The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do
Image by doug88888 via Flickr
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.
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Those who are interested in a career in education might consider Saint Joseph University online, which offers a masters in education, with several specialties.
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adolescents, child psychology, inspiration, microbiologists, respect, skill, talent, teachers, teaching, teaching credential, teaching credential programs, teenagers
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Great piece! I think you are right on … we greatly undervalue our teachers in this country. That’s even visible in the pay and the methods we use to recruit qualified people into the teaching profession. I’m glad you found your way to this field, because it seems to me you are probably great at it!
They get like 3 months off less QQ.
This article is the biggest load of crap I’ve read and show how inflated teachers egos really are. I won’t deny a teachers job is tough but to actually call It the hardest job? Really? There are plenty of jobs out there that are just as, if not more difficult than teaching where the respect is lacking even more. Did I mention those jobs don’t let you take the entire summer off. Come down off your high horse, your job can be measured easily just like everyone else’s.a
In my state, teachers have two months off in order to attend workshops and lectures and to make and gather teaching materials for the coming year. Their weekends are for grading papers and finding alternative methods for teachiung the child who is having difficulty. None of my own children would consider teaching as a profession because they said that I never had any free time. An, that’s what teachers do in their “time off”. And they don’t get paid for it.
@LJD, Of course teaching is not the hardest job (pile driving comes to mind as one that might be harder.) [Disclaimer: I recently retired from teaching after 42 years in the profession.] However, what is true is that many non-educators think the job is easy and they can do it. The reasons are three. One, everyone has been in a school; teachers have made it look easy; ergo, observers think they can do it. Two, yes, we do have extended time off: summers, Christmas, spring, etc.
But the most important reason is the third (and someone in this blog has already explained it.) I have always said the the problem is quantifying who is a good teacher and who is not. We all know an excellent teacher when we see him. Proving it is another matter. There is no clear, indisputable bottom line.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am not complaining. I loved my job; I loved the kids; and I loved the exchange of ideas. (I also loved being in control, but that’s another subject.) I wouldn’t try playing basketball, operating on a patient’s brain, walking high girders on a building, or preparing actuarial statistics. I respect those who do. All I ask is that others respect my profession. (After all, managing 30 adolescents with raging hormones – and trying to teach them something – is a bit like herding cats.)
I have a few teacher friends and we have this conversation often. I understand the difficulty teachers have in motivating students and keeping the classroom engaged. I am also aware of the lower pay scale and how tough overbearing parents (or parents who don’t care at all) can be.
I think most people, especially in this economy, are employed by companies who are demanding more work and more responsibility from their employees for the same or less pay than most americans would deem suitable. Most, if not all jobs, require take home work or at least demand some sort of at home preparation. These work days generally range from 8-5 or so with minimal breaks. All of this with 2-3 weeks off per year where employees are still responsible for answering work related emails and generally are greeted back from vacation with some sort of mess to put back together.
My argument has always been the quality of life and the extraordinary amount of time of teachers have to recharge their batteries. Yes, the classroom is a major challenge and teachers are required to be “on” at most hours during the short work day. Yes, many nights are spent grading papers with some nights spent developing lesson plans. I will never argue that teachers aren’t required to work just as hard as most american workers, however, with an abundance of holidays, 3 weeks of vacation built into the school year and two and half months of work/responsibility free vacation over the summer, I will never feel bad for teachers or sympathize with a teacher who feels “overworked.” Most people’s complaints with work stem from feeling “burnt out” or working until the point of exhaustion yet having to wait 4-6 months at a time for a week off to recharge their batteries. If you are a teacher and feel that work is getting ahead of you, simply wait a month or so and a holiday or vacation are waiting for you. If a teacher has had a rough year with students, the slate is wiped clean come the middle of June and two and half months later they get a fresh start. They’re aren’t many other occupations that allow their employees to take that significant amount of time off to come back to a clean slate.
I think most teachers have come directly out of college or grad school where time off is an abundance so the frame of reference for a difficult job isn’t exact. Again, I’m not saying teachers are not required to work hard because they really have no choice but to work hard to maintain a healthy classroom. My argument is that most people are required to work hard, the only difference is most people have a total of 2-3 weeks of rest while teachers have a total of 15-16 weeks. Being able to refuel and recharge is a luxury most americans simply do not have, along with a strong union backing, and it is why teachers will never garner the sympathy vote from many people.
@jack…. For most teachers, those “summer days off” are spent tutoring, waitressing or nannying to make up for the lack of “good income”. A common misconception is that teachers do nothing during the summer. When in fact, they continue to work their butts off to supplement income. This is especially true for the younger generation trying to pay off student loans. So please don’t assume that teachers “have summers off”. Also the “fresh start” is not so fresh. With changing state tests, principals, and curriculum, teachers walk into the new school year with more work then when they left. Just as times change, the way we teach and what we teach also changes. The so called “fresh start” is really a big “start from scratch”. Just wanted to clear that up.
LJD: WHile teachers may have their summers “off” as you like to refer to it. We aren’t getting paid for that time. In my state teachers are off 8 wks during the summer WITHOUT PAY. Yes, these are days off, but there is NO money coming in. Most of the teachers I know work seasonal and summer jobs to make ends meet. They are out galavanting on cross country trips. Shows how little you know. It amazes me how many people think teachers are getting paid when they aren’t working.
As I have scrolled down through the comments, I decided to share the following:
1. There are good and bad teachers just as there are good and bad waitstaff, mail persons, etc.
2. Those who think that teaching is a job that is 9-5 while grading a few papers after hours have no clear idea of what teachers truely do that (or at least those who aspire to make the difference).
3. The idea that teachers have extended time off just because students are off is very misleading. Most teachers spend breaks and summers attending training, creating new lessons plans, meeting some kind of professional development requirements or such.
4. Many teachers still attend student functions such as athletic or chorus events on their own time in order to support students outside of the classroom.
5. No one profession is greater than any other. The article above is a commentary about how little respect the teaching profession is given and how frustrating it is when teachers work their butts off to make a difference for children with less supplies, more testing, more mandates, more paperwork and less support and certainly what seems to be less and less internal motivation from students themselves.
6. As my grandmother would say, “Until you have walked a full moon in my moccasins don’t judge me.”
My hat is off to all great teachers…inside and outside of classrooms…lets not forget the real focus…our children, who are our future.
While I would like to sympathize with “two months with no income”, I would hope that none of those complaining are math teachers as that is what a BUDGET is for. Sure you work a couple jobs sometimes, I do too. I know teachers work hard as I know several folks who switched professions and became one. I know they work their butts off with homework and prep, setting up a plan for one year only to find they have been switched to a different grade and have to set up another. I appreciate it. BUT, no sympathy on the money issue as you knew what you were getting into when you took the job.
LJD – I noticed you didn’t give any kind of examples to back up anything you said. What jobs exactly? Name a few.. And then you say it can be measured, and yet you don’t say how. This is the problem with people like you – and my students. I have to teach them again and again to back up what they say, and they still struggle with it. The job is hard to measure because of weak thinking – and weak backing of that thinking – just like you exhibit. In a way, you illustrated the point for all of us. It is what we call the “teaching moment.” Thank you for that.
This says exactly what I’ve tried to explain for years. Teaching is my second career, and much more difficult…no long lunch hours, no overtime pay or comp time for the late meetings and work done at home. But after 25 years of teaching, I have had students who had bad grades and test scores come find me to say they were admitted to college…and they thank me for my 4th grade class making them interested in learning. THAT is high praise!
LJD….I’d love to know what you do for a living….thank you for categorizing all teachers based on one individuals article. Teaching is a tough job and all teachers did go into it knowing the pay isn’t great and the hours can be long. But, no one knows how challenging any job is until we start the task and experience the true demands of the job on a day to day basis. Several of you are forgetting the many school systems who have transitioned to year around school as well. I think several people who have commented on this article should get some facts straight before making some of the comments that are out there. The economy is in a poor state right now and a lot of people and families are struggling right now. Botton line, educators, police officers, firefighters, and other public service providers deserve more ‘credit’ than they get and I don’t mean just financially.
Don’t kid yourself into thinking that ALL bad teachers are scared away soon. I am finishing up my first year at a school where almost ALL the tenure teachers are the problem because they refuse to reevaluate how they teach and what their students are actually learning. They just blame and don’t contribute much to our educational community.
That being said, I will be leaving teacher in the next 3 years to pursue my long standing dream of attending medical school. I am leaving because I don’t find the job to be challenging enough for me intellectually because the fact of the matter is that standards have dropped significantly. Working with students is always difficult because there is a delicate balance in HOW a teacher interacts with a students. Not just on the level of trying to inspire, but also to AVOID being put in a position that could compromise you professionally.
Personally, as a teacher, I feel that the pay scale for the profession is reasonable, but that it should NOT be determined by experience. Experience or years in teaching do NOT indicate that you are a better teacher. However, it is the only measurable thing people can use to judge teacher effectiveness because testing definitely doesn’t do it and evaluations are far too biased to accomplish that. It is reasonable for a starting, full time teacher to get $30,000 a year. It’s MORE than enough to live on. I would know, because I only managed to snag a part time position and make $17,000. It make my budget extremely tight, but I’m alive and kicking and NOT in debt.
I think that IF we made teacher education programs more rigorous and treated the training of teachers like Finland does (which is similar in length of time and experience to become a physician or lawyer) then we might see a significantly improved profession with people who KNOW what they are getting into and are prepared to deal with just about anything.
Jack623 is right on.
I don’t think teaching is easy. However, I wonder what the heck all these teachers think inadequate salary is? I live in a county in Wisconsin that has one of the HIGHEST poverty rate – and the average teacher makes 50k plus benefits per year. Then they take jobs from other people during the summer. I don’t think 50K is not fair pay for their jobs. I’m an RN and I make 45K and I think that is fair pay. I work all year long, many long days with challenging patients, unpaid on call time etc. But I have health insurance and a decent wage – I’m grateful.
I would love a paid vacation, but as a teacher I am only paid for the days I am at school. I am a first grade teacher, and I love my career..but come walk a day or two in my shoes. So many needs, not enough hours in a day…but so many smiles and hugs from a child who figures something out!! Priceless
After 20 years in the special education environment, I still can’t believe I get paid to this job. It has been a long, strange trip, but one I have yet to regret because it is way too much fun!
P.S. Education is my second career, I did 21 years as an officer in the military.
I am just finishing my first academic year as a teacher in a rural school on a reservation. I have worked in many capacities in several nations doing everything from canvassing door-to-door to lecturing seminars and presiding over an interstate organization. I am working to complete a dissertation for a doctorate. However, I have never worked harder or been more challenged in my life than teaching in a secondary school. This article states what I’ve learned, that there’s much more to teaching than one might think. Teachers earn respect the hard way.
Jack 623 – your response is fairly typical of the sort of person the blog post is referring to. Someone with no real concept of what the job entails. Yes, I’m a teacher, and a fairly new one (I’ve only been teaching in the public school system for five years). You may “never feel sorry” for us, but we don’t want that. We simply want recognized for what we do. Contrary to your assumptions, the teaching profession isn’t a bunch of folks who have never held regular jobs. For many (like myself), it’s a second career. I’m a retired veteran, and I’ll say this: being a teacher is harder on a day-to-day basis than any time I spent in the military. It is more work-intensive, more frustrating, more challenging, and consistently has longer hours. I will also say that my lovely spouse makes about six times what I do as an executive for a well-known financial institution, and she doesn’t put in the hours I do, nor does she have the frustrations I do during the average school year. A recent study by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently discovered that,contrary to their previous (presumptive) stance on the subject, that teachers *average* work day during the school year is about ten hours a day. That’s average, and it’s consistent with my experience, as well.
So what’s the point? The point is, Jack 623, that while you condescend with your opinion, that opinion is based on a straw man that really has no basis in reality. Yes, we have time off. Most use it to prep classes for the next year, continue ed., or, yes, relax a little. So would you, but you wouldn’t know that. We get paid less on this rationalization of how much time we get off. To a certain extent, this is correct, but only in that the time off is a benefit. The pay is still not commiserate with the performance expectations, sorry.
