The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do
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This piece was inspired by a heated discussion I had with a man who believes that teachers have an easy job. Please feel free to share it with others if you agree with the message.
I used to be a molecular biologist. I spent my days culturing viruses. Sometimes, my experiments would fail miserably, and I’d swear to myself in frustration. Acquaintances would ask how my work was going. I’d explain how I was having a difficult time cloning this one gene. I couldn’t seem to figure out the exact recipe to use for my cloning cocktail.
Acquaintances would sigh sympathetically. And they’d say, “I know you’ll figure it out. I have faith in you.”
And then, they’d tilt their heads in a show of respect for my skills….
Today, I’m a high school teacher. I spend my days culturing teenagers. Sometimes, my students get disruptive, and I swear to myself in frustration. Acquaintances ask me how my work is going. I explain how I’m having a difficult time with a certain kid. I can’t seem to get him to pay attention in class.
Acquaintances smirk knowingly. And they say, “well, have you tried making it fun for the kids? That’s how you get through to them, you know?”
And then, they explain to me how I should do my job….
I realize now how little respect teachers get. Teaching is the toughest job everyone who’s never done it thinks they can do. I admit, I was guilty of these delusions myself. When I decided to make the switch from “doing” science to “teaching” science, I found out that I had to go back to school to get a teaching credential.
“What the f—?!?,” I screamed to any friends willing to put up with my griping. “I have a Ph.D.! Why do I need to go back to get a lousy teaching credential?!?”
I was baffled. How could I, with my advanced degree in biology, not be qualified to teach biology?!
Well, those school administrators were a stubborn bunch. I simply couldn’t get a job without a credential. And so, I begrudgingly enrolled in a secondary teaching credential program.
And boy, were my eyes opened. I understand now.
Teaching isn’t just “making it fun” for the kids. Teaching isn’t just academic content.
Teaching is understanding how the human brain processes information and preparing lessons with this understanding in mind.
Teaching is simultaneously instilling in a child the belief that she can accomplish anything she wants while admonishing her for producing shoddy work.
Teaching is understanding both the psychology and the physiology behind the changes the adolescent mind goes through.
Teaching is convincing a defiant teenager that the work he sees no value in does serve a greater purpose in preparing him for the rest of his life.
Teaching is offering a sympathetic ear while maintaining a stern voice.
Teaching is being both a role model and a mentor to someone who may have neither at home, and may not be looking for either.
Teaching is not easy. Teaching is not intuitive. Teaching is not something that anyone can figure out on their own. Education researchers spend lifetimes developing effective new teaching methods. Teaching takes hard work and constant training. I understand now.
Have you ever watched professional athletes and gawked at how easy they make it look? Kobe Bryant weaves through five opposing players, sinking the ball into the basket without even glancing in its direction. Brett Favre spirals a football 100 feet through the air, landing it in the arms of a teammate running at full speed. Does anyone have any delusions that they can do what Kobe and Brett do?
Yet, people have delusions that anyone can do what the typical teacher does on a typical day.
Maybe the problem is tangibility. Shooting a basketball isn’t easy, but it’s easy to measure how good someone is at shooting a basketball. Throwing a football isn’t easy, but it’s easy to measure how good someone is at throwing a football. Similarly, diagnosing illnesses isn’t easy to do, but it’s easy to measure. Winning court cases isn’t easy to do, but it’s easy to measure. Creating and designing technology isn’t easy to do, but it’s easy to measure.
Inspiring kids? Inspiring kids can be downright damned near close to impossible sometimes. And… it’s downright damned near close to impossible to measure. You can’t measure inspiration by a child’s test scores. You can’t measure inspiration by a child’s grades. You measure inspiration 25 years later when that hot-shot doctor, or lawyer, or entrepreneur thanks her fourth-grade teacher for having faith in her and encouraging her to pursue her dreams.
Maybe that’s why teachers get so little respect. It’s hard to respect a skill that is so hard to quantify.
So, maybe you just have to take our word for it. The next time you walk into a classroom, and you see the teacher calmly presiding over a room full of kids, all actively engaged in the lesson, realize that it’s not because the job is easy. It’s because we make it look easy. And because we work our asses off to make it look easy.
And, yes, we make it fun, too.
Addendum, 11/18/2013
Based on some of the commentary I’ve seen, I would like to clarify one point: For the record, I never said that teaching is the hardest job. I said that teaching is the hardest job everyone thinks they can do. The title is intentionally vague (and yes, somewhat hyperbolic), but I spend the entire post clarifying what I mean by it. At no point do I complain or claim that teaching is harder than any other job out there. If your comment is something to the effect of how hard your job is, and how teachers therefore need to stop whining, then you probably didn’t actually read the post.
If you’re going to respond, I think you at least owe me the courtesy of reading first, yeah?
Addendum, 6/30/2015
Since this post still gets so many likes and shares (thanks, everyone!), I decided it would be fun to create a custom domain for it. So, if you’re ever talking to someone in real life and want to refer to this post, just tell them to go to howhardisteaching.com. And then they can find out just how hard teaching really is. 🙂
I taught 5/6 th grades for 22 years and high school math for the last 7 years and remembered what a West Point grad former helicopter pilot said-“this is the toughest job I’ve ever had. (Teaching )
Thank you for posting this on your blog. Teaching is not easy but it is rewarding!
I had a standing offer for the 25+ years I taught: I would write the lesson plans, I would grade the papers, I would even sit in the room — come teach my class for a day. No one ever took me up on it.
I LOVE that offer Marc! The next time I hear about getting the “whole” summer off or getting to leave work at 3:00 I will make the offer myself! Thanks for the INSPIRATION!
Sue is delusional as I am at school at 7:30 in the morning and leave school between 5:30 and 6:00. I also grade papers in the evenings and weekends. I create detailed and engaging lessons on Sundays and spend my summers taking classes, updating my classroom, going through my library of over one thousand books to repair and replace them for the next year, reorganize teaching materials, visit the ASU Teachers Library to read up on the latest research as to best practices and most productive methods, and visit bookstores to browse, purchase, and read the latest books so I can make recommendations to my students. I worked in the business world for twenty years and I worked less hours and made twice the hourly rate I do now. I love it when people who are clueless make unfounded comments. I do this job because I feel like I truly have the ability to make a difference in my students lives.
Mary, you are so right. In my 28 years as a high school biology/science teacher I never worked fewer than 10 hour days and shopped for books and teaching materials while on “vacation” on the other side of the country! Teaching is a profession, not a job. My students and how to make the courses interesting for them were always on my mind.
Mary can’t read. Sue said she would use Marc’s tactic next time someone says *to her* (it’s implied) that it must be great to get the summers off, and leave work at 3pm. Sue was not making a disparaging remark herself.
Thank you Anne for noticing that. I got her point immediately, I hope everyone does.
Thanks, Anne. I was going to make the same comment myself. Mary, please read more carefully. If you are a teacher, we ALL know that we do not work 7-3 or get the “whole” summer off, if you are not grade papers or working in the classroom after hours, you are thinking about what you can do to engage you students, to help that student who is struggling, to encourage. I think about what I can do almost 24/7, most people just don’t have a clue.
