When it comes to being a teacher
I am excited about becoming a teacher because this has been a dream of mine since I was little. I have always wanted to be a teacher because when I was younger, I looked up to a lot of my teachers I had throughout my elementary years. I thought they were so awesome! The way they (most of the time) seemed on top of things, organized, excited to be there and there to help their students really inspired me and engrained in my mind that I was going to be a teacher from a very young age. I am excited to take on that role and finally be like the teachers I looked up to when I was younger. Another thing I am excited about when becoming a teacher is the amount of positivity and satisfaction that comes out of seeing your students understand something, learn and grow. That feeling is very addicting; once it happens, you want it to keep happening. I am excited to not only teach my students the materials that they need in order to succeed in their school life, but also life lessons, stories, and experiences that I have learned throughout my younger years to help them be great children. I am also excited to make an impact on students. A lot of my teachers have made huge impacts on my life; some more than others. I am excited to create relationships with my students that I hope they will remember as they keep going throughout the years. Being able to have that impact on at least one child and seeing them change is so valuable.
I am concerned about teaching because, quit frankly, there is a lot of negativity when this career is brought up. For example, me just bringing up the fact that I am majoring in Elementary Ed, I have gotten countless “good luck with that” (sarcastically), “poor you,” “are you sure you want to do that? It’s a very draining job” and many groans from the people that I have told. These people aren’t just saying that to say it. They either are teachers, have been teachers, or know someone, like their wife, who is a teacher. So clearly becoming a teacher isn’t the most positive career. I am also concerned about the children, or rather, the parents who are parenting their children. A teacher who has been teaching for over 20 years told me that this has been her worst year solely because of how the children are behaving. But it isn’t their fault, but instead the way parents are parenting their children that are making these children very difficult to deal with every day. Covid is also to blame for this as well. Also, the underperformance in students’ reading and writing levels are a concern due to Covid’s delay in their learning. But as of now a lot of students are under grade level for their reading and writing levels which is very concerning for teachers and takes a toll on them. Lastly, just the fact that there isn’t many teachers in general is concerning. The fact that teachers only teach for a few years and then quit because it is too draining is concerning. Obviously, the fact that teachers aren’t getting paid enough is a concern as well. But overall, the negativity towards this career path is the most concerning for me.
