THE WORKPLACE
Midcareer job changers may be the nation’s best hope to fill an estimated 1.5 million teaching vacancies expected in the next 10 years.
But $50,000 a year may be the magic number to entice most of them to the profession.
A study conducted for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, released Sept. 11, found that four in 10 adults who are not now teachers would consider teaching.
In fact, that same proportion of adult workers said they had considered teaching in the past.
But perceptions of low pay (or at least lower pay than what they now earn) and lack of information about degree or certification requirements have kept many would-be teachers from investigating further.
Interviewers found that baby boomers, particularly, are intrigued by the idea of teaching as a second career. It fits with their desires to “do something meaningful” or “give back to society” in the latter part of their work lives.
The report laid out the challenges to attract more college-educated, midcareer professionals to the classroom. They include better pay, safe schools and clear, “accelerated” pathways to obtain teaching credentials.
TAKE A BREAK: The superworker stays glued to his chair for 12 hours at a stretch. Meals are protein bars stowed away in his desk. Bathroom breaks? Mr. Company First runs to the bathroom and back. Walks outdoors are out of the question. Office coffee, not Starbucks runs, are the norm.
All wrong, says Dave Willmer, executive director of staffing company OfficeTeam.
“Most people and most executives would say you tend to be more efficient if you break your day down, as opposed to working an entire day straight,” Willmer said. “You’re able to remain a little bit more focused.”
While a 30-minute or 45-minute lunch break in the middle of the day is nice, many people can’t manage that, Willmer said. That’s OK. Taking a five-minute break or a short walk, optimally outside, once every three hours, can be enough. Doing so helps refocus concentration, physically re-energizes the body, and helps bring down stress, he said. All that helps increase productivity.
Willmer also pointed out that eating lunch alone at your desk could make you miss out on a chance to network and improve your working relationships with colleagues.
From wire reports