Yes, I am an elementary education major. Yes, I know what teachers make. No, I'm not throwing my life away. No, it is not easy. But yes, I am confident in my decision.
Why is it that, whenever somebody majors in elementary education, people start to question them? There is almost always a negative response and following that response is the long string of questions, asking if they know all about what they are getting themselves into. It's as if being a teacher is a bad thing. Yet who taught all of those people way back in elementary school? Who taught them all through high school? And who is teaching them in college? Oh, right... teachers. Somebody has to take the spot of current teachers eventually, so why is it so bad that that person could be me?
I understand that a teacher's salary is not the best salary around, but I'm not becoming a teacher for the money. I am doing it because I love being in the classroom, surrounded by little faces. It is one of the greatest feelings- and knowing that they are looking up to you and expecting you to help them learn is even better. As a teacher, you know that you will have an impact on somebody else's life. You know that you can make a difference. And what a joy it is when you get to watch that difference be made. I may not make big bucks as a teacher, but that doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is that I am making a difference, and I know that I can.
"Why are you throwing your life away? You could do so much more than be a teacher." I'm sorry you feel that way about my life decision. However, I feel that you're wrong. By being a teacher I am not throwing anything away; I am using my talents and gifts in the way that I choose and in the way that I want my life to go. That is 100% my decision, not yours, and how I live my life is up to me. Throwing my life away would be putting myself into a career that I dread for the rest of my life. I know that I am not doing that by pursuing education. You're right, it's not for everybody, but teaching is the profession for me.
One common mistake people tend to make is thinking that an elementary education major has an easy load: easy tests and no homework. I wish. Is elementary education the most difficult major? No, probably not, but that does not automatically make it easy. Yes, I will admit that sometimes we spend class time coloring, doing fun activities, learning new games and making posters. But it is not like that all the time. Try memorizing the laws that guide education, remember the standards that need to be taught, learn all of the different techniques you should use when teaching language arts, math, or social studies, write a lesson plan, spend multiple hours a week in the classroom and make sure you understand each subject well enough to one day teach it to young children. Once you can do all of that with no problems, well, then maybe I'll be OK with you saying being an elementary education major is easy.
Sometimes I get asked if I am sure that I am on the right path. Yes, I am confident in my decision. Every time I get to spend a morning in the classroom, I know that this is where I want to be for the rest of my life. When I was little I spent my summers playing school with my stuffed animals, my little brother and the other kids in the neighborhood. When asked what I was going to be when I grew up, I would tell everyone that I wanted to be a teacher. For awhile I thought I would try a different path, look at something new, but I was drawn back to education quickly. That is how I know that an elementary education major is what I am meant to be. Yes, I am an elementary education major, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
