Posted by John Murphy on July 28, 1998 at 12:45:56:
In Reply to: becoming a culinary instructor posted by Margaret on July 18, 1998 at 23:26:21:
Margaret:
to give advice it would be necessary to know what state you live in because each states requirements are different
in NY you would be required to have some additional courses in career ed before you could be certified but you can get a job and finish the requirenments as you work
i was certified as a social studies teacher left education became a chef and then returned to teaching years later
my requirements were nine credits in career ed they applied all previous education toward the cert after two-depending on your tenure area you could get permanent cert with additional course work it again depends on the state
check your state teacher ed web page for vocational ed info
as far as teaching goes the culinary field is about to go through a growth period and there will be openings around but still only a few as compared to other ed areas
teaching culinary is great, students that are there are there most of the time because they want to study the info and want to be prof chefs when finished with aos degress some just want to learn how to cook but either way they are good kids mostly
teaching however is harder than many people think if you are going to be good at it
it takes work to put together lessons that are interesting worthwhile and valid, that students see the value of, and you can create within a budget that is always tight
this will be my third year and i have had many successes and some failures but i wouldn't trade all of it for another job
my program has tripled in size in the three years i've been there
it makes you feel good to have students graduate and go on to higher levels and know that you've made a difference
best of luck
chef Murph