I am soon to become a statistic. One of the problems with the profession is that it has a hard time keeping people past the five year mark. Job satisfaction and burn out tend to be the big reason. Mine is the former. I love teaching. I love my kids. I cannot stand being a public whipping boy. I cannot stand being blamed for a child’s failure by a parent who is clearly the problem and having to hold my tongue. I cannot stand the smarmy self-important people such as yourself who think they can, no — who think they have a right — to tell me both how to do my job and how crappy I do it based on absolutely nothing, even though I consistently get one and a half years of growth from my students per school year (the expectation is, of course, one year).
So, I’m finished. You’ve won Jack623. Aren’t you happy?
Real teachers DO NOT GET three months off! An and LJD and all of the others!
Teachers renew their credentials every 5 years requiring continuous education, classes, etc. and the best time to take classes are summer so you do not have to write lesson plans for substitutes (who may or may not follow them); summers are for revising lessons that need updating or more layers of differentiation for those students who do not all perform at the minimum level of proficiency or higher, revise lessons to nudge the higher achieving student without leaving the lower achieving student out, finding the substitute equipment since your school cannot afford the right equipment for labs and other data collection; summers are for finally having time to spend with your family unlike other workers who do not have parent-teacher conferences every time you go to the store, after school activities or just out for a run/walk/bike. Summers are for supplementing your income if necessary so you can afford more equipment and supplies for those students who cannot afford paper, pencils, calculators, dues to join extra-curricular activities, scholarships, etc.
Oh I use to act like I was better than students who were going into education. . . then I taught a few college labs, and I was hooked on teaching. Now I cannot imagine a better life! I learn every day if not every hour something new and wondrous. I learn to smile while being called lazy, stupid or worse by parents who want you to “save” their children, I learn to be patient because EVERY child can learn given the time–our schools just do not let use take more than 36 weeks to teach everything we are suppose to teach. I learn to turn the other cheek. . .because I have the GREATEST job in the world! I touch the future. . .
P.S. Thanks Beverly for your comments! Nice name too!
No, teaching is not the “hardest” job ever but it sure is tough. I always get angry when people mention the “summers off” and the vacations. Well, while we do have our vacations throughout the school year, they are set for us. I cannot just take any week off I want to but instead have to fight the lines in Disney with everyone else on “school vacation.” When I am sick (or my kids are sick) I can’t just call out of work but have to plan out what my entire day will look like for somebody who may have never been to my school before. While our summers may be off from teaching, MANY teachers must have a second job. I have taught for 6 years and this past summer was the only summer I haven’t waitressed and that was because I was 8 months pregnant. The money we make is “comfortable” (for me at least) but not sufficient for the extras I want in life. How do you think we plan for the school year? It comes from going to school in the heat of summer, to a non-air conditioned building, making curriculum plans for the coming year.
I don’t think this article contained any crap, just the comment regarding the “summers off” can be seen as crap.
I found that the credential program did little to prepare me for the real world of teaching. What did prepare me the most was the year of student teaching I did, and then actually BEING a teacher. It’s not the hardest job in the world, but at the same time many non-teachers don’t understand what the challenges are in teaching. Controlling a room of kids, being a sort of educational pyschotherapist to them is challenging enough, but then you have to deal with parents who are clueless to the “other” personality their child displays in the classroom, which is not seen at home. And yes, this is true, I first learned of this phenomenon as a mom, when I went to observe my son at school, without his being aware, and had my eyes opened to this. Big applause to all who are out there serving year after year with our young people and nurturing the next generation! Parents would do well to give teachers the benefit of the doubt in most cases. And, they aren’t really “off” for 3 months. Most use that as prep time for the following year.
no matter what would be the situation is, it’s a no need to have no respect for teachers, hello??? dudh, who do u think u are now without teachers.. but molding students is a difficult task..
and by the way, not all teachers are said to be real teachers, real teacher have heart, passion and commitment… wish there’s still more teachers like that…
Teachers have 2 months off because school is out idiots. Students get a break however many teachers work a summer job to make ends meet. Teachers only get paid for the 10 working months, not their 2 months off. Teachers don’t sit all day staring at a computer. Teachers don’t leave their work at the office at 5 and call it a day. Teachers work around the clock. Teachers worry about their kids and how to get them on grade. Teachers worry about if that kid will get any food or see a parent tonight. Teachers worry about how to get through to the kid who has no family and doesn’t care about school. Please tell me what you do while you sit in your cube all day, get paid at least 50,000 for playing on a computer, going out to eat for an hour, and then taking sick days or vacation when needed. When teachers are out, teacher make sub plans, teachers don’t get a lunch break, we eat with our kids. Teachers don’t get to get up and go to the bathroom whenever because we are with our kids. Teachers must plan 1 lesson but then differentiate it to meet the needs of all their students. If you haven’t been a teacher, you should go try to amuse 24 or more kids all day and then talk about how “easy” it is to be a teacher. Enjoy your cube instead and playing on a computer all day. AN its 2 months, get it right! LJD we don’t have ego’s but notice teachers get blammed for everything. I don’t ever see anyone blamming the office workers for the education suffering or the parents. Its the American culture because we don’t value education. Think about where you would be without a teacher. Teachers have taught you everything you know so instead of saying we have an ego, maybe you should thank one. We have one of the lowest paid professions around. We have to have a 4 year degree and then we have to continue to get more degrees to increase our pay. LJD you can take time off when you need it. It’s hard to call out as a teacher so instead of running your mouth, try being a teacher then lets talk!
I work on average 70 hours a week as a teacher (at least 7am-5pm each weekday, on average 3 hrs each weeknight to planning/prepping for labs/grade/contact parents/attend school function/etc., then at least 5-10 hrs on the weekend for the same reasons).
70 hours/wk x 38 full weeks/yr (yes I subtracted out all the weeks we have “off” already) = 2,660 hours/yr. Intense hours, not dilly-dallying sitting on-my-ass hours.
Let’s someone works pretty hard at their job, and works 50 hours a week…
50 hrs/wk x 50 full weeks/yr (even though they probably get more time off than just 2wks bc of the federal holidays) = 2500 hours/yr.
So, as a teacher, I work more than a full year in about ten months. And no, I don’t get paid overtime. And yes, I always take classes over the summer.
However, there are definitely teachers out there who don’t work as hard, and barely lift a finger to “teach.” One of the principals I worked with in the past said something that has always stuck with me, and I think it addresses both sides of this issue:
“Teaching is the easiest job… If you’re doing it wrong. Teaching is the hardest job if you’re doing it right.”
To the person in Wisconsin where teachers’ average salary is 50K — and thinks that is more than fair. Congratulations to those teachers. Try Central Louisiana parishes where a 20+ years doesn’t make near that!! So YES teachers are underpaid — grossly! And worse — not respected nor appreciated.
LJD you are deluded. 6 weeks off? On what planet? At least half of that time is taken up by preparations for the next class. Let’s call it 3 weeks; I think we deserve SOME time off, considering weekends and evenings are taken up by planning, assessment and marking. I have lost count of the number of evenings sat at the computer planning and marking until 12am, only to get up at 6 and start the whole process again. Then there’s the lack of respect we face from people like you, who think it’s easy. Have you ever been in a job where nearly every parent, politician and member of the public belittles your job? Do the police and doctors get this disrespect? No. Perhaps it’s because the public depends on them, whereas they see teachers as glorified babysitters, somewhere to dump their offspring whilst they go off and work. Why do I say this? When the teachers went on strike, nobody seemed concerned that members of such a caring profession felt SO FED UP and ignored by the Government that they felt they had no choice but to strike, all people were concerned about was paying for childcare for a day!!!! All I can say is, if we were paid as babysitters, we’d be a lot better paid and definitely not as overworked!
We are paid minimum wage after you add up all the extra hours we put in. So don’t sit there being critical. Unless you have been a teacher, you can never know the effort required to do the job. It can be exhausting, disappointing and upsetting a lot of the time and yet you are still expected to inspire the next generation, whilst putting up with underfunding, lack of resources and ICT that doesn’t work. On top of this, Michael Gove is now saying that to teach in free schools you don’t even need a teaching qualification, undermining the whole profession. Go and do some research, as your comments are ignorant and not appreciated.
People think we have it easy because of holidays, summers off and short working hours. Hah, what they don’t realize is that good teachers take papers home to correct, work Saturdays and holidays grading, preparing lessons, wriing lesson plans, etc. Summers are often spent on taking refresher courses or professional development, etc. Besides teachers are paid lots less than other college grads with the same degrees and experience.
yea they do get three months off, but are you aware that during the school year they are working over 40 hours a week, most put in around 55 hours a week during the school year, they are required to have continued education, which the majority pay out of their own pocket. on top of that they have one of the lowest wages for their level of education, LJD, I’m reasonably sure that you didn’t understand the title of the article, maybe you should go back to school. It was the hardest job that EVERYONE THINKS THEY CAN DO, not the hardest job, obviously there are more difficult jobs out there, it’s the concept that teaching is more difficult that most think, and that many people hold little respect for teachers. And do you think that they get paid time off for the months that school is out? if you do you are sadly informed. oh and JAck 623 if you don’t have any sympathy or understanding about why it is that teachers “burn out” how about we put you in a room with 35 preteens who are more interested in their telephones and try and explain to them how to balance chemical equations, believe me you’d change your tune in a minute. after a week you’d be crying yourself to sleep. All they’re asking is that credit is given where credit is due.
Teaching really is as simple as “making it fun.” All the theoretical BS you’re subjected to in teacher training is designed to help you understand how to get students involved in the learning process.
With that said, a lot of it truly is BS, and I’ve been the subject to a lot of teachers who probably thought they were on the cutting edge of educational theory yet their methods sucked. Going to their classes was always an irritating experience, and I ended up learning next to nothing.
On the other hand, I’ve been taught by teachers who did nothing but stand up and talk for an hour, yet they managed to capture my attention; and I always walked away feeling like I learned something I didn’t know before. The bottom line is, people are different, and no one educational method works for everyone. The best you can do is figure out what your students like and tailoring your instruction towards your students for that particular year.
I don’t think professional training really doesn’t make one a good teacher. I think the best teachers are those are able to connect with their students, and I don’t think you can teach that. It’s just an intrinsic trait that some have and some don’t.
No longer is it three months off! We got everything taken away from us teachers living paycheck to paycheck n to b working almost 60 hours a week In the classroom n working at home grading papers, making lesson plans, prepping for the next day, not being paid overtime! Having 20 + students to one teacher especially my kindergarten class…trying to make sure each n every child is getting a good education whether they r paying attention or not. During the breaks that we r off, WE R WORKING!!!! Doing all the planning, conferences, report cards, yearly goals, and whole lotta more things that ignorant people who don’t appreciate teachers don’t know about! For those of you to talk, I hope you have been in a teachers position before saying anything…it’s not being on a high horse, it’s the fricken facts! So quit hating!
I have had this discussion many times too- I always boil it down to the fact that don’t “teach English” I teach kids. The English is easy, and when I forget something I can look it up. It is the teaching kids part that makes you crazy.
Best statement: I don’t teach English, I teach children. Awesome.
Several years ago, I decided that I needed to “do something with my life” (i.e. make a living wage), so I left teaching after 20 years. When I found that merely making more money did not satisfy me, I applied to dozens of schools for teaching jobs, but my experience worked against me. Summer turned to fall, and in October, I got a call from a district that hadn’t even responded to my resume the previous spring. It turns out they hired a person with no experience, a person who had been a magazine editor, for the journalism/English job for which I had applied. She assumed that because she could run a magazine, she could teach journalism and English and run a school newspaper. Six weeks into her first semester, she left her keys, her entry card, and a letter of resignation on the principal’s desk over the weekend. Suddenly, my 20 years of experience looked a lot better than they did in June. Not only does everyone think (s)he can do the job, school administrators believe that as well.
Ortho Stice, I hear you. We are hiring 1.5 English teachers (in a department of 3.5 English teachers). The person we hire must be a coach too (because we’re a small school and we need a coach). The person we hire must have a Masters, but must have no more than 1 or 2 years of teaching experience (because they are cheaper). I am told this is being realistic, but it amounts to this fact: We’re hiring from the least committed and least qualified pool of applicants. The “promising” applicants are basketball and baseball and soccer coaches who got their teaching credentials in order to earn a salary while doing what clearly matters most to them, coaching games.
Carly, totally agree with your comment. I like to think that I’m not teaching history to my students, but weaving a story so they may leave my classroom as informed citizens able to learn from past events to help them with decisions in the future.
