn faults. The stress associated with this kind of stuff makes teachers feel unappreciated and the salary isn't enough when you factor that in."

ding ding ding! we have a winner!

I have had parents try to tell me their kids are not troublemakers even though he has a huge history of office referrals. When I get one of those parents, I tell them to come sit in my class next to the child for the rest of the semester and he wont' get in trouble.

When I have had teachers try to tell me that "I am not teaching right," I tell them to come and teach my class for a day. Then the parents shutup. The parents belive their child is always right and that the kid is a perfect angel incapable of doing wrong. But I know the difference between a student that doesn't understand(and wants to) and a kid that doesn't care and blames it on the teacher for not "teaching right."

1/5/2007 8:53:06 PM

I dont' have a planning period so I have to do my work at home or come in early/stay late to get things done. I teach 4 classes with only a break for lunch. Since this is my 5th year teaching I pretty much know what I am doing each day without lesson planning in detail. I spend most of my time making worksheets that have examples that get the students ready for the EOCs since the worksheets that are provided are crap. Tests are scantron and quizzes are graded by their classmates.

This year I have at least 2 students each day that stay after for extra help. I even had 2 students come afterschool today for help to get started on a huge project that is due in 2 weeks. I have some students that really bust their ass to understand what is going on. They may not study as much as they need to, but in class they try to understand the material.

We have 13 math teachers where I work and out of the 13 about 4 of them can get their students to work on a consistant basis and have as few discipline problems as possible. That doesn't mean that those 4 teachers(me included) aren't strict enough. The students (mostly)can just tell that us 4 really care about them and that we aren't going to give up on them just because they may not understand.



[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 9:09 PM. Reason : added]

1/5/2007 8:58:44 PM

Quote :

""Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting the right staff member, please listen to all your options before making a selection: To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1 To make excuses for why your child did not do his work - Press 2 To complain about what we do - Press 3 To cuss out staff members - Press 4 To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you - Press 5 If you want us to raise your child - Press 6 If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone - Press 7 To request another teacher for the third time this year - Press 8 To complain about bus transportation - Press 9 To complain about school lunches - Press 0 If you realize this is the real world and your child must be accountable / responsible for his / her own behavior, class work, homework, and that it's not the teachers fault for your children's lack of effort, hang up and have a nice day!" "

1/6/2007 10:50:57 AM

Quote :

"And the enormous amount of time I put in isn't any different than most teachers the first time around"

it's my first year teaching too, and i very rarely ever have to take any work home with me. I coach also.

1/6/2007 10:55:19 AM

Quote :

"If you broke down the actual number of hours that teachers spend working (lesson planning, grading papers, helping students outside of class, on the phone/emailing parents, teacher work days, seminars, meetings, professional development, etc), you would find that most teachers are making something like minimum wage."

my gf worked approximately 58 hours in one week recently - her new clock in software at work tracks their hours. That's not normal, but she usually works way more than 40 hours. She makes around 30 grand. Do the math.

[Edited on January 7, 2007 at 1:30 AM. Reason : ,]

1/7/2007 1:29:41 AM