The first time a student learns something he or she considers invaluable, is the first time he or she falls in love with the power of teaching. Teaching in itself is rather simple. All one needs is the desire to pass on their knowledge and another person who wishes to learn. It is even because of this that there are many abstract things in life that can be considered as teachers such as experiences and even life itself.
I have found that this first experience is the catalyst that drives people to start teaching others when they feel that they are ready. Such was my first impression of teaching. I found it to be a noble job. One that is not considered to be grandiose, neither will it get you the attention of handsome or beautiful people, but one that still has a certain sense of regality and honor to it.
The first time I was taught in a formal school, I thought nothing of my teachers. I merely hated them for not letting me play and forced me to study even though all I wanted was to roll around under the sun and laugh all day. The first time I came to respect a teacher was long into the days of high school. I did have grade school teachers who left a mark but it was in high school where I found teachers to be a bunch of strong willed men and women.
This sense of wonder may have roots from seeing a great student-teacher relationship in TV, movies or in books, but the truth is that these works of fiction have their roots in reality. I am not the only one who shares this sense of wonder and awe towards teaching however, as there are many others who feel just the same way as I do. However, idealistic ideas may have to give way to reality sometimes .
Such is the case of teaching. While the reasons behind why one wishes to teach are almost always considered honorable in nature, and can rarely be corrupted, the fact is that because it is not a grand nor wealth giving professions, society takes it for granted and as such, the perks of being a teacher when it comes to more materialistic rewards is rare at best and nonexistent at worst. There are those of course who would say that if you’re looking for a more economical choice in teaching, then teach at a university. This may be true, but not all teachers can teach in a university. For one, that would mean that there will not be any teachers left for lower education and another, without teachers in lower education, there won’t be students who will make it into higher education institutions for a professor in a university to teach in the first place.
Another thought that must be put onto the table is the fact that the world is changing day by day and the students that a teacher instructs change every year. Time is the main opponent of the teaching profession, in more ways than one. For one, technology changes the methods of teaching. Of course a teacher must adapt to this and will even greatly benefit from doing this. Another reason why time is a great opponent of teaching is the lack of time in the world to give truly perfect lessons .
While many professions can claim the same, a teacher also does not work only 8 hours a day. The 8 hours they spend in school is merely part of their required hours in school. This does not include the hours they have to spend on preparing the lessons, grading the students, reading of needed materials and such. Furthermore, while it may not be part of the contract of becoming a teacher, the fact that one spends copious amounts of time with a group of people will eventually lead them to develop feelings for their students.
I do not mean these feelings in a romantic or even erotic way, but rather, there will come a time when the teacher will try to resolve a conflict between students, or in the personal lives of their students purely out of the feeling of social and moral obligation. This is another problem that a teacher faces in reality, the demands of a student, and the needs to fulfill them are never ending as students are living, breathing people themselves. This means that every year, a new batch comes in and despite having the same problems as the last year, and the years before them, the solutions of these problems are different every time, couple that with the number of students a teacher has to teach in one semester and you can see the mountain of work this brings .
The worst of this is the fact that many people who would fit greatly in the profession decides on another course in their life as teaching (as stated) does not pay as greatly as other professions that require long hours and makes people think they live in a pressure cooker.
Despite all of this however, I have found that those who survive the profession of teaching are those who actually love it, regardless of all of its flaws. In the end, the idealistic nature of teaching will continue to attract people and those who do stay may find that they have found something more than just living their lives for the money.
References
Agata. (2010, April 13). My Impression from teaching practice. Retrieved from A teacher to be: http://ateachertobe-agata.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-impressions-from-teaching-practice.html
Fry, J. S. (2012, July 13). Jennifer Stark Fry: Five Truths about reality of teaching. Retrieved from The Wichita Eagle: http://www.kansas.com/2012/07/15/2407402/five-truths-about-reality-of-teaching.html