Jan, I agree and disagree with you at the same time. I agree that it is very difficult for very experienced teachers to find jobs in the states now, in fact its hard for anyone right now. My wife and I graduated now 2 years ago with our masters and we knew we couldn’t find a job in the Spokane area to save our lives. So we left the US and have been teaching overseas. We’re just finishing up our 2nd year in Kuwait and now moving on to South Korea to start a new adventure there, but even when we move back to the states job prospects look weak at best so I agree with you there.
That being said, I disagree with you on the fact that new teachers who are coaches like to be coaches first, and just use teaching as a way to make real money for their passion. While I have met people like that, if you looked at my resume you would assume that I am one of those people. I have coached basketball, soccer, track and field, and now XC. I started out as a coach first before going into teaching, and the reason for teaching is this: I enjoy having a positive effect on the students I was able to work with, so why not have a larger positive effect in the classroom?
Sorry this is long, I just have a bit of a different view, but be totally up to discuss it. Love the article and will share this with all of my friends.
@people who complain about having too much teaching experience. I’ve been looking for a teaching job for a year now and I keep getting passed over for someone who has more experience, every time. “We loved you at the interview but the other candidate had a bit more teaching experience”. That’s the other side of the coin: very well educated and jobless because I don’t have enough experience.
That is one of the best and truest statements ever! “I don’t teach English, I teach kids.”
@the last anonymous: There’s a fine line between “no experience” and “too much experience”. They don’t want someone with NO teaching experience, but neither do they want anyone with, say, more than 5-6 years of experience because they’ll have to pay them more. It’s a very small window to be the optimal candidate. I say this as someone with over 10 years of experience and no teaching job currently.
I have a lot of respect for teachers – when I was at school I thought “I could never do that; how on earth does anyone manage to cope with these lot, let alone actually teach them things?” If you can handle all of that and make it fun too then I think you’re very skilled.
Love it!
Dennis, my darling, I think it is easy to be a bad teacher. There are a lot of them out there. And because being a good teacher it is something that is difficult to quantify the bad teachers can stay in the system for a long time.
I had a lot of bad teachers growing up and I guarantee they weren’t working too hard. What’s more, many of them are still in the biz and many of them use the idea that teaching is hard and teachers are underpaid as a sympathy crutch.
On a slightly different note, I personally think that being a good teacher isn’t something you can learn if you don’t have the natural propensity for it. Kind of like Kobe — if he hadn’t had natural agility and athletic ability he would never have been able to learn how to be in the NBA. Part of it was born in him.
But then I have an aunt and an uncle who were both teachers for decades and they said it was an easy job after the first few years and they asserted that anyone who could complete the training could do it.
What do you think about that one?
Crystal
http://www.crystalspins.com
Crystal, my darling, criticizing all teachers because you had bad ones is so entirely easy to do…especially when you are not a teacher yourself. Your attitude alone tells me that even IF you went through the training you wouldn’t wouldn’t inspire a gold fish.
Crystal, If your aunt and uncle thought teaching got easier after the first few years, they obviously weren’t doing it correctly. Justine also hit the nail right on the head with her comment!
I’d guess your aunt and uncle were someone else’s bad teachers. There are wonderful evaluation systems in place in public schools, but only a trained and competent administrator can make the system work. If there are bad teachers, and there are, it’s because there is an inadequate administrator not doing his/her job. I wonder how you, as a child, could tell who was and wasn’t a bad teacher. What impartial method of scientifically researched effective evaluation did you use?
You’re wrong!
Thanks. That was great! Teachers may have a tough job at times, so what? Who’s job isn’t? I’m sick of this idea that they are just sooooo unique and soooooo special. What makes them think they could do anyone else’s job as well. The more they speak, the more they reveal their true disdain for everyone else and their inflated self images/ egos. Sickening.
Crystal my darling, looks like you want to blame people for your lack of success in life. By the way, how did you evaluate who was not one of your good teachers? Were these bad teacher’s because you could or did not get an A in the class? Or were they bad teachers because they assigned you to much homework? Or maybe they were bad teachers because the classes were not exciting enough? And you just thought that school was such a boring and terrible place! What a terrible life you must have had! By the way, you never posted what your job is? I would be curious to know, if you are of the Brain Surgeon category or if you are more a McDonalds Cashier type? And I would ask if you Aunt and Uncle were good teachers? And if so, how did you measure it? What scientific or measurable process did you use to evaluate them? It is true that there are some teachers who are not as successful as others, just like them are some doctors, waiters, car mechanics or lawyers who are better then others. But having been a teacher for the past eight years in three different countries, I can tell you that I have never met a teacher in my whole life who does not give it 100% every day. And the reason teachers need to remind everybody of their importance on a regular basis is because in some cities that I have lived in you can get a higher salary working as a Garbage man, while not only is a teacher salary lower but you also need a Master’s degree in most states. What kind of society do we live in where the people we entrust our children with are paid lower then Garbage men? Think about it, Ryan
Crystal, I would say your aunt and uncle probably are not teaching in today’s high stress world. I am wondering how you managed to get so many “bad” teachers. Were you a “good” student? I have worked with many in my 33 years of teaching and I have met perhaps 1 or 2 who would qualify as “bad”. In the last ten years I have met none. No one finds teaching to be an easy job and 12-14 hour days are normal.
Oh my! Perhaps your aunt and uncle taught in a fantasy district during the golden age of instruction. Teaching is an art.
Personally,
I think you are full of crap and have no idea of what you are talking about.
Crystals, are you telling me all your teachers were bad? you need to check yourself. Looks like you where a horrible, lazy, no-goal-setter student at your time that made teaching horrible.
Crystal..Thank you for being honest. I am sorry that anyone feels the need to attack you for doing so. I am a teacher. I have worked with teachers and had teachers who inspire me. They work hard every day. They give 100%. I can also say that I have had teachers who show up late, don’t read ahead on what they are teaching, don’t grade papers, get behind, gripe about everything, don’t enjoy their job or the children they are teaching and believe me it shows. My children are now in high school. Yesterday my son came home telling me that they could hear the teacher in the next classroom screaming at her children to shut the f*** up. Would anyone call that a great teacher? The hardest job on Earth is being a good person. Most of the people that responded to you failed at that.
I think your aunt and uncle were probably bad teachers – surprise!
(That was kindof a no-brainer.)
Dear Crystal,
simply put…you, your uncle and aunt are full of s*^%$!
I disagree with your aunt and uncle. I have 43 years to evaluate the teaching profession. I worked with teachers who said it was easy-most of them were not very good teachers-I have worked extremely hard my entire career and constantly updated my skills. Trining by itself does not make a strong teacher. There also has to be an inherent skill.
I agree with Jennifer. You are absolutely correct that there are both good and bad teachers out there. The responses referring to every teacher they have ever met giving 100% all the time are unrealistic at best. I am a teacher. I love my job and am constantly reinforced that I am doing it well. That being said, I also share a room with several other teachers, one of whom has blown up at both students and staff at least half a dozen times this semester and one of whom watches baseball on his computer most of the school day. Literally. And he is paid to do this. My building is filled with dedicated, skilled educators who give this job their all, but one would be hard pressed to argue that ALL teachers are that valuable. It simply isn’t true.
I think you should walk the walk before you talk the talk. Try being a teacher, then you can criticize. I’d also be interested in evaluating your Aunt and Uncle as teachers.
To come to the defense of Crystal’s Aunts and Uncles who said teaching is easy…..
I am a teacher, but I do not find teaching “hard” because I love what I do. I get it, I understand how it works and I connect with the kids. I am successful at what I do and I live to get back in the classroom. So no, I wouldn’t say that my job is “hard”…for me. I love the work, I love the challenge, and I love the success even when they are infinitely small. Am I tired at the end of the day, do I give up a lot of my free time going into my classroom to grade, organize, give feedback on all 125 kids each quarter? Sure.
So, maybe that is what Crystal’s Aunts and Uncles were saying? That, or maybe they truly were pretty lazy teachers.
We have all had bad teachers in our life. I have also had a bad mailman, shoe salesman, car salesman, dentist, waitress, customer service rep, airline steward, etc. etc, etc. But I have also had umpteen more good examples of each of those.
And sometimes we have good teachers, but in our youth and arrogance we are unable to see what it is they are trying to help us understand. There is a reason that the Latin meaning of “sophomore” is “wise fool” – or more simply put “a moron who thinks they know everything”.
I have never failed to learn something from every negative and positive experience – perhaps that was exactly what I was supposed to learn.
I have been teaching since 1980. One of the neatest things about teaching is that each year is different. That is also one of the challenges. Each group of students is different and there are always different things you do to meet their needs. If your aunt and uncle found teaching to be easy, then they were doing something wrong. Complacency. That is NOT what good teaching is.
Crystal, you may not be 100% right, but you’re more right than wrong. Right: it’s easy to be a bad teacher…and most of them are the “fun” ones. They are also often the most popular ones. I once had a high school kid tell me, “Miss L, why are you so strict? Don’t you want to be popular?” I told him that was not in my job discription. And that kid did like me! “Fun” teachers bake brownies for their classes; they have “free time”; they show videos; they give little or no homework; and (the big one) their students make the best grades. That makes them popular with parents and administrators too. But pity the poor teachers who have them in class the next year; they are the ones repremanded because their students have such a high failure rate. Right: Most good teachers do have a propensity for it. It has to do with personality, attitude, empathy, desire to to a good job, a good work ethic, and of course an understanding of the subject. Although these qualities may not be mastered by all,they can be developed, particuarly the most important ones: desire to do a good job and a good work ethic. Wrong (or at least questionable): teaching for a few years, or even many, makes it an easy job. Most teachers who feel that way usually have “canned” lessons, and it shows. They tend to get lazy and “phone it in”. I was guilty of this occasionally, and I’m not proud of it. This, I believe, is one of the greatest challenges for teachers: trying always to find new and more interesting ways to present material. I taught ROMEO AND JULIET for four years and found something new in it every year! It’s an 18 to 20 hour a day job.
One more observation: I have read your message several times; nowhere do I find you criticizing ALL teachers. Nor can I interpret any of it a criticism of Mr. Hong’s article, which I find interesting and insightful. I’m glad he chose teaching.
I noticed that you did not say anything about good teachers in your “argument”. There are bad and good people in ALL professions. However, teaching is the only professional field where you’re not respected nor paid accordingly. And in case you don’t know, you can only teach those who want to be taught. The students today are spoiled at home. Many of today’s students do not study enough and often expect high grades for doing absolutely nothing. That’s something you may want to include in your comment before you BASH ALL teachers.
Just A Though!
PS-Learning starts at HOME first!
In my experience More of the teachers are GOOD! It is just a shame that most people seem to remember the negative impact a bad one has on them. As far as it being hard well the way I describe it is challenging daily and just when you think you got it figured out, the powers up top change the rules or better yet since my students are humans, they remind me that I must always be looking for new and innovative ways to reach each and everyone of them. Well I guess your aunt and uncle are lucky since both of my parents and my mother-in-law are educators and never once in their combined 89 years did they say it was easy. I guess I was fortunate to have great teachers and my children too! I also agree that teaching is a gift like athletic ability but I also believe that with desire and hard work you can become a Great Teacher!
Crystal ~
Are you a teacher? Have you been trained to be a teacher? Have you taken the teacher tests? Have you ever worked with children? Have you worked with parents? Have you worked with ED, LD, etc children? My list of questions could go on but I only have a few minutes to shove some food in my mouth for lunch & then go to playground duty. Yes there are bad teachers out there, but there are people who keep them in the industry. If laws made sense & if laws were created by people who actually knew what they were talking about & had experience in this field, then things might slightly be different. Of course you had bad teachers growing up…times have changed & the standards are quite different. Bad teachers can be created by negative kiddos & adults like you. It is tons of work year after year that the authority makes us do, & that is the start to a bad teacher. We do not use pay as a crutch because it is a crutch. If I was paid hourly you’d be surprised at how much time we teachers put in and should actually be paid. You’d also be surprised how much money of our own we spend on the students. Our work never stops between being a role model inside & outside of school, grading, data analysis, tutoring, typing up long smart board lessons, researching new methods, etc. I could be making the same amount of money that a lame ass pro sports player makes. How do those people contribute to our future other than entertainment & materialistic morals or lack of morals? More importantly how do you contribute to our future?