Many factors determine the ease or difficulty in evaluating how you are doing in a task or job(you mentioned several): 1) spectator sport has fans, teammates and your own proprioceptive feedback; 2) situations where you work closely with a supervisor and/or teammates (usually willing to offer opinions to each other if not you); 3) task-oriented (like the cloning task you mentioned); 4) handcrafts like pottery or glassworks) or musician – you have to hit the notes and get the beat; etc. With teaching, your students are usually not very good at verbalizing their criticism and it is often difficult to interpret their apparent dissatisfaction and disassociate it from things that have nothing to do with you. Also, most students are not likely to let you know haw good you are doing until after you gave them a final grade (they are more inclined to impress you with how they are listening and following what you are saying). Furthermore, they are not likely to have had much experience with other teachers teaching similar subjects. That is why the best way to evaluate evaluation data is through Peer-Observation processes. Very interesting subject, Do Education Schools go into this subject with future teachers?
As an education student (final year of my master’s degree), I will say that yes, we do learn about these things, but not until our last year or two.
This is one of the best articles I’ve ever seen on teaching. I’m not a teacher, but I volunteered in a few classrooms back in the day, and I can tell you, I saw enough to know that what teachers do every single day is heroic. Thank you, and all teachers, for being there for our children and for giving so much care to their education and well-being.
I agree, Kathryn Grace and I have been a teacher for more than 35 years. The writer hit most of the salient points including the interpersonal interactions that make the difference on so many levels. The job is one of planting seeds … and often never getting to see the flowers and fruits that bloom later. Some of my students have remained friends thru the years and I am happy to have seen some of the seeds take root and bloom. (Can you guess that I taught biology for the last 28 years?)
No, Dr. Hong, you are incorrect.
Perhaps you needed loads of ed-school instruction to be qualified to teach HS kids but I don’t. Most decent teachers don’t and I am skeptical that these courses have much value for many people.
You have a PhD in Biology; you are thereby qualified to teach college kids. You can certainly teach HS kids who might be a few months younger. There is nothing magic about HS graduation.
I’ve taught undergrad, grad students and HS students — in a private prep program. There is no real difference in how a 17-year old or 19-year old learns.
Everything a reasonably talented person needs to know about teaching could be absorbed in a 2-week course. And that is a generous estimate.
How to teach? Think about how to organize and present material clearly. Make lessons interactive, to the degree possible; check that students are following the material; review at the end of each class; provide homework; be encouraging but honest about progress.
The only point of requiring ed-school courses and degrees is to reduce competition for teaching spots to holders of those degrees. It is a protected labor market. It functions like a union or a guild.
Chris, you teach in a private prep program. You do not have the background to make this generalization.
…and of course the great irony of higher Ed is that a large percentage of faculty indeed have no idea how to teach…
Private prep school? Big difference between that and every public school in the country!
Wow, is all I can say! I had some of the most brilliant minded professors who were absolutely in my experience the worst teachers. Just because you are a master in your field does not mean you can effectively teach others how to be. I am glad to know that you worked in a private prep program where the parents were wealthy and relatively involved in their children’s lives. Try teaching in a school with 70% poverty where their only thought at night is how am I going to eat. You think that those students still learn the same way as those who are in collage? Guess again.
There might not be a huge difference between a HS senior & someone in college, but I teach 9th & 10th graders (in Detroit). 13-15 year olds do NOT learn like college students (whether in Detroit or anywhere else; I taught in the suburbs, too). Actually my 9th & 10th graders have a similar mentality to middle school students. They process at a completely different level & they are still mastering the basics of the higher orders of thinking.
I also agree with other commenters that there are quite a few genius-level professors out there who are terrible teachers. Knowing the information & being able to teach the information are disconnected for most. Education classes help, but yes, they don’t usually help enough.
I teach first grade in a Title 1, but excellent school. Come do this without any training! We all know how to read and write; now go teach a child to do it!
I think you should re-read the article. You have totally missed its point.
I am a principal at a Pre-K through 4th grade public elementary school with 97% poverty and students from over 40 countries. I have the hardest working teachers I’ve ever seen. When people think they could do it without the training, I just smile…because there is no way they would survive for a whole day much less a school year. Thanks to all the dedicated teachers out there. You are much appreciated!
I had some college professors like you, I’m sorry to say. They weren’t qualified to teach, and yet that’s what they got paid to do. The main point I learned from “teachers” like you was what NOT to do in a classroom. So thank you for that.
You really don’t know what you’re talking about. The pressure is immense because in the city schools, the parents aren’t very engaged, so the kids aren’t focusing and in the suburbs, the parents are often TOO engaged and make it impossible to teach and you MUST placate the parents. Most of the supervisors are like you; they have no idea what it’s like to stand in front of a class every day.
Chris, you criticize teachers who teach anything but college. As a college instructor now, having taught junior high and high school for 25 years, I know that my students choose the courses they take. They also choose to be successful or not. Junior high and high school students are mandated to take courses they may or may not like. The teachers who teach them have to figure out a way to meet the needs of 25+ students in each class, with entirely different backgrounds, using the guidelines of the curriculum du jour, under the supervision of an administrator who may or may not have been previously in the classroom. That teacher needs those preparatory courses to help them fashion lessons and use materials that will garner interest and information to serve the needs of probably 125+ students on a daily basis. How dare you denigrate teachers! You couldn’t teach in elementary, junior high, or high school because you do not have the skills necessary to juggle all of the responsibilities of that kind of teacher. I feel sorry for your college students.
Here’s the problem with your comment: “there is no real difference in how a 17-year old or 19-year old learns.”…Not only is there a difference, but there is a HUGE difference between how EACH 17-year old learns. I teach MS, and each kid learns differently, is motivated differently and thinks differently. You have 34 14 year olds in a room, and you need to treat them all like individuals.
One point of agreement we have though, is that student teaching was the only prep course that I got any real value from.
Chris, HAHAHA…you wrote that tongue-in-cheek, right?!
No Chris you are wrong. There is a big difference between teaching 17 and 19 year olds, developmental differences evidently you do not take into consideration. Those differences can be vast at any grade level. You must allow for those individual differences or you will leave some students behind or bore the day lights out of another group. It is also, not a protected labor market. Anyone can become a teacher. You became one. It is becoming a good one that really matters to the students you teach. Good luck with your career.
Chris, I question your claim of being a teacher. Anyone in the education field reads this post and is in agreement as they read. You fall squarely into the category of people that this very post is talking about.
“Everything a reasonably talented person needs to know about teaching could be absorbed in a 2-week course. And that is a generous estimate.”
Chris, I have been looking at this statement for a couple of days and I have to say I agree with you. The problem is that teaching is such an art that there is a real dearth of even reasonably talented people. We are often relying upon people who have just average talent who work their damn asses off every single day and what’s more, having worked with a bunch of them over the last thirty years I applaud their incredible commitment to the hardest job anyone will ever love.
Chris, Students in a private prep school have things that most students in my career don’t, like both parents, food, homes, and enough clothing to get them through a week of school. They can’t go to the doctor if they are sick, have to come in late or go home early to take care of siblings since their caregiver may have two or three jobs to cover the cost of living for the family. Oh, that’s if they themselves don’t have a job or two. You are pretentious in your opinion that anyone can teach, try teaching someone who has nothing to hope for and maybe even less to live for but a dream (and not one of inheriting Daddy’s money) and I’ll think about calling you a teacher.
No, Chris, you are incorrect.
Perhaps your methods, or lack thereof, work fine in a high end prep school with students who come from backgrounds where academic excellence is a family expectation and value.
