How many teachers on the boards?

[Tinner]

Not a school teacher, but I teach Junior High teens at my church.
I recently discovered that some of them are gamers as well, and we're going to be starting a Testament RPG soon.
I'll probably give them extra-credit for good roleplaying.

 

[ForceUser]

I'm in college to become a teacher.

Me too. Currently working on a BA in English, considering a minor in anthropology, and have my sight set on grad school. One day I hope to be a professor at a university.

 

[Panthanas]

Not sure if this counts but, I'm currently taking night classes to be a social studies teacher and I'll be substituting again this school year. Hopefully I'll be teaching full time in a year or so.

 

[Jdvn1]

Sure it counts!

 

[dougmander]

Art teacher at an inner city middle school-high school. Starting my sixth year there -- I love it. Officially report back on the 29th, but I have two meetings/roundtables already scheduled for this week. Students start a week later.
Looking forward to revving up the school RPG club again. We have about 20 gamers, at least 3 DMs. I'm thinking of running a Zir'An campaign but haven't book the book yet -- is it appropriate for middle school?

 

[Zweihänder]

In 6 days, I start my freshman year at college, with the intent that I become a Global History teacher.

 

[Readerbreeder]

I am about to start my second year teaching secondary English (literature and grammar, as opposed to English as a second language) at an inner-city high school - my board name was born in a Quixotic moment. I get a full slate of Freshmen again this year, with one period of EL (English Learners - those who have not yet mastered spoken English) students.
I go back to work tomorrow, and the kids show up on the 30th.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Art teacher at an inner city middle school-high school. Starting my sixth year there -- I love it. Officially report back on the 29th, but I have two meetings/roundtables already scheduled for this week. Students start a week later.
Looking forward to revving up the school RPG club again. We have about 20 gamers, at least 3 DMs. I'm thinking of running a Zir'An campaign but haven't book the book yet -- is it appropriate for middle school?

I would be very interested to hear more about this RPG club: what games do you play? What sort of participation do you get? What requirements, if any, are imposed on students who wish to participate? How much grief do you get from parents/ church groups? How do you get it started? How/when do you schedule/announce game sessions? Do students buy their own books? Is the program supported or just tolerated? What else should I be asking?

Tomorrow, I begin my student teaching (1st semester) at an economically depressed suburban/rural school. As I said above, I've already got a WotC starter package en route to the school's library, and if the school is receptive, I'd like to start a group there. I'm also hoping to take over the Academic Decathlon team in another year. My CT is their coach now, and plans to leave after the end of the school year, so I'm hoping to just step into his job, but I'll need to impress somebody if I'm to do that, and I want to do it my own way and leave coaching football to someone who enjoys being outside in the sun.

 

[Algolei]

Not sure this counts, but I once taught a couple o' punk-arsed kids to respect the "no littering" laws. (They still send me Christmas cards!)

 

[dougmander]

I would be very interested to hear more about this RPG club: what games do you play? What sort of participation do you get? What requirements, if any, are imposed on students who wish to participate? How much grief do you get from parents/ church groups? How do you get it started? How/when do you schedule/announce game sessions? Do students buy their own books? Is the program supported or just tolerated? What else should I be asking?

Whew, that's a lot of questions. Here goes:

We play D&D 3.5e, but we'd be open to playing other games -- a couple of them want to play Northern Crown this year, for some reason (heh). We have a core group of about 6-8 students who play after school, and another 10 or so who play during a student activity period once a week. Students can only stay to play after school if they don't have detention, sports practice, or a family obligation. All school rules for behavior apply to their conduct during play, too. All players sign a contract when they join, promising not to cheat, to give notice before the end of the day if they can't play, and so on.
The club started three years ago when two seniors approached me about being the faculty advisor for an RPG club they wanted to start. Somehow they had heard that I played. I was the DM for the first two years, but once some of the students got the hang of things, they began running their own games.
I get absolutely no grief from parents or church groups, despite the fact that religion is a big part of the lives of some of my students. Parents can come and sit in on the games anytime. I don't allow evil PCs, but otherwise I don't wring my hands too much about the violent aspects of the game -- Grand Theft Auto and Quake make D&D look quaint.
Regarding scheduling, we have two groups who each meet once a week on a set day -- the "Varsity Squad" and the "Junior Varsity Squad", who are mostly high school and middle school players, respectively. We play from 3:00 to 4:15 or 4:30, occasionally later. And there are pick-up games after school most other days.
Regarding supplies, some students go out and buy their own PHBs after playing for a while; we have plenty of donated 3.0e PHBs, DMGs, and splatbooks from gaming friends of mine. I usually buy a d20 for new players, but they soon get the gamer's itch to have their own dice and dice bag. I print character class info from the SRD and give the relevant sections out as needed. As for minis, I have lovingly painted a PC mini for nearly every player who is with the club for a year or more -- it's become a tradition. Since I've been gaming for 30 years, I have tons of old minis I can use without worrying too much about damaging or losing them. I've made foamcore dungeon rooms and hallways, and since we play in an art room, it's easy to improvise anything we need re scenery on the fly.
The club has the full support of the head of school and the school counselor (she made a guest appearance once as a drow queen). They recognize the value of imaginative play to social and cognitive development.

You should be asking what the games are actually like. Some of the most fun I've ever had playing RPGs.