Crystal,
Your experience begs the question, How hard were you working in class? I tell my students that if they give me 100% effort 100% of the time then neither of us can imagine all the great things they could accomplish. Your aunt and uncle are full of nonsense. 50% or more of the people who have come to my district from the private sector are gone after their first year and some before the year ends. New teachers, on average, are about the same. They leave within the first five years at a rate of about 50%. Your post is ill thought out garbage. Go try substituting. I did for two years just to get my foot in the door, and guess what? The students did exactly as they were told, and I had zero problems.
Wow, how easy to attack Crystal for having a personal opinion. Is that what is being taught these days? Agree or come under attack? That is not what I was taught. Respect is what I was taught and respect is a two way street. However, we are all entitled to our opinion and should not be intimidated to express it by those who want to be superior. I personally have several cousins who are retired teachers. I am horrificly SHOCKED when I receive correspondence from a couple of them and spelling, grammar, and punctuation are so bad. I am not a teacher and do not claim to be perfect in these things, but I would expect a teacher to be better. I apologize to their former students! I am also embarrassed by this. I do not believe I ever had a bad teacher, only a few odd ones, lol! My children, on the other hand, have had some bad ones. Most teachers are good teachers and the good ones should help weed out the bad ones.
Crystal,
You might NOT want to put your personal blog page link when you make a comment, such as the one above. After reading several of your blog posts I realized that, while you have an amusing, ancedotal way of writing, you have a lot of growing and maturing to do.
Just a little advice to help you grow.
I wish you the best in your future.
Okay, just to clarify here, this particular thread was originally a civil discussion between two blogger friends. Even though we weren’t necessarily in agreement on all the points, we still managed to keep it polite.
I don’t know why so many people feel the need to turn this into pure nastiness.
Crystal, and any body still interested. Every one in this thread has some of it right, and a lot of it wrong. The U.S. is the only country in the world that detests teachers and has no respect for them. That being said, I am married to an excellent teacher. She started in ’92 and has taught in schools from the inner city poverty demographic,with gang bangers as well as upper crust high income kids. In my experience, the best way to tell good teachers from bad is simply to ask their spouse’s. In all of the schools my wife has taught at, when you socialize the spouses, those of us with good teachers say the same thing. We say goodbye in August I’ll see you next June. Our spouse’s spend their entire school year totally involved with school. Just about every waking moment from August thru June is spent in the classroom, at home, or when traveling, thinking about lessons, grading homework, evaluating how well lessons went, how to deal with all the differing and “special ed” (LD, AD, ADD, ADHD etc.)children since they are all mainstreamed now, planning lessons, and how to integrate all of the State mandated requirements into a curriculum that is not included in the district’s teaching materials. For my wife, teaching is easy, yet challenging in a good way. The bad teachers spouses won’t say that. There are good and bad, but to really tell, ask the spouse about how tough it is on their relationship when they a part time wife or husband at best.
So Sorry, I did not mean to post anonymously I posted the ask the spouse about their time together/relationship rant. Sorry it ran long, but there is no simple answer. I do feel the best way to judge teachers is through the spouses. After all, the teacher who puts in the required amount of time only, and does not talk or vent about what is going on in his/her classroom, school and district, is probably not a very good teacher. A good teacher’s students come first! Before self, spouse/family or anything else.
The real sad thing is that there is currently no quantitative way to determine who is a “good” teacher and “bad” teacher, and therefore a “good” teacher and “bad” teacher are paid the same amount. In the same vein “bad” teachers are often able to stay in one district for 3 years and get tenured thus making it nearly impossible to fire them. It’s a shame that school’s don’t have the power to fire bad employees (teachers) and bring in new and innovative ones like the way businesses do.
What is easy for one person is virtually impossible for another. The point you didn’t get is that being a good or great teacher doesn’t “just happen” and then you have arrived. The real issue is continueing to be a good teacher requires work, staying current on new methods and strategies, learning new curricula.
Crystal, you make some good points; being a teacher myself, I agree there are bad teachers but not a lot. I too experienced bad teachers growing up; however, many students and parents have gone over to the “bad” side these days. Your aunt and uncle taught back in the day when there were maybe just a few students with behavior issues, such as chewing gum, not paying attention, and undiagnosed learning difficulties, and teachers were respected. At least in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, NV, anyone that has not been a classroom teacher in the last 5 years or so cannot imagine what it is like in the classroom and how it gets worse each year since the famous empty slogan, “No Child Left Behind” was invented. First of all, most classes are overcrowded which would not be a problem if most of the students want to learn, follow the rules, and know what respect means. Sadly, it’s just not like that anymore. Teachers are expected to do their jobs and most of the parents’ jobs as well. Administrators are at the mercy of the parents because they are afraid of being sued, because parents don’t believe a word the teacher tells them or they think they are professionals at understanding their child (my child is a genius, or my child has a disability “which in many cases they are delusional, or looking for money from the government”). I am only beginning. I could write a short novel regarding the stress most teachers deal with on a daily basis. Yes, bad teachers should be written up by administrators and be held accountable for what they are not doing, but many don’t do their jobs which also falls onto teachers’ stress levels. Teachers don’t go putting down other people who have different or difficult jobs; we are just sick and tired of being ridiculed by other people who think they understand what we do and think they can do it better. I say to all of those people, take a week or two off of your job and shadow a teacher all day (and if allowed go home with them and see the teaching work brought home to complete), sit in on some parent conferences, and if they go to an elementary school in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, watch the teacher complete the 5 page report cards that go home 3 times a year. That will only be a small part of what they will experience.
Well Crystal, Maybe your aunt & uncle were two examples of those teachers who weren’t so good at their jobs but stayed in the system for a long time? Hmmmmm, something to think about! Anyone who says it’s easy after a few years isn’t doing it well enough in my opinion…12 years in and working as hard, if not harder now than when I first started!
Dislike
I came across this and I don’t even know where to start. First of all, as for the teachers, stop complaining and be happy you have a job! If you don’t like it – QUIT! It’s as simple as that. Stop telling the world how no one respects you. I work in the financial industry – you think people respect me? We had protesters on wall street, we have stealing, cheating lying….talk about being in a tough industry. It’s like that everywhere. All jobs can be tough, but it seems the teaching industry is always complaining. Stop complaining and go work on your lesson plans! As for being underpaid – get a different job. No one held a gun to your head to become a teacher. Ranting on here is not going to get you a pay raise either. Do you think our President is paid well for what he does? Our President is responsible for the entire USA and has to make many difficult decisions everyday that a lot of people agree and disagree with. Do you think everyone respects the President? No, he has his fans and then he has people who want him out. Do you see him complaining about his pay? Ranting on a blog about how he gets no respect and no pay? COME ON! Just stop, enjoy your life and enjoy what you do and stop worrying about what the world thinks of you.
I agree with some of the points made in this conversation. As a teacher of 11 years, I can tell you that for me, teaching is the easy part. Dealing with the adults on the other hand, is difficult. I am speaking of national, state, and local politicians, who never having been in a classroom, think that they know how to make me a better teacher. I love the students and that is why I put up with the adults. It is easy for me to get up each morning and go into my classroom of 30 students for 6 periods because I love the kids. Frank said it right when he stated that teachers give lots of time to our students between August and June. My students joke with me all the time about me living at the school. That is because I build relationships with them by going to after school events such as sports, banquets, plays, concerts, dances, etc. The students love it and will perform for me because they know I care about them and spend time outside of the work day thinking about and supporting them.
I think people are being too hard and judgmental of Crystal, which is not what teaching is about! Let’s look at some good points she had:
There ARE bad teachers. We have all, as teachers, seen them.
Someone CAN try to teach and no matter what, never quite get it. True! Some are made for it, some are molded to it, some do it through will power, but others try (or not) and never get there.
And, as for her aunt and uncle, who are we to say if they were bad or not? The fact that it was easier for them after the first years might be true. We all know that experience helps and we learn some tricks. Not to mention if you are fortunate enough to continually teach the same subject at the same level, you can develop activities and lesson plans and build on those in following years, instead of creating everything from scratch each year. That is definitely “easIER,” though not easy. I think our main argument with this is that, for most of us, there are always new problems or changes to learn about and deal with and address. After 20-some years of teaching, most of us still put in too many hours to get done everything that we need to get done, and still have days when the students are extremely challenging with interruptions, etc. That time-dedication and emotional-dedication are part of what makes a good teacher.
So… I think Crystal had some very valid points, and saying that she is criticizing teachers is not how I read her intentions, rather, I took what she meant as stating that as in everything in life, there are 2 sides to consider.
If your aunt and uncle thought the job was easy, then they did not make a difference in the lives of children – they are the teachers that we don’t want!!!!!
Maybe you were a bad student?
Dennis, thanks so much for making clear my thoughts every day as I go to work. Teaching is not just a job, it’s a calling and it’s certainly not for lightweights!
Your aunt and uncle weren’t doing it right. With so many levels of ability and emotional issues walking through my door 7 times a day; it couldn’t be easy. Unless you are clueless to the need of your students. Then it’s really easy.
May I ask what decade your aunt and uncle taught school?
Crystal,
With all due respect, there are FAR more good teachers out there than bad. You can’t rely on your “teenage glasses” to know the effort level – and excellence level – of your teachers back then. This is precisely the misunderstanding I think we have to get to the bottom of. The adolescent years are turbulent. Back then, we didn’t want to learn to be a part of the system – we wanted to rebel against it. NATURALLY, we wanted to buck our teachers efforts every step of the way. It was in our best interest to NOT see the lessons our teachers were putting in front of us as worthy – because we didn’t WANT to do the work! And there is no way you can know how hard your teachers were working – you didn’t know what hard work truly was! And it wasn’t your fault – you didn’t have the life experience to know that! You may not have been particularly inspired by them. Let me tell you – I tell other adults all of the time what things I do in my lessons, and they tell me they think kids will LOVE it. I report to these folks that my kids thought the lesson was ok. Teens worlds are SMALL. If things do not LITERALLY connect with their small worlds – friends, family, concepts of courage as they relate to a teen’s life, etc. – they will not relate to it the way you think – or for very long. Many of my kids would not even be able to tell you who the vice president of our country is! I too didn’t like a lot of my teachers in high school, and all I can tell you is that while getting my teaching credential, I remember thinking I owed a lot of those people my belated thanks. I underestimated what they did for me. That’s a fact.
It doesn’t help your credibility to use a rapist in your analogy. Just saying. P.S your aunt and uncle were probably shitty teachers, The longer I teach the more I know the more complex the job becomes due to the increased opportunities and techniques made accessible due to my growing experience and knowledge base. Serving up the same steaming pile every year is easy, evolving your techniques and resources to Improve your program delivery is challenging.
I’d say your aunt and uncle were the 1% that suck. The 99% work their asses off!
Crystal,
Next time you feel that teaching is easy, walk to your local school and volunteer. I love my job and just because I love my job, people interpret that as “it being easy.” It is not easy. It is anything but easy. What IS easy is to rant on a website about a career you are not working in. Summers off means finding 3 jobs to make up the pay check that everyone thinks continues year round. I think you should “thank a teacher” because you can read my response.
I didn’t read all of the responses to my post and I probably won’t. Too many of them were far too hateful and included information about me that was assumed and had nothing to do with anything I wrote. But a few of you asked about my schooling and where I am inthe world now.
I was in the talented and gifted program all through school. I have been a published author since I was seven-years-old and I have had semesters when I was a straight-A student and semesters when I got a D in an entire class. And the teacher that gave me that D is actually one of my favorite teachers to this day.
I did a lot of extra credit and I was involed in a lot of extra-curricular activities. Including debate, photography choir and theatre (where I had one of my worst teachers — she told me that I was always the best person to audition but never gave me a role because she simply disliked me) among others.
My junior year I was a National Merit Semi-Finalist and was among the highest scoring students in both the SAT and ACT tests.
I was awarded numerous scolarships in college and I have two degrees. One in Journalism and one in Theatre as well as three minors: History, Religion and Art.
I currently own my own Marketing and Publishing business, but I have been working since I was 14 so I have had a number of jobs. Since graduating from college they have mostly been in Journalism. I have been an Online Editor, Entertainment Editor, Head Designer and Editor-in-Chief of several publications. (And in most of those positions I worked longer hours and was paid less than the average teacher in my area. Lees even than first-year teachers and I live in one of the states that pays teachers the least. Oh, and I had to work on most federal holidays. I only got Christmas and Fourth of July off and I had to work all summer.)