Now try it in an impoverished inner city school where the high school student may not have had a decent meal in 24 hours. Where a student has not even seen her parents in two days and where survival is not a guarantee.
Chris, you are in an absolutely idealistic situation, not one that has anything to do with the realities that most public school teachers face, let alone those who teach in special education programs for court-adjudicated youth. Chris, in that situation I am sure you would just throw your hands in the air and walk away because, of course, your level of expertise would be “too good for them.”
Yet, Chris, you would also be the parent who would e-mail the teacher daily because he or she is not teaching your child in the way you believe is correct. Forget that the teacher has 30+ students in that class that he or she needs to teach. Many of them have learning disabilities. Many of them have emotional concerns, many are physically handicapped. The teacher is NOT meeting the expectations YOU have for your child.
I don’t think you saw too many students like that in your prep school? Learning disabled, physically challenged, psychologically challenged or even hungry.
No, Chris, YOU are INCORRECT. Teachers are now expected to be surrogate parents, social workers, negotiators, public relations professionals, database administrators, and so much more. For all of that, training in educational techniques is so highly necessary.
So present the material, cover the material, and they will learn. Laughable at best! This would make our jobs so very easy if that were how it works. Unfortunately, we actually have to teach, facilitate, learn our students needs, and take a student centred approach. Any monkey can give an organized lecture. It’s a hell of a lot harder to get your students to think.
Yes to Beth, Chris …please teach in a real school…Or better yet an alternative ed school, you really have no idea the difference between college students and middle to high school students. There was nothing incorrect about what Dr. Hong stated in his report.
Chris, something in your post here tells me that you have a lot more to learn about real teaching/inspiring students from a variety of backgrounds who may have different kinds of learning styles and needs.
Have you ever taught a child to read? It’s not just about presenting material in an organized manner.
I’m sorry but some of the worst professors I had were masters in their field. They understood the material of course but did not have the slightest clue how to teach it. Nearly all of them taught as if their students already knew the material and it proved to be disastrous on many levels.
You are the worst example of a teacher. You wouldn’t last 5 minutes in an elementary school. I’d love to see how your evaluations are? Just because you know the material does not make you a teacher.
Chris, what about teaching a MS class of 36, with some kids reading at a 3-4th grade level and some kids reading at a 12th grade level. I suppose in those prep classes you don’t have to differentiate all too much.
Come on everyone. Don’t you recognize a troll when you see one? We have much better things to do with our time (E.G. report cards) than feed trolls.
Chris, it is a very rare event that I find myself speechless, but this is one of those times. You are either an internet troll who has never set foot in a classroom or a very clueless “educator.” A private prep program? I suppose you don’t deal with the problems, the normal teens, the home issues and concerns and the state and federal frustrations that real teachers deal with. Do not presume to undermine my career choice, or the need for qualified educators, simply because you have some ax to grind with public education.
Knowledge of subject matter does not, I repeat, does not, qualify a person to teach it. I do not teach English. I teach teenagers…the subject I share with them just happens to be English. And my BA and MaEd taught me how to teach young minds, not novels. THAT is what makes me an incredible teacher, not the ability to interpret Hamlet. And most real teachers I know feel the same way.
Wow, lots of food for this troll
Based on your explanation of “how to teach”, I would suspect you should also learn how to check the pulse of your students that they have not fallen asleep in your class. Teaching is not as systematic or clear-cut as the “how-to” steps you outline.
Please come off your pedestal and join the rest of us.
Based on the comments I’m reading on this site, I’d say you all need to visit another site: http://www.Badassteacher.org and sign up to become one of the BATs!
Teaching is fun. I find teaching intuitiev. But rarely do I find it easy. I have a combined first and second grade classroom which is mostly self contained. I would not go back to college for another education degree, ever. Programs today do not spend enough time teaching about children: how they think, play, interact, categorize. Instead I spent my time learning how to fill out lesson plans in a format that my job does not require, and reviewing knowledge such as how many cups that, being in college, I knew already. College was a waste of time because they tried to teach me what a grammar student needed to know, rather than how to teach it to them. Another reason that no on can walk into your classroom and teach ad well as you is the repore you develop with your student. This trust is arguably the most important success factor in a classroom.
Thank you for this!! I teach special education and some people perceive that my job is recess all day. They don’t see how much work goes into teaching basic social skills.
I thoroughly agree with your post, Mr. Hong. I’d really love to see anyone who thinks it is easy, walk into a classroom of 25 (or more) Kindergartners and hold their attention, plan all of their activities, and handle all of their behaviors. As a special education teacher for 11 years I can say that there is NO Way that anyone can just walk in and take over. I adored my job and the children – but not much of the useless paperwork I also had to do. Some of it is valuable but it is hours and hours of work to prepare (Annual Reviews, I mean)and it must be letter perfect and ready for the scrutiny of parents. Every year teaching gets harder and teachers are made more accountable for things which are beyond their control. Nonetheless, there is no other job I would rather have. And, by the way, the first requirement is that you must love and care about all of the children you serve. This does not come naturally and you can’t just fake it because the kids will know it. So if you don’t enjoy kids, don’t even try to teach!
Thank you from a teacher who knows how disrespected teachers are today.
This is a good read and so true. After all the school,years of hard work and rejection I saw my wife go through (11years total) to finally get her dream job as a full time 6th grade teacher I will tell you it is one of the hardest and craziest things to do. I see her up every night till 10 or 11 pm and weekends after she’s been up since 5:30 still grading papers or getting her lesson plans ready on top of parent teacher meeting,staying late to help a kid who’s falling behind answering e- mails from kids,parents and co- workers at all hours and trying to figure out how to teach and make it fun for the kids but still make it match up with all the standards and testing the government wants them to do and on top of that be a mom and a wife. Everyone thinks you work 7-3:30 and summers off well I’m here to tell you it’s not that at all !!!! So next time you have a meeting with a teacher or just see them tell them thanks trust me it can be a thankless job we forget they are molding our children’s minds and sometimes being mom or dad when we can’t be there so if you still think it’s a cake job after reading this you will never get it unless you try it. Thanks to all you hard working teachers out there and to to my wife you are a true inspiration and great roll model for our children and my hero for all you’ve done to get to where you are at. I’m proud to be Mrs. Almonds husband would want it any other way!!!!!!
This is one of the best and most accurate articles I have read on this topic. Keep up the great work Mr. Hong!
I love my job and would love to do it for another 20 years. It is so much stress wondering did every child get it, am I the best teacher for this child, what can I do to make sure the students have food, clothing, a safe place to lay their head at night. What trauma did this child experience that has them behaving this way today? How can I ask him to sit down and write his spelling words when he looks so tired that he needs to lie down and rest. Teachers are so much more than teacher that need to get through a curriculum. They need to first create an environment for children that they feel safe to forget the things happening outside of the classroom. The number of hats our teachers wear are increasing. I appreciate it when a parent steps in the room to see if I need help with anything. Thank you to all the parents who support our teachers.
I have no doubt that the Teaching Profession is one of the most difficult jobs in the world to do, especially with teens who don’t want to be taught. But how come it seems as though teachers are the only ones complaining about how difficult their job is? I mean, no doubt a brain surgeon’s job is difficult, but there are fewer of them than teachers so it wouldn’t be common to see a surgeon walking around moping about how difficult their job is. So, how about a job that is more prevalent, and can be as challenging? Let’s take a manger/supervisor of a company. They may oversee as few as a handful of people up to as many as hundreds of employees, dealing on a daily basis with the same people (once high school teens) who were difficult for teachers. One could argue that they would be more difficult to work with because as an adult they’re less likely to be intimidated or impressionable, and yet when I come in contact with people who manage other people, I don’t regularly hear all the moping about how difficult their job is managing people.
