Being a teacher is easy, right? You get summers off, great benefits, snow days, a pension, you even get out early...so what's not to like, right?!?!
If these are the only reasons that you think being a teahcer would be the perfect career, then you are in the right place. It is a career just like any other and it comes with its own sets of challenges including the following:
You need to be on top of your game at all times. Don't you remember when you were still in grade school? You always knew when your teachers were a bit off their game and we all know the kids who would exploit it. On top of that, not all children are as excited thas you might be about the subject you are teaching. Trying to inspire them to want to learn is a challenge.
Want to plan a mid year vacation? You better rethink that one. Most public school teachers don't have the luxury of being able to take prolonged vacation time during the year. Week Long Skiing trips in mid January, probably not.
Ian Teaches 5 classes with only 80 minutes in between to prep, grade, stretch and try to eat lunch. On top of that, he takes on extra curricular activites which makes for longer days.
Maybe that doesn't sound as great as I thought it would be. So why does he do it? HE LOVES IT!! Talk about "Passion For Work" (great time to plug the show name). Ian finds satisfaction in helping his students learn, which is not always easy. Especially when after getting to know a class of children for 9-10 months and watching them grow, you then have to start all over. But for him it is worth it. This is Ian's outlet to express his creativity, which makes it a great fit on top of loving a lot of the subject matter.
Must have qualities include:
• Creativity
• Patience
• Love of most of the material as well as the students that you teach
• Finding value and fullfilment from helping others grow
What do to if you want to explore becoming a teacher:
• Substitute teach to get some experience
◦ You only need 60 college credits to substitue teach
• Ask a friend who is a teacher
• Explore Alternate Route program in your state for those who may have a degree and already be in a field other than teaching
• If Compensation is important to you, public school teachers salaries (at least in NJ) are public knowledge and you will be able to gain access to that information.
Ian closed with a great quote:
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the igniting of a fire." ~ William Buttler Yeats
