Ever since I can remember I have wanted to become a teacher. When I was younger, people found it cute and harmless, because they assumed I would change my mind. It was organic, similar to when a 4-year-old tells you that they want to be a princess. As I grew older, the desire for my future career was something that never changed. I have a strong passion for becoming a teacher. However, there is nothing more frustrating than telling someone that I want to be a teacher and having them immediately view you differently.
Unfortunately, I have experienced people discouraging and disrespecting my future career more than people encouraging it. I do not understand how others can discourage me from something I view so positively. When I tell people that I want to be a teacher, most of them tell me to get out now, or how I will hate my life or something along those lines. I do not understand how wanting to shape and impact the future is a negative thing.
We live in a society where most people pick their careers based on the desired salary versus their passion. In reality, not everyone going to medical school or law school has the passion to become a doctor or a lawyer. People often think a big paycheck will be satisfying enough to do something they do not like. If every profession made the same salary, would people choose different careers?
The reality of this profession could not be further from the stereotypes American society places on it. A teacher is a person who is willing to accept a lower salary and be under appreciated to have the ability to invest in the future generation by pouring their knowledge and encouragement into kids. Teaching is a challenging, underpaid and under appreciated profession. Although many associate the end of the school day with the end of their work day, teachers often spend hours after school working on lesson plans, attending staff meetings, professional development, or attending after school events to support their kids, all of which they are not getting paid for. They often spend their summers getting more degrees to stay up to date on the most effective methods to teach and current information, revamping lesson plans and setting up their classroom. This has the power to impact how a child approaches learning for the rest of his or her life. Teaching is the only career that has the power to make any other career possible.
My experience as a teacher will be filled with moments of impact. I will not even view being a teacher as “work” because it is my passion. My time spent “working” will be time spent directly influencing the next generation. It will be spent investing in kids, and their potential.
There is no perfect career. There will be challenges, and pros and cons to anything, but I do not want an amount of money to be what makes my hard work, dedication and challenges I experience in my career worth it. At the end of my life, I will be content, knowing I valued happiness over money. I valued the opportunity to make a difference over my paycheck. I valued my passion over the passion others want me to have. I valued my definition of success over society’s definition of success. I was authentically me.
