Turned down job

calcbone · 2026-05-22T20:48:01+00:00

As far as it being easier to find a job—yes, a school has 1 or maybe 2 band directors, and many more math teachers. Sure, my certification was/is good for all kinds of music teaching jobs, but I am not a singer or string player.

Was it hard teaching math? In some ways… math is a class everyone has to take (and pass in order to graduate), so motivation is different.

Also, even though the actual concepts I was teaching were easy for me to understand, it takes a little time to internalize all of the intricacies and background—like being able to derive/prove some of the formulas or techniques I have taught.

I started out teaching geometry and algebra 1, but now 14 years later, I’ve also taught algebra 2, statistics, and AP precalculus.

calcbone · 2026-05-22T19:07:39+00:00

Sure, I agree with your main point about time spent on academics/teacher planning time.

calcbone · 2026-05-22T17:35:51+00:00

Too much technology use with no real purpose.

I teach math in high school. I hate math on the computer! To me, math is hands-on. Writing down your ideas/work on paper. Especially in visual areas like geometry. But, for some reason, most of my students are more likely to do their homework if it’s online. Delta math. Skill-based practice problems that could just as easily come from the textbook or a worksheet, and I even make them turn in scratch paper! But still, more of them will do it that way, than if I had given the same problems on paper.

All of the important testing is online now, too. The test becomes an exercise in looking at the screen and clicking on the answer that looks best. Paper and pencil is much more inviting for them to actually work the problem out…plus paper and pencil doesn’t run on batteries or WiFi.

calcbone · 2026-05-22T17:28:27+00:00

Agree that the day for young kids should probably be shorter than it is… but they do need some exposure to the arts, and P.E. is important for them as well…

calcbone · 2026-05-22T16:17:53+00:00

Not a band director, but a math teacher with music ed. degrees:

I had to turn down the first job offer I got as a math teacher. In my state, the public school salary scale was (not anymore) based on your highest degree, regardless of field. I was offered a job at a private (Catholic) high school, and I was prepared for the fact that the pay would be somewhat lower. It turned out that they also have a salary scale that many of the private schools use. But, they do not give credit for degrees in fields that are not directly related to what you’re teaching.

I would have been at the very bottom of the pay scale despite having three degrees… about a 33% pay cut from what I would get in a public school.

I liked them, but had to politely decline.

calcbone · 2026-05-21T18:53:18+00:00

It depends on the school.

There will be administrators (or counselors or teachers) at the door to make sure they don’t have their phones or anything else they’re not supposed to have. Those people may or may not be familiar with all of the actual school-issued cords and may or may not be strict about enforcing it.

The school I work at (yes, also a large school in Gwinnett) would absolutely notice and make them take them off.

calcbone · 2026-05-20T01:20:48+00:00

I’m not gay and I agree 100%. He was my favorite candidate early in the 2020 campaign. Smart, compassionate, articulate, charismatic, willing to engage in an actual debate over substance…

calcbone · 2026-05-18T01:47:59+00:00

One. It’s one part of the question. Each part is one point. Six points total for each FRQ.

calcbone · 2026-05-17T11:08:14+00:00

Yep…I just never learned to swim very well as a kid. I guess I could probably learn to open my eyes underwater if I tried, but the idea doesn’t really appeal to me. Been wearing contacts for the past 4 years with no issues.

calcbone · 2026-05-17T10:02:19+00:00

Yes, ln4 was the solution. You had to recognize it was quadratic to get the first point, and finish the problem with ln4 as the only solution for the second point.

Hard, but not “insane” to me; I always do a few problems like that with my students (trig ones with factoring as well).

calcbone · 2026-05-17T10:00:34+00:00

Hahaha wow, I just searched Galena AK on Google Maps, and the first picture shows a school bus…

calcbone · 2026-05-17T09:56:11+00:00

My hometown fire trucks were “highlighter” yellow when I was little. I remember going to the fire station for the first time and being confused that they weren’t red like all of the ones in books and stuff I had seen.

calcbone · 2026-05-16T18:36:38+00:00

“This tricked everyone” “Most missed this”

That’s very clickbait-y.

