Teaching in South Carolina?

I went through the public school system in SC, and also student taught there Let’s just say I always knew I didn’t want to stay there. Schools still use ditto machines, because they only have a certain amount of copies from the machine allowed. The supplies were very limited, the children very poor, and parents uninvolved. The administration cared more for saving money than implementing IEPs. Even though the regular classroom teacher is in charge of the IEP (no case managers there!), there is very little training. I didn’t learn what an IEP was until late in the game, and no training on really how to implement it. I didn’t really understand the whole concept until I moved out of state and went to grad school. As a teacher in a specialized field, I would have a very hard time finding a position down there, b/c of the systems’ refusal to meet needs. My brother and sister in law had to sue the school in order to get the required services in my niece’s IEP. It might be different now, since it’s been a few years since I’ve been in the system, but I have many friends still down there, and a niece in the system, and I don’t think it’s changed much. You have to be very resourceful, very dedicated, and very patient in order to teach down there.

I teach 4th grade in a South Carolina school district. The good news is, it’s not as bad as the ‘numbers’ make it sound! There is a lot more involved in that than the public realizes! However, as a result of our ‘numbers,’ there are a lot of plans/programs implemented each year. These can be stressful and cause major headaches to teachers. I’ve not taught anywhere else, though, so I can’t say it isn’t like that elsewhere!