In my spare time I have actually been a teacher since I was 16-years old. I have taught theatre, writing, Sunday School and cheerleading among other things. Granted I don’t have children in a room with me for 7 hours a day, but I have and do teach people of all ages.
And I am amazed that so many people (who I’m guessing are teachers) are filled with so much hate for a person they have never met who posted a rather benign opinion to her friend Dennis.
Thank you to those who did not attack me, despite disagreeing with me. And I wish you all peace and love.
Crystal
It is obvious from your highly engaging opinion that you embody the the ‘model student’. I am sure all your ‘bad’ teachers would agree. Oh, that’s right…you were were the difficult child who everything and everyone else was ‘soooo’ stupid.
btw, your blog reeks of narcissism and nihilism.
I agree that many of the best teachers are born to teach. I’ve been doing it for 13 years, and if you are doing it right, it might get easier, but it never gets EASY. Good teachers constantly reevaluate and improve their practices always striving to do better. Teaching truly is an art!
Wow! This is my tenth year to teach and to say it gets easier baffles me. You may learn the curriculumn but every year there are another set of students with different needs and abilities and what may have worked in past to motivate and inspire students usually needs tweeif you teach in a small town where you k ow everyone andstay in the same grade/subject area you whole career, then you may not have too many challenges each year.
I have had terrible teachers too (so i thought) . This is what inspired me to g into teaching, i would do a better job of reaching out to my students. After years of teaching I know see it was I that was terrible. I’ve gotten to know the phrases what comes around goes around.
Not only do we have thestudents to keepin line and motivatetheres the adminstration, parents, curriculum, classroom mgmt and all the little big stuff that is needed d to take carof.
Wow. I don’t believe you criticized ALL teachers, nor do I think its justifiable to attack the life’s work of someone’s relatives based on an opinion of someone else. Maybe they were both natural born teachers. Who knows? I certainly believe that, with experience, you should get better at any job.
And if teaching is your chosen profession and you feel undervalued, examine your motives. Did you take the job because you truly want to inspire young people? Or do you enjoy the 12 months of pay for 6 months of work? Many people work long hours at thankless jobs and don’t have the luxury of spending the entire summer on vacation with their families with pay. Please consider this when you are feeling sorry for your career choice.
I have also had bad teachers. One in particular had many students fail his Math class more than once and ended up taking grade 10 Math in grade 12 because he just wasn’t good at communicating the material. He deducted marks on our Computer exam for spelling and grammar, and I requested a credit after finding several of his spelling and grammatical errors on the printed exam. Yet, when it cam time to let one of the teaching staff go, they chose to remove a fantastic teacher who connected with the students, that was tough but respected and who was constantly upgrading and learning.
There are good and bad teachers. But I guess the bad ones can always blame the students or their parents for their shortcomings, and still enjoy their 12 weeks of prime vacation and 15 long weekends a year with a clear conscience.
Chasinamie, I think in anything else in life, the more experience you have with something, the better you get. But I’m getting out of teaching after 11 years because I feel like the more I’m in it, the WORSE I get (WTH? HOW is that possible?). The grades my students get, the knowledge they (don’t) acquire, it actually seems to get WORSE each year. Our curriculum keeps dumbing down and our expectations have lowered considerably since I started teaching in 1993. I was in the business world for 8 yrs then came back, and am still in shock how much harder the students are, and how much more time-consuming the job is than it used to be. I returned because I am passionate about my subject and had many former students tell me how much they had learned from me… and I missed it; but after three years back, I’m just exhausted, and I don’t feel effective. I’m tired of arguing with kids who break the rules the minute they walk in the room out of dresscode, with headphones and texting, who use foul language and talk about inappropriate topics in class, who whinge about their low grade instead of doing any homework or studying or bringing materials… I do have some WONDERFUL, strong students who impress me to bits, but they are increasingly outnumbered by kids who play the system and show no respect, who don’t want to work or make effort, and I’m just way too tired to deal with them. I feel powerless against them. I remember when students used to pull their fair share, and now it’s really the teachers who are doing most of the work; they care way more than the kids do. I know I’m not the only one because I hear it from almost all the teachers I know.
I taught for 37 years and recently retired. Any good teacher will tell you how difficult the job is. It remains challenging and taxing, long after the final bell rings to dismiss the last student. For most teachers, the work begins in earnest after the students leave, just preparing for the next day’s time in class.
Usually, bad teachers who slack off don’t last long. The kids, especially in secondary level, will run a bad teacher over like a steam locomotive on an ice-slicked track. And now, with such intense scrutiny from politicians looking for a way to make money off of education, the demands are far greater than I faced in my early days on the job.
The rewards are great if a teacher is happy with a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Folks in it for the money will be disappointed. Someone with five years minimum of college degrees could find a much less demanding job at a much higher salary in the private sector.
Wow, there are a lot of close-minded, highly negative people responding to Crystal here! A couple quick responses:
-”What’s your scientific measurement of a good teacher?”
A lot of people keep throwing this out there; I wonder if this is a common thought for teachers? Anyway, I nor Crystal need any kind of un-biased scientific method for determining who we consider “good” or “bad” teachers. Let’s say I asked you who your favorite artist or musician was. Would you need an unbiased scientific analysis to answer that question “properly”? Of course not. It is intuitive, and it is a personal question.
A big problem with teachers, teaching and our education system, imo, is that we don’t ask the students much of anything. It is all one-size fits all, and if you dare to question it, you get responses such as what Crystal here is getting. And I would argue that this one size fits all approach is NOT working as well as it should.
For evidence, I present to you one subject: math. Math is a crucial skill to have, yet most adults are unable to use high-school or even middle-school level mathematics. Even most college graduates, in my experience, fall into this category. All of those adults had math teachers, yet they failed to learn anything except how to pass the class.
Why is this? My theory is because math teachers are “math people”. Text books are written by “math people”. They teach math in a manner that works for other “math people”. The rest of us 95% who are not naturally gifted in math, are not being taught in a manner that would work for us.
Personally, I didn’t understand basic trigonometry until I was a HS senior, and was building a bench for a service project. I needed to use trig to make the blueprints for a very hands-on woodworking project. Suddenly, math was a useful tool, and I learned it on my own, by going back to my old math books.
Crystal,
I have been working as a teacher and am now on my third year. I work no less than 50 hours a week and have even worked the upwards of 60-70 hours/week. And my summers? I spend them either doing courses to keep my license up to date, working on my classroom, reading professional development, and going over and over innovative frames for teaching the 7 subjects I teach…every day during the year.
My job has never been easy and I’m sure it never will because I plan to better myself and continually refine my teaching. Those who say it is easy may have low student to teacher ratio, more supportive parents or administration, or not have to deal with as many behavior issues. But me? 27 kids my first year, 1 undiagnosed (now diagnosed) bi-polar, and much more.
Sure, there are bad teachers but NEVER call my job easy. Because my job isn’t being a teacher it’s being a role model and to somehow offer my children an education in a way they understand.
Please remember, it’s easier to call someone out on their job and not so easy to put the finger back to you.
Like I ask my children, “Who do you take care of?” And that finger should point right back to yourself.
The comments are great. I love this side bar where people are blasting a commenter because she said she had “bad teachers.” Lots of folks have jumped on her and made it HER fault the teachers were bad. Everyone knows there are teachers who don’t want to be there, don’t want to teach, don’t care about the students, cannot teach the material. Yet, when someone says they had “bad teachers,” others think it is all about how the teacher made them work too hard, too much homework, etc. Sometimes, as in EVERY job, there are just bad employees. It is very likely that she could have been a rocket scientist, a doctor, a teacher, whatever – had the awful taste of “bad teachers” not been left behind. I’ve had MANY bad teachers – ones who read newspapers instead of teaching; ones who preached at me instead of forcing me to learn, grow, examine, question; ones who spent entire class periods ranting about their jobs and how we would never amount to anything and how we were wasting our time and how we were wasting HIS time. There are bad teachers out there just as there as poor athletes, bad doctors, horrible cab drivers, whatever. And, she did not ALL teachers. Maybe if some of these commentors had better teachers, they would have learned how to read more thoroughly.
I hate to say this but it sounds like they might fall into the “not so good” category of teachers. In my experience (20+ years of teaching) the poor teachers DID think it was easy because they didn’t do much.
I had to go back to what you wrote to understand what people are so upset about. It seems that you are hitting a sore point in a glib manner. I’m glad you are not saying that there aren’t a lot of good teachers, but by saying that it is easy to be a bad teacher, with no depth of analysis as to why it is easy to be bad (bad admin. constraints such as canceling basics like grammar, etc.) in a climate that disrespectful to teachers, is a bit thoughtless. Using the language, “the idea that teaching is hard…underpaid…” is like denying it as a reality.
I’m not saying what you wrote is wrong. It’s your experience.
Regarding being a natural teacher, I think there is truth to that, although skills can be developed. Regardless, I have seen even the most talented, natural teachers frustrated by the changes in the teaching profession. Many recent changes in the past 10 years bind their ability to teach by not trusting (disrespecting) them as teachers in an effort to quantify and measure success in teaching. Meticulous bean counters, great for doing taxes but can ruin creativity.
Your aunt and uncle were probably decent teachers, but “complet(e)ing the training” is a thing of the past. For many of today’s teachers, the training never ends.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Most teachers would love Dennis’ article. Unfortunately, your comment didn’t address what he had given so much thought to write, but seemed to try to callously negate it instead… on a venue that was more public than you would have liked.
I want to quickly address all of these people who look down on teachers because they have good benefits. I worked for many years in low level blue collar and service jobs while I raised 2 boys as a single dad. I know what hard work is. I chose to go back to school after my boys grew into men and moved out of the home. I am required to attend college for 5 years (4 of which are finished) because here in Wyoming a teacher must earn concurrent majors, one in the Education and one in the field they wish to teach in. This is what I have to say to the complainers, instead of being envious and angry why don’t you expend the time, energy, and money it takes to earn the degree and show us what great teachers you can be? It is not like we did not earn the right to the benefits. You don’t hear people saying the same thing about people who earn degrees in finance and become investment bankers. I guess what I am saying is being an envious whiner is no way to go through life. Crystal, you might be surprised to know that Kobe didn’t just come into his “talent” he actually dedicated himself and practiced much harder than even the other professional athletes did to reach the level of play he is at. Edison said “Genius is one percent inspiration; ninety-nine percent perspiration” This is true across the board. Many of the people we look at and consider geniuses reached this level through extreme dedication and blistering hard work. The comment “it was an easy job after the first few years and they asserted that anyone who could complete the training could do it.” (Looking past the condescension and insulting tone) well maybe so, then again that could be said for almost any career. What you are leaving out is what it takes to be exceptional in that career and I guarantee that it takes hard work and dedication and it is not just some mysterious gift from the heavens. An example would be this, I play guitar and when people listen to me some say “wow I so wish I was musically talented” I have always felt that this comment is an example of ignorance. It is amazing how “talent” = thousands upon thousands of hours of practice throughout my lifetime. If you want to play guitar then dedicate yourself. If you want to teach do it like it is the most important thing in your life because it is important and not just in your life but in all of the lives that will potentially be touched in the process.
Great points, well said.
Crystal: do you teach? I take it that you don’t because you so expertly quoted your aunt and uncle. Okay, then what you’ve “heard” from your aunt and uncle who call themselves teachers most likely did the bare minimum for most of their careers. Plus, I don’t harp about how easy your job is, so don’t talk about mine. Teach for just one week without any assistance, and then you can share your opinion.
As with any profession, you have the good, the bad, and everything in between. I think your aunt and uncle were either “born teachers” who found the skill set easy to acquire, just like gifted athletes, and don’t realise how hard it would be for the “average joe” to teach, just as the athletes might not understand how difficult it would be to sink that shot or throw that pass when it comes so naturally to them. I’ve had substantial and very successful careers in business and in teaching. When in business, I found the 3 weeks annual leave (plus the other public holidays) quite enough to recharge my batteries. The days could be long, gruelling sometimes, and yes I took work home often (although not nearly as much as for teaching), but the face-to-face emotional demands of teaching – managing multiple student behaviours, engaging students in learning things they often see as of no value, facing their disrespect for the system and you as an individual and responding as an adult – these are the exhausting aspects that bring on the absolute need for time off. In business, I might face a situation like this once a week from a disgruntled customer, not 6 hours of navigating adolescent angst. Parents of children of all ages, think of 30 or so kids in a room, with 3 or more behaving at your child’s most challenging, and maybe you get an inkling of the demands. (And yes, I can manage a classroom. What I am saying is that it takes emotional energy to constantly do so.)
