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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yikes!  This thread is depressing.    Is teaching easy or fun every day?  No.  No job is.   The first or second year can be brutal emotionally if you are in a tough school.  That is usually the biggest problem.   Some people just don't have the IQ/EQ to handle it depending on their placement, but it is mostly just about hard work.  Slackers, people who are entitled, or those that have personality issues don't make it.  It's like being in the military in a way.  You need to be from a certain variety of mindsets to be successful.

What I like about teaching is that I don't have to sit at a desk all day.   Every day is different.   I like challenges.   I can get a job in many different countries without too much effort.  I have never concerned myself with admin politics.  Waste of my energy.  My only complaints have been about student behavior, especially when it affects others or is unsafe.  Very frustrating at the moment.
  
 I like having flexible time in summers.   Some times I'll take classes all summer.  Mostly it is home improvement and hobbies in the summer while taking care of my family. I can't stand to sit around and read a book on the beach like some imply.   Salaries are decent and reliable if you are in a good school system/state with union support.   I have benefits, pension, Roth IRA, 403b, and 457b.  I can take care of my family members when they are sick.  I get the same days off as my children.
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I agree! I love teaching even though it is hard. The school and situation makes a huge difference, too. I have worked at my school 12 years and while it isn’t perfect I wouldn’t go elsewhere. As a veteran teacher, I am in that sweet spot of having the experience to be effective and also efficient, so I am not working outrageous hours. But teaching well demands a really wide ranging skill set. You have to have empathy and love the kids, but you also have to be ruthlessly efficient and organized to stay on top of it all. And you need to be creative in your lesson planning so you don’t bore everyone to tears, but you also need to be super clear so everyone understands the material. I love the challenge and I find it incredibly rewarding to watch my students grow.

If we started to respect education in this country, and treated teaching like the demanding profession it is, we would have much better luck. Train teachers the way you train doctors, with internships and residencies and the quality would go up immediately. And our kids would be learning a lot more. [/quote]

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