Top 5 Perks Of Being A Texas High School Technology Teacher

***Dis-Claimer: These perks mostly relate to teachers who are in bigger, well funded, and well staffed school districts. This is also coming from a high school teacher, but with the Tech Apps 242 certification, I can work in any school. Smaller school districts will have a bigger work load with less pay.***

Not every technology teacher that I’ve met here in Texas would agree with all these perks, but then again, not every district is made the same. Fortunately after being through 3 school districts myself, my first 2 were probably the hardest districts to work for. The third one takes the cake.

But having my certification in Tech Apps 242, has allowed me to be “choosy” for whom I work for.

Here are my personal, top five perks of teaching technology:

• Smaller class sizes – This statement didn’t hold true for my last school district, but in most I’ve seen(5A or Higher) this statement holds water. Students are less likely to sign up for computer classes in general because they are intimidated by them.

• More options – Many schools are looking for teachers who are Tech Apps 242 certified, and the demand is only growing. More schools to choose from, means less worries about job security.

• Having your own computer lab – This is worth it’s weight in gold. Having a lab, will not only keep your interested students busy, but it will keep your “troubled” students busy. My boss pushes 100% engaged students. In all honesty, that goal is impossible, but with a lab, it makes it look like everyone is busy.

• Exposure – I have had many tech companies reach out to me, wanting to give us mentors, tours, supplies, and money(just for the school district though, lol). Most of the companies that I’ve reached out to, were more than willing to help out in any way they could. Also, the media loves doing stories on the latest tech classrooms and their subjects.

• Cool toys – Because there is such a big push for technology in the classrooms, there are a lot of grants and funding available to purchase nice things for your program.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows teaching technology, or teaching in general. But the state of Texas just gave all Texas teachers a pretty nice raise, and it looks like they will only improve the lives of their teachers, hopefully.