Obviously Crystal, your aunt and uncle either LOVED their job or weren’t teaching.
My job would be easier if I just read out of a book, assigned page 13 first 30 problems and tomorrow read out of the book and assigned page 17 p first 30 problems but then I teach humans not baboons.
I am in my 26th year of teaching, I spend more hours making my lessons work for students of all abilities; then I have another few hours of grading because I refuse to not value every bit of work a student does. I also like to monitor their progression of learning, learning to think and reason and I like to give standards-based projects involving the real world instead of standardized tests that most anyone can memorize for and not really learn.
You’re totally right, Crystal. There are definitely bad teachers out there. And it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle because there’s no good way to measure teaching.
On the other hand, I do believe that the new generation of teachers coming in are better trained and, well, more idealistic and harder-working, if nothing else.
On the third hand,measuring teachers remains a big issue. There have definitely been times when I’ve wanted to put together an enrichment activity for the kids that I knew they would get a lot out of, but also would take a lot of effort on my part, and the results of which would never have any bearing on my “status” as a teacher. In these cases, I’ve caught myself thinking, “why should I put all this extra effort into this particular task? I mean, it’s not gonna improve student test scores, and that’s how I get measured.”
It’s an inherently flawed system, but unfortunately, I can offer no solution (and believe me, I’ve been thinking about it for years). I think this is the million-dollar question:
How do you measure teacher performance?
In our state, they are currently debating tying teacher pay and teacher ratings to standardized test scores. If that happened, then this year, my wife would probably be on the low end of the ratings and pay scale. On test day, one of her kids got in a fight with mom to the point that social services was called and another student was in so much pain from a dental appliance that he was in tears. Will these students do well on the test?? I doubt it. Will their test results accurately reflect how my wife is doing as a teacher? BTW, I think she is one heck of a teacher! Most nights, she is doing planning, smart board stuff, or grading. We get “our time” just in time for the news and that is about it. I am a music teacher and we tend to get completely left out of the discussion when it comes to evaluation. Am I to be graded based on the quality of concerts I produce?
I am still left to believe, as I did when NCLB first came out, that the whole point was to invalidate public school education so that “Joe Six-pack” would be ok with sending their kids to private schools with taxpayer vouchers. The only way this can happen is to portray teachers as sub-standard.
Our state just relaxed requirements for people who want to teach that have degrees in related fields. I actually am not worried about it because you would have to be insane to want to take the bashing that teachers have been subjected to, not to mention the less than decent pay.
I never thought about NCLB from the invalidating-public-education perspective. That’s an interesting point.
As for high-stakes testing, funny you should mention that. I’m actually working on on article on that subject at this very moment. Look for it here in a few weeks!
Thanks for commenting.
What do you mean the new generation are better trained….etc.?? How did you become…you, or your parents? Their teacher or your teacher did belong to the old generation, I suppose. Didn’t they?
Think about it…..
The new generation is better trained in the same way that doctors today are better trained than they were 50 years ago: because of new research in the field.
It’s not an insult to the “old generation.” It just means that we know more about how to educate today than we did 50 years ago.
“I do believe that the new generation of teachers coming in are better trained and, well, more idealistic and harder-working, if nothing else.” Are you serious? They are not better trained because if they were so many of them would not be leaving the profession. They are definitely NOT HARDER WORKING!!! Many young teachers think no discipline is involved so their classrooms are nothing but chaos, then the next teacher has to settle them down to get anything of quality out of them. Try dealing with a teenager who gets to do what they want in three classes (even though the rules, policies, or code book forbids specific activities) then the rest of the day is fighting with teachers who actually follow the rules.
HARDER Working? That one still gets me. How is using youtube videos everyday hard to do? How is showing science or history videos 3 out of 5 days hard? How is not giving quality work they do they not have to grade it HARD?
You need to talk to some real teachers who have their job in their head all day, every day because they are always trying to find ways to reach out for higher level thinking, more creativity, and certainly more mature application of skills!
Your insinuation that being a young teacher means you are not a “real” teacher is insulting, and contributes to the problem regarding the perception of teachers in America. I am a successful teacher. I have extremely high standards for my students, which they have met year in and year out. I also require discipline and provide structure to my classes. I am also young. This last fact should not disqualify me from being considered a “real” teacher.
Saltybird, I resent the correlation of your points to your “supporting evidence”. What you outlined merely shows the kind of difficulty teachers face, now more than ever due to the increased unreasonable amounts of so-called rights the students enjoy over teachers. THAT is why there are so much more of my generation leaving our profession.
Saltybird – as one of the new generation of teachers, I very much resent your comments. I do believe that the new generation of teachers are better trained, more idealistic and hard working – our programs in college make us that way! With the new educational research and the standards teachers are required to meet, our college programs have stepped up to meet these expectations. They are producing certified teachers that have more experience in the classroom, educated in current educational research, and the ability to want to know more about how to do their jobs better! Many teachers start off teaching very idealistic and have to work harder than veterans because we want to do an awesome job! We get burnt out and frustrated because people like you try and put us down. In fact, what you say about classroom discipline is often the other way around in my experiences – the veteran teachers sometimes stop maintaining the discipline more than the new teachers.
As for the original post – measuring teacher performance is very difficult. I find it appalling that there are people out there that think my pay should be based on a 60 question test. I think there should be more observation by administrators, so they can truly see what’s happening in the classroom. The Class Keys system we work with now measures many of the important aspects of being a teacher – keeping evidence and more observation works well for that system.
I am not a “new generation” teacher, however I am very well trained and educated. You need the experience to become a great teacher, but you also need to be open to the new ideas about teaching that are constantly being studied and researched. I am tired of hearing about all the “bad teachers.” There are a few, but mostly, there are teachers who are working very hard to do right by their students.
The military is a lot harder
My husband is a high school history and English teacher and also an Army veteran disabled from Desert Storm.
He’ll tell you that the teaching is harder.
It funny, growing up, I can honestly say that I had some outstanding teachers. I also remember the bad ones as well. However, I cannot say that teachers today are better than years ago. You really should not measure apples to oranges. The students are NOT the same by any means, and the baggage they carry into the classrooms are out of the world. If you ask me,today’s standards have failed them. Parents cannot do anything with them, and the schools/educators are trying to come up with an answer. As of know, NO ONE is winning this battle!
You are right, there doesn’t appear to be any truly good way to evaluate teachers accurately. In our state we have implemented the new TEAM evaluation system and honestly I think it is a little unrealistic. I teach ELL kindergarten and to meet all 12 indicators in a single lesson is inappropriate, over three days would be appropriate. Teachers are worried and freaking out about test scores affecting our pay. These kiddos that we teach (and love)live in homes with no supervision, or drugs and violence are rampant, where they are being physically and sexually abused, and the list goes on. They aren’t worried about learning, they’re worried about having a place to live and food to eat and whether or not they’re going to be safe when they get home from school. This week is TCAP week (our version of standardized tests) and teachers were so stressed that they were snapping at each other. And yes there are bad teachers that can still get a good evaluation score because they have “canned” lessons waiting for an administrator. And of course they are tenured and so they are “safe”…for now. I am glad that tenure can be lost now according to teacher evaluation scores. I am also glad that gaining tenure will be next to impossible for most incoming teachers. And fyi I am not tenured.
However, I will also say that I am more aware more of the time of exactly what my objective is and how I am teaching it and whether my students are truly “getting it”. I am a 3rd year teacher and I put in a LOT of hours to try and do a good job. I collaborate with a more experienced teacher (as well as others) who is phenomenal at her job but who also puts in a ton of hours to be good at it. I do believe that the Common Core standards will work in our favor as teachers. Less standards to try and fit in, and the time to truly teach all of them rather than expose our students to them.
We all know test scores are useless unless you take into consideration the lives that these students are living, and then that would also be biased. There is no win in this situation.
Teaching is my passion and purpose in life.
Education is NOT about the teaching. It IS about the LEARNING that takes place….
Twenty-nine years teaching in an elementary school, and I have to weigh in on the comment that the “new generation” of teachers are better trained and harder working. I take field placements from the two nearby colleges with teacher licensure programs, and have for my entire career. The college students I’m seeing now most certainly do not reflect that statement. Most of them are just plain lazy. They have no interest in learning the background knowledge it takes to teach – in one example – the science unit on rocks and minerals. They want me to spoon feed it to them during my prep time, so they don’t have to do any background research on their own time. They want me to just give them lessons all planned out. I refuse to do that for them. They need to understand that it’s more than just opening the manual and following it.
Good question! Not everything is measurable and that can be a good thing. I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If it is hurtful to anyone else, than it is best kept to themselves or shared in dicussions with only a few to get feedback if they want any. I myself have taught for almost 30 years now and there are good and bad things about the job as there is with everything in life. My family have and always will come first before anything else in this world but I love my job and it is second. Take Care All!
Dennis, thanks for the good article creating this discussion. It’s enabling teachers to share their working conditions that are often hidden.
Re: “On the other hand, I do believe that the new generation of teachers coming in are better trained and, well, more idealistic and harder-working, if nothing else.”
I wouldn’t divide the older generation and the younger generation. They need to work hand-in-hand.
There is so much more to teach. There is so much to remember. To know where we are heading, we need to know where we come from.
Technology has grown, which in turn has expanded the knowledge within our reach. But consider this. There are old wisdoms that are falling by the wayside that are crucial to our existence on this planet. The evidence is all around us in environmental pollution so bad as to create a floating island of plastic and debris in the middle of the Pacific. So the technology that has expanded our individual experiences making the world a much smaller place collectively, has taken center stage but is a major source of pollution. Meanwhile the Earth has become ewww… dirt, and dirt is, well… dirty. In Hawaii, most of the farmers are old and aging. We have lost sight of nurturing the soil that feeds us. Biodynamic farming, organic farming have shown to have higher yields than modern conventional farming. Many of these practices are what my grandmother used to do. There is a growing movement of young farmers. I think the million dollar question should be “What are we teaching?”
On another note: In reference to later comments about the medical profession where there are great advances, I see a lot of distrust in the general population. Doctors are shuffling people in and out of their offices too quickly (office visits average a few minutes only) and often misdiagnose. My mother was told she had cancer and to get her affairs in order by a well-respected doctor. That was many years ago. He failed to do enough testing, but looked at the fact that she is old and was losing weight. She did not have cancer. Several doctors also failed to even diagnose bed sores. All the nurses recognized them and a few nurses even agreed that many doctors do not know what a bedsore looks like. So although the doctors are highly trained, in real world application that training is often not applied. Jen is right that nurses often catch what doctors miss, and also take care of the nurturing of the person. Anna is also right that doctors and nurses have different jobs. In fact, nurses would love their doctors to be as fastidious as Anna describes. Unfortunately, many doctors are not and doctors have other non-medical considerations that often interfere with their judgment. Also with the new “advantage” insurance plans for seniors, the insurance companies, not doctors will decide what is necessary, so the doctors may not even inform patients of their full treatment options which entails more paperwork and may be denied by the insurance carrier.
Great post! Teachers definitely deserve respect. Thanks for reminding us.
I totally get what you are saying. BTW, in my state and TX you can teach with a Masters or PhD and no teaching certificate. I had many teachers in TX who’s careers in the oil business had bombed so they went into teaching, no certificate or credentials. One told my mother this during open house, he also told her I’d be a prostitute and druggie draining the system and am a worthless piece of crap. So maybe the certificate weeds out people who don’t belong there? I’d love to find him and show him how wrong he was.
On another note, people think Nurses just push pills all day, they don’t understand the whole of it. We have to know everything the Dr. knows, not make diagnosis, but predict what he will do before he does it, then take orders from him. We do so much more than drop a few pills in a cup. We have to do so much paperwork it’s unreal. Yet when a family member who is close to death can’t be saved, even though everyone does their best, the Drs. AND nurses get sued for it. We take the blame for every turn for the worst a patient takes, and rarely get rewarded when they heal. It’s similar to teachers, parents get all the credit for a great kid. I can assure you, my parents get little credit for me, I did however have 3 exceptional teachers in my highschool career, they changed my life, and I owe them a lot more than I could ever express.
