What do you enjoy most about teaching?
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Anonymous
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My preschool students make me laugh....
The creativity involved in teaching..... Knowing I have a vitally important job, and a huge role in shaping these kids.... The progress made from Sept-June..... The appreciation and kindness from the parents... My colleagues (minus admin.).... There is a first day and a last day, and then we begin the cycle again with a "fresh start".... Seasonal and holiday fun activities.... |
Anonymous
| /\ /\ but I like my Admin and my colleagues are annoying |
Anonymous
| I’m considering a career change to teaching and these comments are refreshing. I’ve done multiple searches on this board and I’ve found a lot of complaints from current teachers. I hope my kids get more teachers like those that commented above! |
Anonymous
Don't do it until you talk to a wide range of teachers and spend some real time in classrooms. You need to know what you are getting yourself into. Full disclosure is important. |
Anonymous
| Working with a child who has a phonemic processing difficulty and has been unable to learn to read -- and teaching him how to process phonemes and learn to decode unfamiliar words!! That moment when he moves on to simple sentences and realized he can sound out EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. It is just so amazing! |
Anonymous
Hi, GL to you. Fwiw, I'm the OP and have posted many positive things about teaching. And I've posted very serious and troubling complaints in other threads. For me it is both. I would never, ever be able to sustain a teaching career with all the negative aspects about it if there weren't the significant things to love about it, too. Most teachers I know would say the same. Sometimes loving the kids is enough, sometimes it isn't. For me, that love has sustained me through principals who covered up child abuse, openly cheated on state exams, teachers who spoke to students of color in openly racist tones and words, endless mandates that do nothing to help anyone, meetings that make me want to crawl in a hole and die, hours and hours of work that had me missing out of my own kids' lives and spending what should be going to my own kids' college accounts on someone else's kids. (and much, much more) But on the flip side? Every day there is something new. There's the kid with serious behavior issue who changes incrementally (no big Stand and Deliver moments, just small changes) simply because he loves you. There's the kids who struggle terribly to learn and when you continually call them out for what they are doing right, celebrating small successes, amazingly they don't give up. The kids who tells you she loves math because you've made a point to explicitly tell your girls in particular you love math yourself to influence them. There's the hugs, the tears, and the progress. Once in a great while you see a principal putting her job on the line to do the right thing for kids. That's amazing. And colleagues, they make a huge difference too. But the kids? It is always, for me, and most teachers I know, about just how amazing it is to be with them all day. But make no mistake. It is both and. I was the rose colored glasses teacher my first 3-4 years. You learn really quickly this is a terribly hard job and often times the system sets kids and staff up to fail. But, if you hang in there, and if you keep focused on the things you love, you can do it. Lots of things to hate, lots of things to love. I'm not sure I can exactly recommend teaching. I certainly hope my own children choose a different profession. But, we do need good people in the profession. Please update us if you choose to pursue a teaching degree and about your experience. I hope you have lots of good veterans around you to help you make it! |
Anonymous
This. I genuinely enjoy working with teenagers. I could do without all of the staff meetings by the kids make it worth it. There are certain students who I have watched mature and change through high school. I’ll always remember them. I have learned so much from my students. |
Anonymous
I’m quoting myself here and just read the long post above me. It’s sums it up perfectly. I’m glad I choose this profession but would not recommend or encourage either of my children to go into the field of education. |
Anonymous
| Building relationships with students. When my students say something hilarious or something really insightful. Getting lots of hugs and handmade cards. |
Anonymous
There are only two pages of responses from people who are most likely in the Pollyanna category. Don't base your career change on a few who may or may not be truthful. (or who may not really understand the bigger picture of this mess we call education) |
Anonymous
| Vacations. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
DP here and I agree with the above. The teachers talking about their joy in being with students all day is NOT the norm. Yes, of course it's true that most teachers do genuinely like kids, but in truth at the end of most any school day, it is much more common to see teachers making remarks like "yea, they're gone!" and this even comes from teachers who are highly regarded. |
Anonymous
Teaching and your love of it really depends on some factors about what your working personality is like. Are you organized? Extroverted? Do you enjoy micromanaging and figuring out the answer to problems? Being able to love kids, all kids, and knowing that there are many skills you're teaching beyond just academics, will help you have the right attitude when you go in to the classroom. But I have found that being a bit type-a, enjoying social interaction, and being ok with challenges make many teachers happier. People without that type of personality can be amazing teachers as well, but seem to burn out/ be dissatisfied with the job much faster. |
Anonymous
| Introverted teacher here. The ridiculous number of meetings is exhausting to me especially since most of them don't need to be meetings at all. Ever seen that meme, "Another meeting that should've been an email?" Yeah, that. I love my students and they love me. There aren't too many jobs like that. |