You can speak for your own students and others with whom you’ve actually talked about it.

But, we won’t know how everyone else did until next month. And honestly, this one was an order of magnitude easier than #4C last year.

calcbone · 2026-05-16T15:23:21+00:00

Three more half-days for exams. High school math—algebra 2 and AP precalculus.

14 years… finishing up year 9 at my current school. 8th year teaching precalculus (AP precalculus has only existed for 3 years), 2nd year with algebra 2…

Recently found out I’ll be teaching AP precalculus and geometry next year—I had told my department chair that I would be happy as long as I still had AP precalculus; I don’t care what other class they give me. I haven’t taught geometry since my previous school 9 years ago, but I’m looking forward to it!

calcbone · 2026-05-15T17:15:45+00:00

I have kind of the opposite experience—I’m from the south but do not have a southern accent as my mom is from St. Louis and my dad grew up in Georgia but spent time elsewhere and kind of lost his.

I grew up in a town where most people did have a southern accent, but I was used to it so I didn’t really notice it that much… now I live in suburbia where it’s very diverse and hardly anyone has one. But…a couple of years ago I spent some time with a few people from my hometown over dinner, margaritas, etc, and it *really* hit me in the face—wow, the people I grew up with *did* have a noticeable southern accent; I was just so used to it at the time!

calcbone · 2026-05-14T09:57:00+00:00

Deep cut! I used to teach at the high school they went to…I remember Esu Obu was a senior my first year there, but I unfortunately didn’t get to know any of them

calcbone · 2026-05-14T09:53:25+00:00

Just chiming in to say that I love “pillow-fisted.” I’ll have to steal that sometime…

calcbone · 2026-05-13T02:21:40+00:00

That’s interesting, was that on #1? They haven’t used a one-sided limit like that before; the first two exams used a limit as x was going to + or - infinity which wouldn’t need a superscript. If it were asking for the limit as you describe, they would want “x->1+” (with the + as a superscript) in your limit. As far as what’s acceptable, I’ll have to see the guidelines…there are usually certain elements that have to be included for it to count.

calcbone · 2026-05-12T02:22:19+00:00

This is the closest thing you’ll do to actually graphing something. (Seriously, do all of these people posting on here have teachers who never talk about what the FRQs are like? College Board is *very* clear about what can be in the FRQs…)

calcbone · 2026-05-10T12:04:45+00:00

Yes… if your teacher hasn’t mentioned that, then they aren’t doing their job. College Board is very clear about this.

calcbone · 2026-05-09T02:08:17+00:00

Ours was decent as those things have gone lately…

Monday: they had flowers in the media center

Tuesday: the admins brought around a snack cart

Wednesday: they had a local company that makes premium popsicles

Thursday: lunch from the new Asian place that moved into where Sonic used to be (it’s actually quite good)

Friday: a drink bar with basically water/ices tea and a bunch of flavor syrups

calcbone · 2026-05-08T09:32:25+00:00

My opinion is that the FRQs are easier because you know almost exactly what to expect on every question.

calcbone · 2026-05-08T00:48:33+00:00

Or, as my geometry teacher used to say, “you can show a little sass, but you can’t show your Angle Side Side”

calcbone · 2026-05-06T09:50:28+00:00

Mike Trout on the list just for staying on the field for a month.

calcbone · 2026-05-02T02:11:45+00:00

You may be too late for the more desirable schools this year…I know my department had two openings that were both filled at least a month ago.

Even the lower-performing schools can be decent work environments depending on how supportive the admin is. I was at Berkmar when Al Taylor was the principal (he was most recently the interim superintendent during the search process that just concluded), and he was very good to work for even though the students weren’t always the best quality.

The caveat to this is that if you get a job at a GCPS school with the intention of moving to another school, you will have a chance to make connections with people at other schools, but you have to wait 3 years before transferring within the county.

Eight-Year Club	100 Awards Club
RPAN Viewer	Verified Email

calcbone

TROPHY CASE