I recently had lunch with a few friends and our high school journalism teacher and it led me to realize some difference between high school and college that I hadn’t thought of. The biggest difference I’ve noticed, compared to my high school, is that the professors I have enjoy their work. They are enthusiastic about their jobs and increasing the knowledge of their student which is something I got from only a handful of the teachers at my high school. So this poses the question, do high school teachers enjoy their jobs?
While in high school I remember days that would drag on, classes I dreaded going to, and work that I had no interest in doing. All of which are things that any student experiences, but what about the teachers? They probably have days they don’t want to be at work, or grading papers, or dealing with students that don’t care to be in their class but are required to be. I understand this isn’t a viewpoint that is often looked at because the image that we have of teacher is that they enjoy every aspect of the jobs, which I find hard to believe. However, at some point this makes them stop enjoying their work. It becomes just another 9-to-5.
The professors I had in college are not like this, they seem fairly happy to be professing to various class sizes. They want to be in that class and it makes me want to be in that class. They want to teach what they're teaching and it makes me want to learn it. They have something to say and it makes me want to listen. They don’t seem to have those days that I saw my high school teachers have. Growing up I was led to believe that my public school teachers would be caring and that it was the college professors I had to worry about. So far this has proven to be false.
In considering the differences, I realized that these professions were like chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, they’re both cookies but we all know which one is sweeter. The amount of work, patience, and drive is much more relevant in a high school teacher than in a professor but the professor still enjoys their work more. Professors, compared to high school teachers, deal with a more mature crowd, pick their schedule, continue to do work in their field, get paid more, and don’t have nearly as much government intervention such as standardized test. Just thinking of all of the things high school teachers have put up with and then thinking about how little they get in return, it’s amazing that there are still people going into education.
After asking myself the question of why did my high school teachers not like their jobs, I soon realized the better question was why would they like their jobs. Education is one of the most valuable things a person can have, especially at the critical ages of brain development. Yet, the people that are in charge of expanding the knowledge of the future generations are underpaid and vastly under-appreciated. Teachers are just as valuable, if not more so, than doctors, lawyers, government officials, and some of the leading professions in the United States.
This article is not to downplay or discredit any job or profession but only to bring about the disvalue of teaching developing students.
