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how hard is the English major or English teaching?
Hello I'm Israel I'm currently in the 12th grade at harmony science academy and my question is how hard is the English major or English teaching? Im planing to take English teaching and I want to know if its hard or not.
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Updated
Maria’s Answer
Hi Israel,
I'm not a teacher, but as a professional writer I know a number of English teachers who are struggling right now to figure out how to teach English when kids are just using ChatGPT to do their homework. ChatGPT does NOT teach you how to write. It teaches you how to give your homework to someone else to do, which is terrible. So, that's one of the major challenges you'd have as an English teacher in this new terrain of generative AI. You'll also join the many teachers struggling to compete with diminishing attention spans and increased distractions. Our technology has high-jacked our brain chemistry, pulling us away from the task at hand by competing for dopamine hits from social media.
That all sounds negative, but hear me out. Teaching is a vocation, meaning that you have to feel called to do it. Don't do it unless you feel deep in your heart that you want to teach, that your purpose in life is to teach. If that's the case, it doesn't matter if it's "hard." You do it because you need to do it.
On the other hand, as an English major with a writing concentration, I had a huge number of opportunities on the job force. Someone who can communicate well can contribute well to almost any project. As I mentioned, I'm an author, but I've also found numerous ways to parlay my English degree into tech jobs like UX design, website copywriting, and marketing communications.
So, try not to think about whether something is "easy" or "hard." Think about what you feel called to do, what you're good at, and where you feel excited to learn.
I'm not a teacher, but as a professional writer I know a number of English teachers who are struggling right now to figure out how to teach English when kids are just using ChatGPT to do their homework. ChatGPT does NOT teach you how to write. It teaches you how to give your homework to someone else to do, which is terrible. So, that's one of the major challenges you'd have as an English teacher in this new terrain of generative AI. You'll also join the many teachers struggling to compete with diminishing attention spans and increased distractions. Our technology has high-jacked our brain chemistry, pulling us away from the task at hand by competing for dopamine hits from social media.
That all sounds negative, but hear me out. Teaching is a vocation, meaning that you have to feel called to do it. Don't do it unless you feel deep in your heart that you want to teach, that your purpose in life is to teach. If that's the case, it doesn't matter if it's "hard." You do it because you need to do it.
On the other hand, as an English major with a writing concentration, I had a huge number of opportunities on the job force. Someone who can communicate well can contribute well to almost any project. As I mentioned, I'm an author, but I've also found numerous ways to parlay my English degree into tech jobs like UX design, website copywriting, and marketing communications.
So, try not to think about whether something is "easy" or "hard." Think about what you feel called to do, what you're good at, and where you feel excited to learn.
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Israel !
Since I do not know you, I cannot tell you how you would find studying Education or English. It's just something you'd have to want to do and not care what the demands of the path are.
If you want to become an English Teacher (you did not mention what level - elementary school, high school or college English), you would have to get your Bachelors Degree in Education, not English. You would then need to obtain your teaching credential. That is why you need to major in Education, so that you can be prepared to be certified as well as have had student teaching experience.
With a Bachelors Degree in Texas, a Teacher Preparation program, and teaching credential, you can teach in elementary, middle and high schools. A master’s degree can enhance job opportunities and salary potential. Generally, if you want to teach in college, you would obtain a Masters or Doctorate Degree but there is no information about this specifically for your state of Texas. If you want to find out what you'd need to teach at colleges in Texas, you can research it by going to employment websites online and reading the requirements in teacher employment notices. You could probably also call colleges, speak with their Human Resources Departments and ask what degree is needed to teach at their college.
About your concern for the difficulty level of this path, is it a concern about studying Education, English or college requirements ? You weren't very clear why you are concerned about this. No one can tell you how you will perceive it. Read up more about being a teacher and see if it is indeed something you are motivated to do. Read about the Education Program requirements at various colleges and determine if you're interested in or like the specific courses contained in the program.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best exploring this as a possible career !
Since I do not know you, I cannot tell you how you would find studying Education or English. It's just something you'd have to want to do and not care what the demands of the path are.
If you want to become an English Teacher (you did not mention what level - elementary school, high school or college English), you would have to get your Bachelors Degree in Education, not English. You would then need to obtain your teaching credential. That is why you need to major in Education, so that you can be prepared to be certified as well as have had student teaching experience.
With a Bachelors Degree in Texas, a Teacher Preparation program, and teaching credential, you can teach in elementary, middle and high schools. A master’s degree can enhance job opportunities and salary potential. Generally, if you want to teach in college, you would obtain a Masters or Doctorate Degree but there is no information about this specifically for your state of Texas. If you want to find out what you'd need to teach at colleges in Texas, you can research it by going to employment websites online and reading the requirements in teacher employment notices. You could probably also call colleges, speak with their Human Resources Departments and ask what degree is needed to teach at their college.
About your concern for the difficulty level of this path, is it a concern about studying Education, English or college requirements ? You weren't very clear why you are concerned about this. No one can tell you how you will perceive it. Read up more about being a teacher and see if it is indeed something you are motivated to do. Read about the Education Program requirements at various colleges and determine if you're interested in or like the specific courses contained in the program.
I hope this helps and I wish you all the best exploring this as a possible career !
Updated
Katherine’s Answer
Hi there!
Life can feel challenging, especially when things are a bit messy. But remember, you're not alone in this.
As an English major, I managed to juggle different classes along with writing long essays and doing lots of reading. The great part was diving into books I truly loved, instead of the usual high school stuff.
I believe the difficulty in the majors you mentioned really depends on how you like to work and the school you're at. Keep going, and you'll find your way!
Life can feel challenging, especially when things are a bit messy. But remember, you're not alone in this.
As an English major, I managed to juggle different classes along with writing long essays and doing lots of reading. The great part was diving into books I truly loved, instead of the usual high school stuff.
I believe the difficulty in the majors you mentioned really depends on how you like to work and the school you're at. Keep going, and you'll find your way!
Updated
Faith’s Answer
Hello,
I hope you are having a great day today! Answering this question, teaching English is a great opportunity and the major itself is enjoyable. I will say, I did more of the English major only side, but I had a close friend who went to school for English Education and she loved it. I recommend perfecting the MLA and APA formats before you go so that you can write papers in a breeze. Also, make sure that you are organized so you can keep everything in order. I recommend becoming an avid reader now so in the future it won’t be hard to read quickly. I will say it depends on what major you want. If you choose the English major only route, I recommend the same as before, and try to get an internship around junior year to senior year. If you choose the teaching route I recommend the same things but with the internship, it will be different because you have to go to a school
to teach rather than search and apply. Being an English major is difficult but you learn a lot of critical thinking skills and it teaches you to analyze pieces of work and you catch things you had no idea you would catch. I recommend the major where you learn a lot. Hope
this helps!
I hope you are having a great day today! Answering this question, teaching English is a great opportunity and the major itself is enjoyable. I will say, I did more of the English major only side, but I had a close friend who went to school for English Education and she loved it. I recommend perfecting the MLA and APA formats before you go so that you can write papers in a breeze. Also, make sure that you are organized so you can keep everything in order. I recommend becoming an avid reader now so in the future it won’t be hard to read quickly. I will say it depends on what major you want. If you choose the English major only route, I recommend the same as before, and try to get an internship around junior year to senior year. If you choose the teaching route I recommend the same things but with the internship, it will be different because you have to go to a school
to teach rather than search and apply. Being an English major is difficult but you learn a lot of critical thinking skills and it teaches you to analyze pieces of work and you catch things you had no idea you would catch. I recommend the major where you learn a lot. Hope
this helps!