I know many teachers who love their job, and if you ask them if teaching is difficult they’ll say, “heck yes!” So I ask them, why don’t I ever hear you complaining about it? And they tell me, it’s because they love their job, they love seeing that glimmer in a kid’s eye when he gets it, when Math clicks for them, or generating a properly formed sentence brings a smile to their face. It’s knowing that you’ve made a difference.
For those teachers who complain about their job, I would say follow the advice you give to your students, find a better job, find something that works for you, find something that will make you happy and stop complaining, it’s eating at your life.
Find joy in your life and live life to the fullest. You only have one life to give, make the most of it. And to those teachers who do find joy in teaching, keep up the good work, we salute you!
You hear them complain because they are ridiculously underrated. It’s not that they are not completely devoted to their profession or that they don’t love what they do. I have several teacher friends (one of which is working an additional job, does after school coaching, and lives with two roommates just to get by). Each one of them is constantly telling me how proud they are of what they are doing and their students. The complaints come when we force unrealistic expectations on them with minimal compensation. They are under paid, over worked, and underappreciated. It’s rare that we give them the credit for the amazing students they create, but we are fast to blame them when a troubled student fails a standardized test. They don’t need a new profession, they need to be showed the respect they deserve. That brain surgeon, whose job is absolutely difficult, receives daily praise for their abilities and they are HIGHLY compensated for their time. Should we be paying our teachers the same as brain surgeons? I don’t know, but they do impact more brains on a more regular basis.
The reason teachers are so frustrated and feel unhappy is that they have no power or control in their careers and have too much responsibility. Teachers are “under the thumb” of the Board of Ed., school administrators, parents and their own students and most recently the Federal Government with Common Core. They are given very few and very weak opportunities to give feedback from their direct hands-on experiences with new curriculum or educational philosophies. No one asks teachers for their ideas or evaluations. Teachers have no power to improve the day to day problems that naturally arise with their students or expectations of curriculum changes. On top of those issues teachers are held accountable for everything, including student’s success in learning despite all of the known issues that have direct effects on student learning (issues that teachers can not prevent or control). Psychologists would clearly identify that because of these factors many teachers would be extremely stressed, depressed and “unhappy” with their lot in life. The only factor that nullifies these issues is the teacher belief that they are doing something very special, that can’t be see or measured. Please do not judge teachers who complain, they have every right to do so and their personalities drive them to be the ones to speak out loud, but they are speaking for ALL of us.
Thanks for writing that article. I’ll ask the folks in my “Foundations of Ed” course to read it. I’ve had the feeling for some time that we need to craft a few lessons for folks who are not teaching and broadcast those outward. Wish I knew the answers — am still looking for them, which is the best I can do (and probably not a bad thing entirely).
I hope that lots of folks read this article. One of my (terrific) course participants made me aware of it. Thanks! (You know who you are.) And I hope that (my fellow) teachers increasingly realize that WE are the folks who change what happens in schooling — top-down changing doesn’t work any more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg….
There’s a lot more to this business than anyone knows. That’s why it’s never boring. As for Chris — remember the story about the North Wind and the Sun trying to get the man to take off his coat? Bluff and bluster didn’t work — as Dale Carnegie says, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” Maybe try a little light and warmth….
Teaching is also being a parent counselor! Especially at the elementary level, teachers are coaches to the parents in how to help their child with academics, behavior, and social skills.
Actually, I’d CONSIDER it teaching time. The trouble is, it’s generally after the fact and after people have already patted themselves on the back. But it’s a lesson that should be taught. I’ve seen often that the people who are the most worked up are those who have let a situation go until it’s a problem and then are looking to shift the blame. Moving right into problem solving seems to pay off much of the time, since we as a society seem to have been locked into finger pointing by the public discourse. Brought Congress to a standstill — the logs aren’t even rolling any more — and brings lots of dialogues to a standstill, too. Maybe it’s not “who’s right,” but “what do we do?”
I teach kids too. Some are a joy to teach, some I’m legally prohibited from taking a louisville slugger to. But there are some important caveats not mentioned here.
Teaching is pretty low on the priority list for administrators. It’s not about ensuring we turn out talented students. It’s all about the standardized tests. The one-size-fits-all courses I took in college were pretty much useless. They do not and cannot teach you to be all the things you need to be in order to teach. It’s a bunch of claptrap.
Teachers before us didn’t have this crap to deal with. How is that they could somehow succeed in teaching when we can’t, eh? They taught brilliant young minds, and some less than brilliant. They taught students who were hungry, and cold, and tired. Somehow they made it work.
But today we are told – No! We MUST have state of the art schools and ipads and laptops for every child before we can even begin to have a chance to instruct them! Bah! It’s all about politics. It’s not as if school boards and administrations actually care about kids.
You need to teach because you love the job. You need to teach because you have unteachable skills in reaching out to all kinds of youth in order to understand and motivate them. If it’s just a job for you, please leave.
But we also can’t do it all alone. We need the students to step up, we need the parents to step up. We aren’t babysitters. If they come to us with a mind yearning to learn, we can help. If they come to us to occupy a seat because they are legally mandated to do so (and the school district makes money by doing so), then they are likely lost.
We aren’t politicians, babysitters, parole officers or revenue generators. We are teachers.
Thank you for being so direct! I to didn’t go in to the teaching profession to discipline and babysit 75% of the time. Unfortunately that is what is expected of us elementary school teachers today. I teach 2nd grade in a rural, low-income area of OR. I barely have 10 minutes to get across a lesson without problems: arguments, interruptions, stopping to write a referral, having a medicated child melt-down. It is awful how little these children are able to pay attention. And their parents think they are fine, just children, give them a break. They all score lower than expected on tests, cannot write a paper, and have little comprehension skills. They cannot think or behave!! I can’t possibly teach like this much longer, I am burned out! It is too much work for too little pay, (10 hr. days)and there are very few satisfying moments anymore. I can’t wait to retire. Every year the next class of students needs more discipline, more basics skills taught again. They do not come to school to learn anymore, just expect to play. It is sad how many classes of students we pass on, and no wonder we have few skilled workers in this country anymore. They all find it easier to be lazy and live on government assistance. What a sad state our country has become, so many uneducated people that we passed through the system to live on welfare! Last year I had a foreign exchange student (France) live in and she thought our high school was a joke, no learning, no respect for teachers, parents, or school, she was disgusted with our education system here. It is a real shame we must work so hard and try to teach students that don’t care, throw papers on floor, and cry and yell out at teachers. Then the parent is blaming the teacher for upsetting their child and expecting too much. The whole U.S. public education system is a mess and failing badly. We need teachers that just teach students how to act and behave in school in a special class, so they don’t disrupt others so much. And then we need administrators that have a strong discipline policy and don’t expect the teachers to mainstream in all these problem children. I can’t teach a class with students rocking in chairs, hiding under desks, yelling out all the time! And yes I did have great classroom management skills before, but those are now hampered by parent complaints that I’m too strict. It is the sad state of the profession anymore, and what really happens daily in an elementary classroom.
Teaching isn’t easy but with great hearts like ours we make it possible.
