I have heard this so many times before, "Well if this job doesn't work out, I can always teach." Let me let you in on a little secret, if that's your attitude; the students, your future colleagues, and the profession doesn't want you!
Anyone who has every taught a day in their life understands the intensity and sometimes insanity of teaching. It truly takes a special kind of person to continue this profession as a career. It is not a back up plan if something else doesn't work out. It a career just like any other that should be taken seriously and given as much credit socially as a doctor.
Throughout the day a teacher must wear multiple hats to ensure their students are not only learning but feel safe, important, and wanted. As teachers, we do not choose our students. There is not an option to send them back or exchange them. Each time a student walks into my room, I am responsible for each of their success in my classroom. Now granted all teachers know that the students have to pull their weight too, but if a student doesn't want to do something, then the teacher is responsible for creating the motivation to complete the task.
There are so many misconceptions about teaching. And I admit, before ever teaching a day in my life I thought most of them were true. Change will happen in education when educators are making the decisions for the future of education. Not people who have a high status or who have money. They should not be making those decisions for our kids. They are the future, why would we not set them up with the very best?
So what does it mean to be a teacher? It means that we have been entrusted with every student sitting before us in our classroom to foster their learning, provide a safe and welcoming environment, be a mini cheerleader, and also be that person any student would feel comfortable confiding in. No student wants a back up plan teacher and no student deserves that.
No comments:
Post a Comment