It's pretty common for me to be talked down by others because of my major. To many, "Elementary Education majors have it easy", and "all we do is color." But that is far from the truth. I wish my classes were as easy as that. And yes, I may not be required to write a forty page research paper or a seven page equation, but I am typing up lesson plans every week and memorizing standards and objectives. So yes, it might seem simple, but in al actuality, I am working just as hard as that nursing major sitting next to you in the library.

In reality, teachers shape our future learners. As an education major, many education students, including myself, dedicate hours to our studies and look forward to the day when we can change a child's life.

I may not be certified to perform a surgery, but I will be certified to create lives for each of my students, and mold them into members of such professions that are so much more highly appreciated than my own. I will be able to create learners, who will move onto bigger and better things as we advance in the world. I will influence students to do their best, and try their hardest, just to see them be proud of themselves and eventually reach their goals. As a teacher, my most important goal is to change a student's life. So arguably, if it wasn't for my profession, you might not have that doctor helping you in the emergency room one day.

As for the work education majors are required to do, it is not as easy as you think. Yes, we do color and create colorful posters, but we also concentrate on specific subjects and classroom management skills. And we also have general education requirements and courses, just like everyone else. We also have to take multiple tests outside of all of our classes, that decide whether or not we keep progressing in our programs, and whether or not we indeed get to become teachers one day. It's not all coloring and charts, we are sleep deprived just as much as the other majors.

Even though we may only teach third grade someday, we still are here in college taking endless calculus and statistics classes for the sake of being "all-knowing". No, I am not learning two plus two and "how many squares are in this picture?" I am learning every possible concept within my subject of concentration to be a well-rounded teacher for your future child. As well as different approaches to each problem so I can eventually teach the same ideas and principles to my own students someday.

Besides studying specific subjects, all education majors are required to take "education" courses. These specific courses teach us how to be effective and extraordinary teachers. How to treat children of all learning abilities, how to properly create lesson plans and formulate assessments, how to teach to state standards and achieve overall grade requirements, and how to mold children into moral human beings. In conjunction with teaching lessons and units, teachers are like parents to their students. Teachers educate their students on morality such as how to respect others, organize materials, prepare for class, work collaboratively, communicate with peers, trust yourself and love yourself. So it's not all easy, we also learn about the different mindsets and how to be effective teachers so we can create effective and proficient learners someday in our future classrooms.

Teachers tend to be unappreciated by many and appreciated by a very small amount of people. Teachers are paid much less than other professions, even though we are building lives and shaping the future. We are responsible for every child who walks in and out of school. We shape the students into learners, thus creating all these ideas of their future professions. In our classrooms, we create the future astronauts, the future doctors, heck maybe even the future president of the United States. Instead of labeling your profession as superior or "harder," thank ours, attempt to think about where you would be without the influence of a passionate teacher. And maybe then you can say that being an elementary education major is too easy, and isn't a real major.