I was a physical educator for 36 years, 27 of that in middle school. I loved it with a passion, even more passion than I put into my coaching (T&F, X-C, some basketball). I loved teaching without reservation and I cried the day I retired, but I was exhausted and physically beaten…I’ve had 6 surgeries directly as a result of the time and effort I put into my profession. Have lectured to college students for years and have tried to be a leader in my field. I worked with some of the most difficult kids…rampant poverty, gangs, drugs….given the right care they were terrific….smart, motivated, skilled, appreciative. I would not have traded my 36 years for anything.
Oh, I have taught students from Pre-School to Post-Doc in one form or another…these words go for all levels. I have recently had students remark on how I teach them, how it works so well, and how they never had a teacher like me before. I thank them and say it is because of my strong belief in the Krashen Affective Filter hypothesis, but my coworkers and supervisors know it is much much more…hard work and emotional investment in the students…justto start!
You might also have added that because the job is so “easy”, a myriad politicians have meddled and tinkered with the profession over the years because they “know” how children and young people should be taught and what they should be learning far better than any experienced teacher doing the job ever could!
Dear Holly,
I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand how people that attend a private prep school would default to having a completely ideal family or home life. Children you would never expect go without food, have only one parent or have really horrible things in their lives. People you would never expect, have been or are currently homeless. Looks can be deceiving. Just because someone appears to have the perfect life doesn’t mean that they do.
Thank you!
Amen! 1st year teacher here and it is the hardest greatest job I’ve ever loved/hated so much. I hope I can do it for 40+ years.
Thank you for validating my life mission! Via social media, I have learned that I have left a positive footprint and I cherish every word! Retired 10 years now, and some of my former students joined me a few weeks ago in celebrating my 65th journey around the sun. Priceless ! I wouldn’t trade my 35 years of teaching for anything!
I have been a teacher for 29 years, I am proud of what I do and would not want to do anything else. Your article falls in line with my beliefs and is stated beautifully. Thank you.
Just to clarify: Mr. Hong made science with his Ph.D; he taught science with his certificate. As a teacher with 30 plus years of 7 – 12 grades experience in rural and urban and private schools, I know all students are different and subsequently, learn differently. I am amazed at the brain research being done about teenagers. So much of that would have been truly helpful in my early years of teaching. Now, as I contemplate retiring, I keep going back to all those successful students who walked in and out my classroom door. I just hate to think my absence may make a difference in a student’s life, thus making the decision to retire difficult.
After I graduated from UCLA many, many years ago, I taught Middle School in inner-city LA. I had no teacher certificate–they were so short on teachers they created a program to credential college grads with majors in high-need areas (English, Math, Science) through evening workshops and mentorships with award-winning teachers. After a rough first semester I got the hang on it. I knew I did not want to end up one of the mediocre teachers who lecture and pass out handouts from a workbook. I was good enough at it that I won a teaching award from the district, and a popular teacher award from the students. And I knew I would burn out if I kept it up. Then I would end up in the ranks of the many bad teachers. After less than two years, I resigned.
Some years later, I went back to school, got a PhD and teach college. I have never regretted quitting. The more I talk to teachers post “no child left behind” the more I am happy with my decision. Teaching in a public school is one of the hardest jobs in the world requiring not merely knowledge of the subject and teaching skills but a level of emotional fortitude I do not have. I have the greatest respect for public school teachers, especially the good ones who continue to try to make a difference in the face of overwhelming odds.
Thank you for this, Mr. Hong.
Toni Ireland
High School English Teacher
I love this. I have been a parent volunteer in my both of my kid’s classes for the last 6 years and know above a doubt that I could never teach elementary school! After 11 years in the non-profit sector working with higher-risk teens, I feel called to go back to school for my credential to teach English at the High School level. This article was so timely! Thank you for the reminder of all the things I hope to strive for as I spend the year learning how to become a teacher. I can’t wait!
Hmmm
I teach kindergarten. Helping my students to begin their formal schooling, and doing it well, is a huge, exhausting, multitasking, but immensely rewarding task. Anyone who thinks it’s easy is welcome to intern with me for a day! Thanks for a great piece.
I do so agree. I live in the UK, and was Head Teacher of a Nursery School for almost 30 years, and a teacher for 39. I had 120 3 & 4 tear olds in my school, many of whom were not properly toilet trained when they started nursery. We taught them social skills, we taught them language skills, we taught them number & maths skills, science skills. We laid the foundation upon which they could build their learning. We did it through play, Active learning, and through our intervention into that play. We told stories, sang songs, taught them self control….all to groups that varied fro 2 or 5 children, to 60 all together for singing circle. I loved it…& so did they. But EASY?? How easy is it getting TWO young children even to sit & listen, let alone keeping tabs on 60 moving through 4 large rooms?
Hi Cheri and Jacki. I teach Kindergarten and have 40 students. This year I have had at least 8 children in one class of 20 with some form of problem severe enough to warrant an IEP. Of those eight, one has Down Syndrome and one has Global Developmental delay. I have one regular assistant and the special needs assistant leaves at 11:45 a.m. each morning. It has been extremely difficult. That being said, the children have been well prepared for their Foundation class and most children already know a lot of their single sounds along with other Maths and Language concepts that are in some ways very sophisticated. All the teachers who come down to my class to do duty at lunchtime look in horror at what it is really like to be left with 20 Kindergarten age children. For a lot of people it really throws them out of their depth. However, I find it really rewarding and am very glad that I am my children’s teacher. I love watching them grow and develop and it is my choice to continue in the profession. To those who have no idea; well I will just continue what I do and leave them well alone. At the end of the day, how I feel and what I think about my work is my business, not theirs. I don’t see the value in conversing with and trying to convince ignorant people.
I teach Grade 3- 28 students in my class. I’m in the middle of writing end of year reports, Nearly 20,000words written and a few thousand to go! I needed this, to help get me through.
Thanks
I am in what should be the happiest year of my career. NOT!!! 30 years in education and I spend hours and hours on the weekends grading papers and yes, trying to think of things that will inspire my students. The parenting of most of my children is now in my hands and if anyone is to blame for my students doing badly, it is my fault and I am readily told so by people who are 20 to 30 years younger than me who have more than likely dropped out of school themselves. When they had these children, the learning started, but they’ve chosen to abandon them to the t.v. or the extended family who has already raised their own family and left now to raise the children of their children. Yet, it is still my fault. Even the children, 7-8 years old know that they can go home and tell a story and the teacher is put on the line. There are no longer 2 sides to a story, only their child’s perspective, which, as most of us know, can’t verbalize anything and make it — make sense. I have never in my career felt so worthless as this year. Thank you for your blog, it always helps to know that I am not the only one feeling this way.
Please don’t feel worthless; it’s not you. It’s them. You are doing everything you can. Go to this website: http://www.Badassteacher.org and you will find friends and supporters. We are BATs.
Hi Gretta, I think that we are all in the same boat and it is our dedication and love of children that keeps us focussed on what we do. I learned a long time ago that the accolades and affirmations were not likely to come from outside myself and so am continually evaluating whether I think I am doing the best for all my students. it is a constant process of self-reflection and refinement. We make it look easy, but teaching, as you know, is a very complex task and if some of the people who complain that teachers are …, and that they get too many holidays, were to take the class for a month, plan all the lessons in the programme and do it with no assistance, I wonder if they would still hold the same view. Before I was a teacher, I think I held some of those views because I did not know. Perhaps it is only those who have settled into their lives and have something to give from the heart, who should become teachers. Really, it is a vocation and not a day job. We carry our students from the day they start, even at night when we are at home planning for them. They are always in some way, on our minds. The time when teachers really relax and have a true break, is at the end of the school year when all children in the class have dispersed and the reports are done. Until next year!
