Ever since I was 12 years old, I have wanted to be a teacher. I want to go to college and major in Early Childhood Education. My passion is to be able to teach and help six/ seven year olds grow and mold in the first grade. Everyone I know tells me "teachers don't get paid" or "you won't be able to live off a teacher salary." Believe me, I understand this. That is why I am writing this.
At my High School, we have a class called Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow (VTFT). I am currently in the second year of this class and interning at a local Elementary school. In the first year of VTFT we learned about proper dress, learning styles, kids with special needs, how to write a lesson plan, etc. Towards the end of VTFT 1, we started our internships for about the last 2-3 months of school. Of course I wanted to student teach in the first grade and I got it. The experience with the kids was so so amazing. I never wanted to leave, so I decided I really wanted to do it again, and signed up for VTFT 2! VTFT 2 started with being in the classroom at my High School. We didn't do much in class but practice teaching lessons to the VTFT 1 students. Our internship started around mid-October and doesn't end till around May. We go to our internship instead of going to class. As an internship student, I basically walk around and help the teacher if she needs help or if the students have questions I answer them and help them. I even teach lessons occasionally as a grade for my VTFT class.
When I officially started announcing that I want to become a teacher, everyone told me it's a terrible choice, because of the pay. I have done research about teacher salary and how much they actually do get paid. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median annual salary for high school teachers was $58,030 in 2016. The best-paid 10 percent in the field made approximately $92,920 a year, while the bottom 10 percent made $38,180 a year. The United States already has a shortage in teachers but by all means those who do teach love their students and dread leaving them, but they sometimes feel forced to leave the field of teaching because of the salary. The United States claims they are in need of educators, and teachers love teaching otherwise they wouldn't be doing it, but the one thing they are against in the field, is the pay. Why not just double the annual teacher salary? If the United States is "desperate" for teachers, at least give them better pay. Ya know?