1034. A Day in the Life: What's It Really Like to Be a Middle School Teacher?

“Two things every teacher should do–both to make themselves more employable and to make more money in teaching–is to, first, add a master’s degree, and then a specialist degree. These put a teacher on a different scale and have more than paid for themselves since I obtained them.” 

In the spring of 1978, John Donegan received the news that he had sufficient credits to graduate from the university of Florida with a BA in history and move on to the next phase of his life. While many would be thrilled to graduate in three years, he was terrified. The job market was wretched, inflation was rampant, and the energy crisis had Americans turning out lights and waiting in long lines for a tank of gas. Partly to avoid graduation, and partly due to some sage advice from a trusted professor, John applied to the College of Education for their one-year teacher certification program. Four decades later, it is clear that advice paid off, as John has enjoyed his career as a social studies teacher for 40 years.