I am a parent and I just read your comment and it really saddens me Ms. Gretta that you have to deal with this. This is why I am such a huge supporter of all my son’s teachers. I could never imagine blaming his teachers for my son’s failures. I think that a lot of parents do this because it is easier to blame someone else instead of looking at their own faults. I am sure you have been a wonderful educator as is most teachers. I have found that the problem with a majority of failing kids lay right with the parents. Too many parents are afraid of upsetting their kids and trying to be friends with their kids instead of teaching them. I know lots of parents that never make their kids give up their phones and other items so that they can study. I hope that you have a better year knowing that there are many other parents out there just like me who thinks the world of teachers. I think teachers are awesome!
This is so great. I really think that you make some wonderful points. It is so easy to tell someone how they think their job should be done, most of the time it is easier said.
I agree, Dennis! For those teachers wanting a helping hand and some free advice, check out this cool site! http://www.newteacherhelp.com I know the guy who built the site, so don’t buy anything…I have access to his folder with all of the ebooks he sells if you are interested! Request ebooks at texholden2@yahoo.com
As a classroom teacher one must have their eyes on every hand, foot, eyeball, elbow, head and finger while motivating each and every student to participate, interact and respond to the planned lesson of the day…all at the same time! Talk about multi-tasking!
We have several teachers, in our family! From pre-school, up to & including a Prof. of Chemistry, I applaud ALL OF YOU. I understand the difficulties of trying to ‘GET TO’, a TEEN!! I know from experiences w/different groups, that each CHILD/PERSON, has to be approached differently, & KNOWING THAT direction, is never easy. Thank YOU, for ALL YOU DO!!!
Teaching has become increasingly more challenging. I started out in 1973, took a break to have my family, and retired three years ago. From first hand experience I know that today teachers often find themselves wearing many more hats. They are given impossible responsibilities and receive much less support from parents and the community at large. I pray for my friends who continue to work countless hours and do not receive the respect, benefits, and salaries they deserve.
I’ve spent years in the classroom (retirement job) and can offer only some anecdotes — here goes:
* Most teachers are conscientious. That doesn’t mean they are competent but I find this coupling of good intentions/incompetent performance widespread in life and that includes business.
* Much of what matters in education — a stable family environment for the student — is outside the teacher’s control.
* Evaluating teachers solely on student tests is unfair. So is every other method of evaluating teachers. It is unfair to reward/fire a businessman’s performance based solely on profit since he cannot control interest rates, etc., but profitability is as good a yardstick as any. Maybe, someday, we’ll find the perfect metric. But, until then, we need a yardstick and testing seems the most valid. Life is unfair, remember?
* Teacher training courses/colleges and, especially, the M.Ed. are useless. You teach calculus by knowing calculus. You teach history by knowing history. One way to know either of these fields is to do graduate work in them. We wouldn’t want someone to teach advanced calculus who had a degree in hotel and motel management. Why do we think that a person is better qualified to teach calculus if they have a degree in something amorphous called “Education?”
* We probably do way over-invest in “special needs” students. The promiscuous diagnosing of ADHD, or whatever “Disorder de jour,” has reached absurd proportions and drains off immense amounts of educational capital.
* There is nothing difficult about being a teacher. It should not be rewarded as we reward MDs because the depth of knowledge and responsibility of each profession differ profoundly. Teachers are born martyrs. Anyone who has had to “Make his numbers,” come in on time and on budget or face a true performance review (one in which 99% of the reviewed are NOT classified as “Excellent,” as is the case with the NYC public system) knows what real pressure is. In business, I saw person after person terminated and escorted to the exit ten minutes later by security after a negative evaluation. When is the last time you saw this happened to a teacher? Our teachers are decently paid for doing an only so-so difficult job that carries great perquisites and requires no great technical knowledge. They feel underpaid — well, who doesn’t?
* Finally, we don’t seem to demand much of our students. We alibi for them and dread telling their parents that “Little Mary is lazy, has unjustified self-esteem and could not write a declarative English sentence such as ‘Help, the school is on fire’ if it were needed to save her life.” At best, we would read “r u thr? Lil hlp? Gonna dy n wanna b resc’d.”
Teachers must be evaluated just like anyone else. The bad ones need to go and the good ones stay on. Every conceivable method of doing this is unfair. Deal with it.
You say that your years in the classroom are through a “retirement job,” and this apparently qualifies you to proclaim that “There is nothing difficult about being a teacher.” In that capacity, I can only assume that your “years of experience in the classroom” are the direct result of either acting as a teacher’s assistant, or as a substitute teacher, a misnomer if I ever heard one.
I was an industrial designer for 25 years, then went back to college and became a full-time teacher for the next 13 years. Now, I am a retired, and I, too, work as a sub part time. Let me share some of my own teaching experiences:
* Many subs are idiots. When I taught full-time, I would often come back from a day off only to hear horror stories from my students about the subs’ behavior. They often spoke to the students condescendingly, they would yell at the kids for no reason, they often ignored simple lesson plans that were left for them, and just yesterday I heard about a sub who sat at the teacher’s desk and actually fell asleep during class. And he couldn’t understand why nobody would hire him as a teacher.
* Teaching is easy? When you have a classroom of 25-35 kids, all of whom have different learning styles, kids who are at massively different levels from each other intellectually and emotionally, kids who differ from each other in whether they even want to learn, and kids who differ from each other in learning capability, then mix them up and put them all together in the same classroom, do you think it rational to expect the same results from each student? Is the student from a poor household going to do as well as the student from a more affluent household, even though she probably did not sleep well the night before the big test because she can’t afford to get nice clothing like her classmates, and her classmates are making fun of her? Or the student who just found out that his parents were getting divorced? Do you deal like him like someone with a “Disorder de jour”? Or how about the female student who just broke up with her boyfriend and is afraid she might be pregnant; how well do you suppose she will do on her tests? Do you suppose she was really listening to the teacher’s wonderfully-planned lectures? And teacher evaluations would depend on how such students perform on any given day? Get real.
* Kids are not all stamped out by the same cookie-cutter; I have had students who were deaf, students who were blind, foreign exchange students from Germany, Sweden, Africa, China, and a few other countries, most of whom had difficulties with English, and was charged with developing a curriculum that would result in a positive learning experience for all. “There is nothing difficult about being a teacher”?
* I remember one student who, at the end of the year, rolled up his sleeve and showed me the scars inflicted on his arm by his father, using lit cigarettes. I told him that I was obligated to report his Dad to the authorities, but the kid begged me not to — we had only one more day of school, and he was an 18 year old senior and about to graduate, after which, he said he was going to leave home. His grades were not the best, but at least I finally understood why. Would you seriously evaluate my teaching abilities based partly on his testing results?
* You mentioned “special needs” students as though they are a joke. Even though some students have a hard time holding still for 30 seconds, they do have needs that have to be met, and a good teacher recognizes this and deals with it appropriately. I have also seen students who could not walk unassisted, students incapable of speaking, students with brain injuries, and so on. I am sorry that you feel they are draining off “immense amounts of educational capital.” Maybe we should just ignore them… pretend they have nothing to offer, or maybe pretend that they do not even exist?
