Ah, teachers. If anyone can relate to the all-too-familiar phrase "overworked and underpaid," it's teachers. With teachers leaving jobs and even the education field permanently, people wonder why they just don't want to teach anymore.

Teachers, aside from teaching, are also doctors, lawyers, counselors, moms even if they don't have children (let's be honest, we've ALL called a teacher mom at least once!), and more. No, I'm not talking about side jobs (although many teachers have to take jobs on the side). I'm talking about a regular day for teachers.

Now, there ARE teachers who shouldn't be teaching (and I also wonder why they'd put themselves through a PRAXIS exam - that test is expensive and difficult). I'm not talking about those teachers. I want you to imagine the best teacher(s) you've had. I'm talking about THOSE teachers. Those teachers work their tail off to be a great teacher and they are sorely underappreciated. Teachers don't need an appreciation week, they need an appreciation MONTH.

I have experienced both sides of the spectrum. I have had a teacher that made me question why they teach if they don't like kids, but I've also had more than one teacher who helped me realize that being a teacher is one of the most difficult jobs.

Teachers, you are teaching the future generation and with parents who act like their child can do no wrong and kids who misbehave for fun, I applaud you. Having to teach kids, listen to their problems, keep kids from fighting each other, it's a wonder why y'all don't get paid at LEAST six-digit salaries.

In all of this, teachers certainly don't teach for the money. As an Early Childhood Education major, it is DEFINITELY not about the money. I love kids - I even want to be a foster/adoptive mom. Some teachers love kids, but don't want their own. I completely understand! I didn't like high school kids as a high school kid myself. For me, I want to teach because I love kids and want to help them realize their full potential.

In the words of a former teacher, "[w]orking in the field of education proves daily to be a challenge. If your career goal is to become an educator, there are a few things you must consider. Are you willing to work twenty-four/seven? Are you willing to give up all other personas to embrace the one called teacher? I can assure you, after twenty-one years in this profession, it is a never-ending and all-consuming job. But it's worth it. Every minute of the job is worth your effort, even the difficult moments. Why? Because it fulfills a person to be able to influence others positively – and that's what teaching is: the opportunity to influence students and be influenced by them. As frustrated as I get sometimes with the world of education, I still wouldn't trade one single second of my career for anything else."