As a college student studying to become an educator, I constantly get a negative reaction from people when I tell them what I am majoring in. The replies range from, "You know there's not any money there." or, "You're too smart for that." However, these comments are offensive. First off, most people with the desire to be an educator are aware of the income, which is an income you can live off of, so you are not telling them anything they do not already know. Secondly, the statement you are too smart for that seems somewhat contradictory to me. Wouldn't you want someone who is smart to be educating your child? Teachers are not in this for the money, if it there were a larger income, teachers have many other reasons for picking the profession.
We do it for our desire to help others.
Remembering my educational experiences, I have had teachers who loved me and wanted the best for me and I have also had teachers who just taught the standards and moved on. The second type of teacher is one reason why I wanted to become a teacher. Learning through worksheets is a thing of the past, yet we still have some educators clinging with white knuckles to their file folders full of them. Today's teachers should be inventive and sound want to get kids interest in learning and that is exactly what I aspire to do. As an up and coming educator, you are constantly being exposed to things you either would like to carry over into your own classroom or things on the opposite end of the spectrum that you know you will never do. We see what works and what doesn't and we just want the best for our students.
We do it because we want to impact the world.
Students majoring in education do it because they want to have a positive impact on the future. You never know what your students will grow up to become, but you want to be sure you gave them every opportunity to be whatever they choose. Being exposed to classrooms with unruly students has taught me quite a bit. If you continuously make this student report to the principal's office or guidance counselor, they will not learn anything in the classroom and will constantly be behind in all of their school work. However, if you try to have a conversation with the student and figure out what causes their behavior, you might find a solution. Some students are going through things in their home life we know nothing about and that is no reason for them to not have every opportunity that the other kids in their class have. Your students will remember how much you cared for them and how much you pushed them to succeed. They might not appreciate you in the moments that you do so much for them, but one day they will look back and realize that you had only their best interest in mind .
Becoming a teacher might mean that I will never own a brand new Mustang or a three hundred thousand dollar house, but it does mean that I will get to do something I love for the rest of my life, and that is payment enough for me!
