Honestly, what is with the stigma that becoming a teacher is a second-choice option? Why do we like to say, "Those who can't do, teach"? Why are education degrees so often the degree choice of someone who isn't sure what they want to do? Why do we trivialize the teaching profession to the point where teachers are some of the most overworked and underpaid people in the workforce?
Teachers don't get the credit they deserve. For an almost laughably minuscule salary they babysit, they supervise, they plan, they create, they communicate, they support, they educate, and they encourage. Beyond that, they're also people outside of the classroom.
Everyone can think of one teacher, be that one from elementary, middle, high school, or even college years, that helped them tremendously both in school and outside of it. Teachers are the gateway to whatever learning you intend to do, and as such they play an EXTREMELY important role in your personal scholastic career, and also your children's schooling, your tax dollars, and your district's educational system.
Yet, despite this, students enjoy complaining about how hard their teachers are, how ridiculous the amount of homework they have to complete is, or how idiotic and nonsensical the presence of weekend projects tends to be. Kids, perhaps it's time you took a step back and examine why teachers are ones who have it rough.
First of all, any free time teachers may have had is eaten up by their work. Teachers often have to get up ridiculously early. It may seem small, but sacrificing sleep may be one of the most selfless acts ever.
My high school history teacher drove four hours every day and got a solid five hours of sleep on a good night just to make it to school each morning. She then marched through six classes every day, with only two 45-minute “rest periods.” Those were usually full of students who needed additional tutoring, grading papers, or subbing for absent coworkers. She routinely gave up her slim amount of time at home to answer emails about questions she’d already answered during class, she took phone calls from pestering parents, and she attended school functions on her weekends.
Teachers almost always take their jobs way beyond the call of duty. It’d be impossible to spend seven hours a day with the same kids and not grow to care about them at least a little bit. They genuinely want you to succeed, and they live for that “aha!” moment where they can see a student finally connect points A and B. No teacher wants their pupils to do poorly, ever. No matter how irritating their class might be, every teacher hopes each student will accomplish their dreams and achieve even the most lofty of their aspirations.
They juggle being a parent, a friend, a mentor, and an educator, which makes teaching perhaps the most challenging career in the universe. Teachers teach because they love it. They thirst for knowledge and simply want to share it. While going to school might not be your idea of a fabulous time, you still have to go (at least until you’re 18). Teachers don’t, and yet they choose to be there for their students anyway.
So perhaps next time you whine about your reading, complain about Professor So-and-So making you take notes during a movie, or groan about the difficulty level of your next midterm —consider where your teacher’s coming from.
