In the United States, we spend at least thirteen years of our life in school. We start from small five year olds and spend the duration of our prime developmental years figuring out who we are. Behind all of that development are teachers, molding our minds and shaping our futures. Behind every billionaire, every engineer, every heart surgeon, are teachers who inspired these individuals and helped them reach their goals and fulfill their dreams by equipping them with knowledge.

So why aren't teachers given more credit where it is due?

When I tell people that I am planning on pursuing a career in education, I get scrutinized much too often. The amount of people that discouraged me from majoring in education is too high- so much so that I spent my first semester of college in a major that did not fit me. I heard everything from "Are you sure...?" to "I hope you plan to marry rich!"

The unfortunate truth is that teaching is highly underpaid for what it is. Teaching is difficult. Contrary to many people's beliefs, teaching is not a "fall back" career. It is not a last resort for people who couldn't figure out anything else to do with their lives. Teachers may only be paid for the hours that school is in session, however they spend COUNTLESS hours outside of the classroom without pay doing school work and making sure their students are getting the best education possible.

In today's times, teachers are always the first ones at blame. Bad grades? Bad teacher. Bad behavior? Bad teacher. Bullying? Why didn't the teacher end the bullying completely? Also, can teachers end world hunger? And bring world peace? No?! Dock their pay another 1k.

Okay, maybe not the last two. However, one example that sticks out to me is the restrictions that have been put on what teachers get reimbursed for. Teachers are given a certain amount of money that they can spend on classroom supplies and the school will pay them back so long as they have a valid receipt and that the materials follow certain guidelines. I have read MULTIPLE articles about teachers getting in trouble for using the money in a way that is not allowed. A good majority of them are ridiculous. Teachers are not allowed to spend the "lead" money on things such as services, incentives, and a large list of things. In reading, I discovered a handful of cases where teachers have gotten in trouble for using lead money to buy food for students- to either use as incentives or to even feed students who are starving and have no money for lunch.

Teachers end up having to spend their OWN money on these types of things. A good teacher does not teach without positive incentives or with starving students. These restrictions force teachers to spend what little they get paid to give their students the best education possible. This comment below speaks volumes.

Now, am I saying that everyone who is a professional teacher is fantastic and flawless? No, there are certainly bad teachers just as there are with any other career. However teachers do not deserve to be put under all these restrictions and scrutiny. Teaching is an honorable profession and we would not be the people we are today without teachers. I heard a quote the other day, "Rarely do we get a Steve Jobs or Bill Gates." The majority of the time, it is teachers responsibility to shape kids to have the brightest future possible.

Whether you were homeschooled or at a school in the inner city, your life was still shaped by teachers. Yet somehow teachers are still being restricted by the money they spend, by the standards that we have to teach to, and by the way we grade. Yet everyone knows at least one teacher that had an impact in their lives. Let's break this stigma of teachers being to blame or teaching being a fall back, because that dentist that is fixing your teeth, and that doctor that is checking your blood pressure? They all started somewhere and they were all taught what they know.