I teach in TX and everyone is required to have a certificate and meet the “Highly Qualified” standard of teaching set forth by the state board of education.
Texas absolutely requires all teachers to have a certification! And the TExES exam is definitely not easy.
I think teaching is more than a job ,that you are responsible for your kids youth or at least your future ,youth you act with will look at you as their mirror ,master and their model.
so you may choose the way you will adopt but you cant design the result you wish. .you may carry out the aims but unfortunately you may face many problems
Anyone who has ever worked in a hospital will tell you that the doctors are worthless and that the nurses often know more than the doctors. Our healthcare system is a complete mess why? because doctors make the rules and have little idea what the patient actually experiences. Politicians set the rules for our pathetic education system. Most of them went to prep school or private school. They have no clue what goes on in our excuse for a public education system. Maybe if they allowed nurses and teachers to set the rules (they have the most experience) things would improve and we would no longer be the 25th in the world in education.
Nurses know everything a doctor has to know? I think this comment is a little inaccurate. I hear this sentence being thrown around alot, and it was not until i started my clinical training that i realised just how inaccurate it is. Nurses and doctors have completely different jobs. A doctors job is to talk to the patient, examine them and perform investigations, decide what is wrong, and then decide how to treat them. It is the extensive training in anatomy, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and clinical medicine that gives them the ability to do this accurately and safely. Although i do not doubt that nurses gain alot of this knowledge by working alongside doctors, it is not a fundamental part of their training (or at least to the extent of a doctor), just like doctors are not trained to level of nurses when it comes to providing care and comfort. I, like teachers in some way, feel disgruntled by people assuming that nurses can do everything a doctor can do and more. Without doctors, obtaining accurate diagnoses and treating people effectively would not be possible in many cases, as would performing life saving operations. We would also be many many many years behind in medical advancements, so that seemingly trivial diseases would still be life threatening.
I could use a million dollars so I’ll have to keep trying to think of an answer to that question. If you care to read it, here’s a little more of my opinion on the topic: http://wp.me/pY8MO-5c. But it doesn’t exactly answer the question.
Crystal
I get it Crystal. sometimes as teachers we just need to relax and know that what and how we teach comes from within.”within” can not be taught but only felt!!
Has anyone every asked you “what do teachers make?” The answer is not what ppl expect to hear…. “teachers make every other profession” without teachers people wouldn’t have the skills to be taxpayers…..
Love this. Thanks from a hardworking teacher.
teachers make prostitutes and drug dealers?
No Paul,
The prostitutes & drug dealers dropped out before the teachers could help them actualize their full potential.
But, in one particular district near us, the teachers no longer get graduated pay increases for advanced degrees. We have a friend who spent $35,000 on a master’s degree and will get a ONE TIME pay amount of $1000. That’s it! Why go on for another degree? Why go into teaching?
parents make prostitutes and drug dealers
Taylor Mali says it best as to what teachers make.
[...] am becoming more and more convinced that jobseeking is like teaching. Everyone experiences it in some form or other (in the case of teaching, as a student), so they [...]
Very nice piece. There are a lot of good and poor teachers out there, and between the skills so hard to quantify, the “results” being not as apparent until years later, and the bad apples well making everyone else look bad, it’s quite a shame that good teachers who put in 150% a day aren’t appreciated enough.
My mom bumped into my sixth-grade teacher at the grocery store recently, and she gave him my email address. I was so surprised to hear from my mentor from almost 20 years ago. He lamented that the school district no longer wants grammar to be taught in the English curriculum. I told him I would have never grown up to be a writer and copy editor if not for his lessons. He sent me the following note: “One of the best perks of teaching is rediscovering students as fully functioning and talented adults.”
Grammar not taught? How do they expect kids to learn it? That is just going to contribute to the illiteracy epidemic that is so rampant now in this country! My 7th grade English teacher was my most favorite teacher ever and she grounded that grammar into our heads. In fact, many of us who had her formed a Facebook group dedicated to her where we go and ask questions about grammar that we have forgotten and help each other out with things like resumes.
Yup I see this every day. I work in a variety of schools and the tests do not cover grammar, so the kids do not learn it. It’s all about being able to fit a form and structure an essay to sound robotic. If you can do that, you get a high score. It breaks my heart to think about how twenty years from now we’re going to have a bunch of incredibly boring literature and journalism out there, and no one is going to have proper grammatical skills. No one is teaching kids how to make it interesting.
Sadly grammar is not ” fun,” ” culturally relevant,” or like you said, tested. That’s the biggest stepping stone of all material in the classroom. What happened to learning something to learn basic skills??! I teach in the arts so it’s worse for me. Arts classes are “not real” and “supposed to be fun.” it’s taken me many years to learn how to work well in the arts and have fun too but the students fight you every step of the way f they don’t get to “play.”
I teach grammar for an hour everyday, because of my state’s laws. My kinders know sentence structure, conjunctions, and punctuation among other skills.
Just FYI:)
Actually, from a linguistics perspective (and there is research backing this up) grammar can’t be taught. It’s learned indirectly through experience and then polished through instruction.
I don’t think the Ph.D. qualifies you to teach. I think the head tattoo does. Then again, the head tattoo qualifies you to do whatever the f*ck you want anyway.
I can totally relate to your experiences. I went from “teaching science” to “doing science” and I feel I still want to go back to “teaching science” after I am done “doing science”. They are both frustrating requiring a lot of patience. But when you see those colonies on your culture plate the first thing in the morning or when a student stays in touch with you after graduation because he/she found you inspiring in some way, it can be very rewarding.
People always think what they are doing is the hardest thing ever and the other person’s job is too easy. Being a teacher is like being a parent to not one, not two but more than a dozen kids at a time. And, that, my friend, is in no way an easy job.
Teach the kids how ” to do” science.
Great post!
Teaching is both one of the most difficult and challenging job as well as one of the most important jobs that exist.
I think the lack of respect is partially because professionals are often measured according to the size of their paycheck.
This is a great post! I’m glad I found it.
I think that we have a real problem in the Western World in that we all too often devalue the work that others do. I can see no reason for this other than to A) feel superior ourselves, and B) justify a total lack of pay equity.
Teaching is an incredibly difficult job and an incredibly important job. It does deserve much more respect than it gets.
I think we need to stop judging people by their jobs the way we do. Maybe it isn’t difficult to be a janitor, or a parking attendant… but I wouldn’t want to live in a world without them.
This is the most intelligent reply that I have seen in this whole conversation. Thank you!
Well said! There seems to be a lot of resentment across the board toward people who make a decent wage and have bargained well for their benefits. It’s like people can’t wait to see others fall or suffer. Misery loves company maybe?
Fantastic piece Dennis. I’ve been a teacher all my life…and I’ve always had trouble putting in words what you so eloquently expressed (and I majored in creative writing!) I’ve taught middle school students, high school students, and (currently) college students, and the comments from non-teachers all seem to explain that they know how to do my job better than I do.
Now I am finishing up my Ed.D. degree because my ultimate goal is to prepare the future generations of teachers. I hope you continue writing about teaching.
–Robert
Thanks for the comments, everyone. Yeah, it sure would be nice if people treated my the teacher with the same respect that they treated me the scientist.
Then again, it sure would be nice if I had a million dollars.
Any time I start to think that teachers have it easier than the rest of us, I think back to all the crap I used to do to my teachers… never fails to give me some perspective.
I know this is about teaching, but you could replace the word “teaching” with “parenting” and this article would still be spot on! Too bad we aren’t required to have parenting certificates before we can have kids. The world would be a lot less crowded!
I get your point and I think “parenting certificates” are a fantastic idea. But there is one BIG difference: I fell in LOVE with my own children the moment I met them. It takes an enormous amount of energy to LIKE some of the juniors and seniors I teach every day.
Spot on!!! Teaching is like motherhood – absolutely one of the hardest jobs in the world! I think it’s because there’s no handbook for those things… you just have to wing it, adjusting what you’re doing so it works with and for the kids. Kudos to you for taking on such a huge responsibility!
Teaching like motherhood? Really? I have NEVER received a paycheck for taking care of my children. I can’t send them home at the end of the day. When they are sick or hurting to bad they are at home with me. A teacher doesn’t have to change a diaper, potty train, sit up with them during sickness or hospital stays, worry over disease or broken bones or broken hearts, or pay for ANYTHING! Teaching is a paid job you can quit anytime that you get health insurance and retirement benefits from. Your students change every year. Parenting last an entire lifetime. There is no monetary pay, no retirement, or insurance. What exactly is a teacher’s huge responsibility? Their summer breaks? Their paid sick days? Mother’s don’t get those either Gill!
Teachers also don’t get presents for Mothers’ Day, birthdays, etc. They don’t get the benefit of having raised little Suzy from birth and knowing all her little quirks and pranks.
Instead, they get to deal with not just your little angels, but 30+ other little “angels” who don’t really give a crap. Each year, they have to get used to a new set of kids with all sorts of new ways to get under the teachers’ skin, few of whose parents bothered to teach them to respect their teachers or their educations. They get to deal with their pay and benefits getting cut more and more each year. Thanks to school budgets not stretching to basic school supplies, they get to PAY out of pocket for those markers little Suzy can’t remember to put the cap on or those books she’s busy ripping over there. They have to worry because if little Suzy is in the hospital with the chicken pox, she might also have infected half the class before you realized she was scratching. They have to make sure that your kids make it home at the end of the day without broken bones or without being stabbed, in some places. They have to guide your kids through all sorts of learning, most of which your kids don’t care about, from basic addition to writing their college application essays. And on top of all of that, they have to deal with YOU, the parents who think their children are perfect and clearly the reason little Suzy is failing history is because she has a bad teacher, not because Suzy won’t do her homework or open the textbook.
And if you think teachers don’t have to deal with potty training/”accidents” or dirty diapers, you clearly underappreciate early childhood educators. Also, if you think parents don’t get financial benefits from having children, try NOT taking the deductions from naming your kids as dependents on your next tax return.
Nobody said parenting was easy. But parents CHOSE to make children…teachers chose a career of educating inspiring those children.
The main difference between motherhood and teaching:
Teachers have to put up with the effects of other people’s shitty parenting, while mothers only have to deal with the effects of their own.
Jennifer….
I too have children at home, and your are right, you don’t get any financial compensation for raising your children, but the rewards are far greater than any paycheck you could receive.
I teach 20 prekindergarten children every day, with the help of a teacher’s assistant, and I just need to let you know that yes, we do change diapers, we do potty train, and we do sit with them when they are sick and their parents send them to school anyway, because they can’t afford to take off of work to be with them. We also get to handle broken hearts…like when mom and dad get in a fight just as they send the child to school….teachers are great at comforting students. We do spend money (and a lot of it) to ensure that our students are able to learn in the best way possible. This week alone, I spent $50 on live insects to have in my classroom for viewing to go with our insect unit.
You are right, I can take sick days…8 of them all year. (please remember I am exposed to every illness that my students bring in to my classroom AND my children at home are exposed to other illnesses at their school, so 8 sick days doesn’t cover the number of days I truly need.) Retirement benefits…HA…we won’t even dive into this one, as I am scared to think about what retirement benefits for my generation will look like,
My students do change every year (I will give you that one). However, I would like for you to picture your own house with your 1, 2, 3, or 4 children you may have….Let’s say you have a 3 year old and a 6 year old. You have their routines figured out, you know what they like, what they don’t like, what they can do well, what they struggle with, you know their parents (ha!), etc. Now pretend that you shipped those kids to their grandparent for a month and you bring in some new ones. I think you would find yourself a little stressed out. You would want to continue along with your routine, while trying to get your new children in synch with it. Now try to envision teachers trying to do this with 20 children and their parents, all while trying to make sure that the students learn everything they are expected to learn.
In closing, if you are really down on motherhood, maybe you should look into a different career and send your kids to school….maybe then you will be able to appreciate motherhood AND teaching.