* Teacher training courses are not useless. You are right in asserting that you teach algebra by knowing algebra. But you also teach algebra (or any other subject) by knowing students, understanding learning modalities, understanding child psychology, and learning about the students’ cultures and various teaching strategies and how they evolved. You learn how to scan the room while teaching, so that you can keep the students on task rather than texting each other. And at the end, the student-teachers are sent out to a couple of different schools as interns, where they are evaluated by the professionals they teach under. Believe me, teacher training is most assuredly not a waste of time, and knowing only algebra or English or geography is not enough. It may work in college, but college students generally have the maturity to deal with that… younger students do not.
* You end by saying that “Teachers must be evaluated…” They always have been, but by their peers in administration, who know about teaching, not by those armchair generals who feel that just because they have been in classrooms, they know what teaching is all about. Which reminds me — if you REALLY want to evaluate teachers, go home with them when they are grading papers, especially essays that sometimes take a week or more to grade. And be there when the teachers have to give an “F” to some student for cheating on his test, even though the teacher knows that that failure will constitute a part of his evaluation. But hey, “Life is not fair,” right?
I agree with you about student environment and the over-diagnosis (and over-medication) of ADD/ADHD. However, I’m really kind of offended at the rest of your comments. It’s obvious teaching wasn’t your original career, nor is it your current passion, because if it were, you would know how hard we work and how underpaid and underappreciated we are. This is not a “so-so difficult job.” More hinges on our performance than making money (since you’re using a business analogy throughout this piece). Are there awful teachers out there? Yes, but most of us care too much about our students to see them fall through the cracks.
Do your students a favor, and get out of teaching. It’s obviously not something you want to be doing.
The APA believes that roughly 7% of children have ADHD of one form or another with 5% of them taking it into adulthood. Judgment from their teachers and superiors makes a legitimate and debilitating problem worse. The disorder, by its nature, is easy to misread from the outside. To some extent, it looks like normal behavior (especially for children). It is just in abnormal quantities, affects too many facets of life, and results in impairment.
It is a neurological disorder. Don’t trivialize it and don’t pretend you know more than medical professionals. While there are certainly people being diagnosed/medicated that do not actually have the disorder, it is actually underdiagnosed. The reason is that the people who are perhaps best able to intervene on behalf of children believe the disorder isn’t real and that the children or parents have just failed morally. Take the time to learn about these things before your worldview hurts the very same children you spend your life trying to help.
In the universities in my state teachers who teach math, science, social studies have to have degrees in their subject and educational courses are complimentary required courses to qualify to be tested to see if you pass the assessments to teach. If you teach in the elementary level you must take courses in all subject matters because you teach it all with an area of concentration in language arts (reading, writing, speaking and listening). All teachers must have internships to get direct experience in the classroom with a mentor teacher. Your attitude about special needs students is dishonorable. They have every right to access their education. Why don’t you just say that parents should keep them in the attic like in the good olde days? Other than those comments your attitude isn’t worthy of my time. I don’t believe your experience in the classroom (in what capacity, you didn’t state)is authentic compared to others experiences.
All I can say to you is, “Walk a mile in my shoes.” Do my job for a week, and come back and write an email like this. I don’t think you could.
add/adhd do no make up most of the population of special education students on IEP’s…. ohh and IEP do not cost schools money… over-investing in students is a crime to you apparently… I would rather invest in kids than celebrities/athletes who make millions of dollars for playing a game….
look at what the state is pushing through and you will see states are evaluating teachers by tests students take…. don’t worry though it only will affect 50% of teachers pay and then the students will surely pass the test because the state mandated test is logical and easy for students to pass…. not.. the test for kindergarten and first grade writing portion are to write a story with a beginning middle and end, use punctuation and capitals correctly… and thats just the writing portion.
I think you need to open your eyes and do some research before posting… everything you say is an attack and not very well thought out because I could argue all of your points and give you facts and you would still not understand probably because it wouldn’t be fun for you to learn it.
A.Andros–after reading your post, I have come to the following possible conclusions: 1) You have never actually taught a day in your life and are acting the troll because you have a profound disdain and disrespect for teachers, or 2) You are one of those teachers who make the job easy because you are too lazy, too selfish, and too uninspired to put in the 60+ hours a week required to be a decent teacher. Basically, you are a troll. Go away.
Andros…you sound like a pompous ass that has no idea what real teaching is.
Excuse me but you end to shut your mouth. I can personally say that teacher don’t have to easy because I was one of those students who ever now and then gave the teacher hell. Now I had some fly off the wall about it and then I had others to correct. Actually, I saw this article through an old teacher’s post and just so happens she is the one I gave the most hell to but yet she never got mad at me for it and slowly became a second mom to me. Teaching is not something everyone can do and I can say that because of my graduating class and then way we behaved. I would of hated to have a teacher like you because it is clear you do not care about your students and that my friend is a big key to teaching. Also, what you say about children with special needs and learning disabilities is sad. All children can learn if you actually care enough about them to put in the time and effort to go the extra mile to help them. I was diagnosed with ADD in school and I personally don’t think it bared me from learning anything but I was always told that is why I had a hard time focusing in class although I personally believe that I was bored by some of my teachers.
Sorry I meant need not end.
I should add that there are also some very good subs, and I honestly did not mean to aim that comment at you, sub or not. I apologize for the way that sounded.
Richard Burr, I agree with everything you said above. Thank you for taking the time to write your response and “stand up” for teachers. All I can say to people like A. Andros is, “Walk a mile in my shoes.” Do my job for a week, and come back and write an email like that. I don’t think you could.
Wow – well said! Just returned back from my classroom about 15 minutes ago. Yes sir – Saturday night and I worked from 5:00 until almost midnight. I do work my butt off as you said and while some think it looks easy – it’s because they choose not to look further. I love my job and wish sometimes I didn’t have to put in so many extra hours. My choice, but this 4th grade class, with 32 students, deserves my very best every day – and that’s what they get!
I once had a student in a Year One class on his long-term prac. He had not taken the entire group before and he thought it looked so easy. ‘Piece of cake,’ he thought. So I left him to it, and said that if I could see the group disintegrating, I would rescue him and we would discuss what happened after the lesson. He began well and after 10 minutes, the group was reduced to a shambles and I stepped in to create calm so that he could continue with his lesson. He then understood that classroom management goes hand-in-hand with teaching content. Now I am teaching Kindergarten and love my class. It is my mission to ensure that they have the necessary skills and also that they have within them a passion for learning. I think I have succeeded and parents are amazed that their little 4 year olds have grown and developed in all ways, so much this year. To finish, I will add this comment from one of my children in discussion with his mother. This is what makes teaching fun for me. L was very unhappy one morning and having a bit of a meltdown. He ranted to his mother, “My hairstyle days are over! I just can’t get a look to suit me.” So, yes, teaching is very hard work and there is a lot of responsibility. However, it is one profession where the teacher gets to learn alongside the children, is always faced with new challenges and always gets to develop as a human being if the challenges are met without resistance and a heart open to learning. Just a thought!
Jesus Christ, will teachers ever stop bitching about work?!
Who’s “bitching?” I love and am thankful for my job each and every day. But it’s got its challenges, just as any other profession does.
Will we ever stop being botched about???? That might help.
I have to agree. I have spent many years as a teacher, and there is an awful lot of complaining. Humble bragging is also a problem- please do not feel the need to share this on facebook. Many professions are overworked and underpaid. Get on with it.
You are an evil person who does not possess one ounce of the milk of human kindness. You are a troll who has no business commenting on teachers and what they do or how they do it because you surely are not a teacher. Go back under the bridge, troll.
No
Your off-topic.
The topic is: “Can everyone teach”, not “Will teacher ever stop bitching about work”.
Read. Think. Reply.
Idiot.
The idiot reply is to Pad.
Pad, when a teacher gets verbally attacked by those who are outside the system, that teacher has every right to defend him/herself without it being labeled “bitching.” If you cannot tell the difference between self-defense and bitching, perhaps you should go back to school. A teacher would be glad to help you.
@ Pad….NOT NICE….have you ever walked one day in a teacher’s shoes??? In NYS, we are dealing with principal and teacher evaluation called APPR..everyone students, teachers and administrators are living and breathing a nightmare called the Common Core. If you have a typical 7th grade child , they are receiving approximately 5 hrs. of homework a night.
That is not a teaching bitching. That is teachers and parents watching our children be abused by NYS.
Well said, Dennis. You and Taylor Mali ought to go out for coffee together, some time. I’d buy tickets just to watch that conversation.
I have to agree teachers do complain an awful lot. What other job pays the same as many other difficult jobs but also gives you the entire summer off as well as holiday breaks and spring break? In most jobs you’re lucky to get two weeks off in an entire year. Saying anything negative about teachers has become politically incorrect. Yet teachers complain about parents non-stop. If you are unhappy with your salary and chosen profession, please do something else. I pay enough money to the school in property taxes and have very little say in anything that happens in my child’s education.
Your off-topic.
The topic is: “Can everyone teach”, not “Should teacher be allowed to complain”.
I am a teacher with 38 years’ experience. I am most appreciative of your comments because it gives me an opportunity to set the record straight. (1) Teachers are not hired for 12 months per year in most school districts. They are paid in 12 increments to help in money management for the entire year. (2) Teachers do not complain about parents non-stop. We are delighted to have the assistance of parents in making their children’s education meaningful and appropriate. We complain loudly about the parents we never see or hear from. (3) If you live in a community, then you have the right to attend school board meetings and speak as a concerned citizen. If you have a child in school and have had “very little say” in your child’s education, then shame on you. If you have specific concerns about your child’s teacher’s ability to teach, make an appointment with him/her and start a dialog.
Chris, you are speaking out of ignorance. Teachers work more hours during the school year than the workers in most other professions. Just as an example (and this is not bitching, Pad), after hours, teachers have to return calls to parents to discuss specific concerns, record attendance, help students who need assistance with difficult topics, and attend to extracurricular activities they volunteered to do, often getting home many hours after the students. A ten hour day is not unusual. Once at home, after gulping down a hasty meal, teachers must then must design new lesson plans each day for students of varying knowledge and skill levels, grade papers (some of which can take a few weeks for well over a hundred students). And this extends to weekends as well.
And during those “great summer breaks,” the teachers are often attending college again and/or seminars in order to comply with state recertification requirements. It never ends, but we are happy to go because it gives us ideas and motivation for our return.
As for the salary, if you compare the amount of education required to teach and compare THAT with workers in industry, educators are paid quite low. Your attitude is a reflection of why.
By the way — you may be surprised to learn that teachers, too, pay property taxes — it isn’t just you. And if you feel that you have no say in your child’s education, pull your kid out and home-educate him or her.
Teachers are proud of what they do — it is you and others of your ilk who are doing all the complaining.
While I know teachers are not hired for 12 months out of the year, hour for hour teachers salaries are not grossly underpaid as you would like us all to think. Also, where else can you not do your job well and not get fired!!!
Do you have a say in the treatment your doctor chooses for your children? No, you take it or leave it, because the doctor is a professional as teachers are. If you don’t like what is happening with your child’s education, you can choose to take them to another school or homeschool.
Yes and the salary for nine months is equivalent to what other jobs requiring 12 months of work are paid. I am not saying teachers do not work hard, but saying they have harder jobs and worse pay than other professions is just not true. And just admit that all the time off is a HUGE perk. Why be defensive about that? I do not have the desire or ability to be at home without an income or to home school my kids. But if I had the money for private school I would be all over it. And attending board meetings, blah blah. I think most of us make the best of what we have and are grateful for the excellent teachers we get and supplement with what we can at home. I’m not as one person going to change the system. Not even all the complaining teachers working in it can manage to do that.
I often hear two prejudices regarding teaching:
“The extra holidays are a huge perk” and
“I would never choose to teach!”
Now, one thing you should reflect on is, that every profession has it’s good and bad employees. That’s pretty human. It’s also the case in my field. I have witnessed colleagues fail their students and I have even reported some, because my empathy lie with the students and I feel the need to protect my profession.
I think we have all met incompetent doctors, craftsmen, policemen, politicians, maids and…you name them. But does these examples constitute a right to ridicule their entire profession? Of course not. Only a child would think so.
You and many other in this thread seem to get off ridiculing the teaching profession. I don’t know specifically why, and I really do not care. It’s actually just bad manners to insult people, you don’t even know.
I’m not interested discussing my profession, my work ethics, my working conditions or my salary with you. I do not see the point other than you maybe getting rid of some old high school traumas. I can help you find a better way to deal with that if you’d like?
If teaching was easy, the increasing amount of research in the field wouldn’t be necessary. Teaching is a science, but you do not qualify as a scientist alone.
Being a qualified teacher, you must master three skills:
1. Leadership
But not any kind of leadership. It has to be based on the values, arguments and physical structures, that is present in and around your specific teaching environment. So…you have to be able to identify and perform several kinds of leadership – sometimes “on-the-fly”.
2. Methodology
What are the proven best methods to study and master calculus? Language? Science? During the last decades several methods has been developed, used and exchanged. This is, if anything, an area of change and development. Those who claim anyone can teach often refer to their 10-20 and sometimes 30 year old experiences. They live in the dark ages and you cannot enlighten them. Leave them be – they are a lost cause.
3. Relationship
Teaching requires trust. When you teach, your aim is always to change your students. Basically, you wander into a minefield, when you teach, because you signal, that your students aren’t good enough. They need to change. Why else would they even be in the classroom? If a teacher is to succeed changing his students, he must be able to gain their trust. They must know, that he’s aim is to empower their ability to choose. Now, this is really not something you can study. This is a way of thinking, you have to develop through your interaction with people. You have to be trustworthy and always reflect before you act. You can never fall back on this. Not when you had a bad morning, not when you are feeling sick, not when you are challenged by a defiant teenager. You must be the oak in the storm.
So…are we always perfect teachers? Of course not. But we know what it takes and it isn’t easy. Only a dinosaur would claim so.
And may I add that a teachers job would be made so much easier if more parents will participate in their child’s education and do their part at home. It is not solely a teachers job to teach our children. We have to be teachers at home too. I am not a teacher I am just a parent that realizes how important and what unsung heroes teachers are. Parents are often times the reason a teachers job is so difficult.
Well-said, Henrik. You have beautifully articulated aspects of teaching I never thought to hurl at the dinosaurs.
Congratulations for having the guts to stand up for teachers and the art of teaching. I would love to see all the naysayers spend a week in a classroom trying to help out. They would come away with a new respect which could spread to others. Maybe someday teachers will have the public support they deserve!