I just want to respond to the comment where you say that teaching don’t have to pay for anything … only taking into account this year alone I have already put over $300 into my classroom for supplies, things my students need and other miscellaneous things. I spend MANY, many nights worrying about my students. Worrying about if they made it home safely, if they are feeling better after throwing up at school (or staying home from school), wondering how their doctors appointment went during the day, and wondering how their friendships are being nurtured outside of the school building. When people ask me if I have children, I respond and say yes, I have 22 of them! And true, my students change every year … but in an elementary setting I see them for 5 years in a row and I talk to them, ask them how they are doing, help them with homework. We don’t just forget about them when they leave our room at the end of the year.
Jennifer, I’m sure you have a good heart and I do respect your opinions. But it sounds like you need to get educated about what teachers actually do. Perhaps you should volunteer at a school for awhile and see how it works. And, perhaps you should be more wiling to accept that other people are going to have different opinions than your own. That doesn’t give you the right to tell them they are wrong.
C’mon Jennifer. Comments like this one shatter the ice. Teachers spend lots of money on students and classrooms all the time. We know it but that’s ok. Everyone knows school funding is getting cut but that’s so minor to the emotional spending. I have 400 highschoolers. It doesn’t come over night but more and more we all learn as much as we can about not just the student but their families, interests, and as much about bettering the child’s life. We spend over half our days with your child. Go easy on your children’s teachers. Expect good teaching from them but don’t belittle someone for a sick day or health insurance. Most people have that. The good ones don’t quit and walk away because they truly care. Yes at the end of the day they are your children and you get all the credit but to most of us, we take pride in watching them grow and learn like they are a little bit of our own. You AND your kids teachers are raising your children together. Be a role model for your kids ad don’t work against their teachers. I know one bad apple ruins the bunch but here’s hoping you get the “bunch.”
Jennifer, why don’t you try educating your own children and see how well they turn out in a few years and then come back and tell us that you still don’t see what the “huge responsibility” is.
It’s a lot easier to blame a teacher for being a sh*tty educator than it is to blame yourself for being a sh*tty parent.
Jennifer, I’m glad you’re not my mother. And if you were a teacher I’m sure your kids would hate you because you’re a b****.
I think that the examples you provide, both your earlier work and professional athletes, somewhat illuminate why people so smugly offer teaching advice.
Few people aspire to molecular biology, or see it practiced. They understand that it takes vast knowledge, training, and a particular propensity and skillset to have any chance of success.
Televised athletics rarely focus on poor athletes. Poor athletes generally do not command the massive salaries associated with the NBA and the NFL. Obviously, some performances are poorer than others, and in a profession where one competes with Kobe, certainly some athletes are going to come up short. But if someone is watching televised sports, even at the college level, it’s generally a showcase for combinations of talent and training.
I’d claim that -most- people have had the opportunity to watch very, very bad teachers. They’ve had classes that “taught them nothing,” and experienced sitting in a desk or chair while an adult who clearly couldn’t care less about being in the room reads from a book, or hands out photocopied assignments. I think that the accretion of those memories tends to stay with individuals more easily than the truly great educators they might have experienced, and it shapes how they interact with the profession. The level of skill and challenge one associates with success as a professional athlete is based on demonstrations of that skill; the same is true for educators, but unfortunately that bar is set much lower.
That’s why I’m grateful for the growing mainstream appeal of things like TED. As more young adults see what a truly great lecture or exciting research project should look like, I hope it will raise both their admiration for the work of educators, and their standards for what they want out of those who teach their classes and their children.
I think you make a really good point. The more exposure someone has to incompetence in any field, the less they’re going to respect the overall field.
Dennis – I think you might enjoy my next post about how I inspire high school kids to learn better -n- stuff like that.
Ph.D.?! Hot Damn. Now that’s awesome.
Thanks! Looking forward to your post….
Yeah, I totally sympathize. Teachers are way underappreciated-after all they teach and inspire astronauts, scientists, other teachers, and politicians (yeah, I know the last one wasn’t such a great thing…). But without teachers we wouldn’t have advanced as well as we have, but no one seems to appreciate them. I’m not a teacher, but I’m really grateful for all the great teachers I’ve had.
You got it right!
Sometimes, after along day in the classroom, I long for the din of the drill rig, from back in my days during my previous life as a geologist.
The very FIRST time I mentioned becoming a teacher, my sainted mother told me “think long and hard before taking a thankless job for little or no pay.”
I heard and answered the call, so I do my best every day. As far as I am concerned, “bad” teachers are made, not born. Some people find it difficult to be grist for the mill all the while giving the kids their all.
This was a bit bizarre for me to read because right now I am an undergraduate about to start my final year of my molecular biology degree and currently have viruses cultivating as part of my summer research. I then plan to get my PhD and sometime several decades in the future, teach high school. So your experience is a truncated version of my life plan. I’m glad you wrote about how hard it is to be a teacher, because although I think education is incredibly important and that teaching gets much less respect than it should, I hadn’t thought critically about all the contradictory components of great teaching. Thanks for giving me some more perspective!
Hey, no problem. Thanks for reading!
For what it’s worth, my recommendation is, before you decide to switch, to make sure you absolutely enjoy–and have the patience–to work with kids. Because, in times of education turmoil such as these, the only fulfillment you will get is from your interactions with them.
Good luck!
In my experiences with teachers, I think I’ve found that it’s easy to just be a teacher. Being a *good* one however, is extremely difficult. Good teachers are few and far between. Being a teacher that someone remembers for the rest of their life certainly requires tremendous effort and dedication to your students. But I’d imagine that you would be one of those teachers, Dr. Hong.
Thanks, Slinger! (Can I call you that?)
I totally agree with what you’re saying. Just to add to that, though, I also think the problem isn’t so much that it’s just easy to be a teacher. It’s that it’s difficult to measure good teaching (as explained in my post on standardized testing and merit pay).
Get a life folks, teaching is by dar the easiest job around. You’re a bunch of lazy, self-centered tossers who think the rest of the world don’t understand what a days work really is. We understand fully, so much so that we dedicate 11 months of the year getting to know it better.
You wasters spend little mopre than 7 months a year and yet claim that you have it tough. I pretty much despise the whole teaching profession because of nobs like you.
Martin, you don’t have a clue.
For starters, teachers are only paid for the 10 months they work (not 7 as you say) and they work an average of 60 hours a week during those months. Not a single paid holiday and a forced layoff every summer. The actual number of days difference between a teacher and a private sector worker is 30 or less annually. And that doesn’t begin to address the pay.
Teachers have one of the only jobs where there is no down time – a teacher doesn’t even get time to use the rest room. And a bad day? Not a chance. No days where you can choose to just do paper work, or answer the phone and pick up the slack the next day.
Of course, none of that was the point to the article. And I am always curious, if teaching is so easy and so cushy, why aren’t you doing it?
Wow! I’d love for you to come into my classroom for one week! Teach, prep, plan, go to meetings, team with colleagues, call parents, meet with parents, read and respond to all emails, go to school events (ones you have to go to), reflect, make snap decisions, praise, reward, consequences for students who make the wrong decision, talk with student(s) about what’s bothering them, handle bullies, teach the curriculum and make sure I am hitting all PE’s and Standards, reteach to those students who need it, challenege the students who are above grade level, write CPS statements, make sure all students have been fed, handle students who wet their pants, handle students who are disrespectful because they are raised in a family such as yours, firedrills, all drills, making sure all students are accounted for……
I could keep going but I’m sure you could handle it!
Did you know that teachers make more snap decisions than an air traffic controllman? But that’s an easy job too, right?
I work about 70 hours a week and if they want to “grade” me based on how my students perform on a standardized test, that’s fine. I know I’m a great teacher! But you tell me how it’s fair that I get xxxxx by how my students perform when I have a special education student who should be at an eight year old level but is performing at a four year old level!? How about students who are ELL, that’s English Language Learners or ESL English as a Second Language, or students who have severe disabilities such as high anxiety?! Or ADHD, ADD, Autism, Aspergers, or/and born with fetal alcohol syndrome!!! I’m a general education teacher and have all the above. My high anxiety student has to be contained by the principal weekly, along with my fetal alcohol student! But again, breeze job!
I personally invite you to spend a week in my classroom. I’m sure I make it look easy! I work hard, I’m passionate about each and everyone of those students!
I work with two of the best teachers! They both have been teaching for forty years. They are not “old school!” I am still learning from them. Yes, there are some teachers that need to retire but don’t judge ANYONE until you’ve walked in their shoes!
Teachers are not “born” to be teachers! It’s not predisposed, just as any career. Teachers become teachers to make a difference, to educate the future, or maybe because they were brought up in a home to respect one another!
Teaching thirty years ago is NOTHING like teaching NOW! I’m sorry, my darling, I forgot your name. I’d love your parents to send just one day in any classroom!
Before you judge please think about what you’re going to say. Everyone works hard, no matter what job! There’s no reason to be rude!
Another thing! Get all your facts straight before you come to the conclusion that we have the easiest job ever!
Sincerely,
A Hard Working Teacher and Proud of It!!
Shellie
Dear, dear Martin. Our contracts generally run about 10 months. We are paid for about 6 of those. Teachers continually attend professional development seminars and post-graduate classes in order to stay informed and maintain valid certification. We care about people, even those who don’t seem to care about us. We try to create situations in which every student can learn and thrive.
Many of us work summers and after school hours in order to make ends meet. We are apt to show respect, even in situations where none is given.
Politicians make incredible demands, based on little or no research or knowledge of how learning occurs. We will continue to do the impossible…even for the ungrateful.
Martin…here is a life-changing challenge. If you have 60 college hours, try being a substitute teacher and then get back to us.
Martin,
You sir, are obviously a nescient sciolist! Your inerudite post has been highly conclusive of the recondite result of your own educators’ work. God bless and keep you sir! Well done!
“You’re a bunch of lazy, self-centered tossers who think the rest of the world don’t understand what a days work really is.”
Yet, most of those you say work 11 months of the year usually get off at a decent hour and most do not bring their work home with them. There are some that do, but for the most part, most people leave the stress and paperwork at Work.
Teachers do not. We bring lesson plans, stress from school, essays and other homework from our students Home with us. We do not get to sit around and enjoy a beer or two after that difficult day at work. We continue to work. And we do not get paid for it. We work during our “vacation” days to ensure that the next round of students understand what we are trying to give them. Show me anyone from another job that would willing do the same.
Each profession has its pitfalls and its stress, but do not classify any of them as easy. There is no such thing as an easy profession. If there were, it would not be a profession it would be a job and I can ensure you, teaching is not just a job.
We affect not only ourselves, but the lives of our students as well. Whether we are “good” or “bad” teachers, our decisions impact the world around us through the lives of the students who will be making the decisions next.
So please, before you make comments about how lazy and self-centered we are, remember that it’s our job to help you realize just what those words mean and how to use them.
BTW, it should be “doesn’t understand” not don’t, apparently someone was not paying attention during one of the many grammar lessons we teach in school.
HAHAHAHA! I seriously burst out laughing after reading this! My children are looking at me like I’ve grown third eye.
That comment really made my day! As a teacher, I know exactly how hard I work and have enough confidence in my abilities that I certainly don’t need to prove my worth to you, but I DO thank you for being honest.
Using context clues from your comment- using words like ‘tossers’, wasters’ and ‘nobs’, I’m thinking British? Somewhere in that vicinity? I’m hoping that explains the rudeness. (I realize that is not exactly fair- not all Brits are rude. Probably just the normal amount that you’d find anywhere)
I suggest counseling. And a better spell-checker on your computer.
Martin, some teachers (like myself) work in 12 month programs. My school is year-round. I get about 4 weeks of vacation a year, some holidays, no half-days. I also still have to be in my classroom ready to go on snowdays.
I had to get a bachelors degree, and then a masters degree in order to get my job. A job that doesn’t pay me enough to be able to afford the student loans I had to get for my education so I could get a job, rent, gas, food.
I arrive in my classroom at 7am every day. I leave at 4. I spent 3-5 hours after work each night grading, planning, and researching ideas. I usually forget to cook dinner until my husband comes home at 9. I spend my weekends doing the exact same thing.
You clearly HAVE no idea what life is really like for teachers, and I’m thinking you’re probably not too in touch with reality either.
I am a teacher and I hear a lot of people making comments about having summer vacation off. I understand the frustration. Summer vaction was originated from the need for children to stay home and work on farms and such. This is no longer necessary and I personally think that school should go longer than the typical 180 days. But, when this is suggested, the excuses will come out of the wood work.
Parents will argue that this cuts into baseball/softball, vacations, and summer camps.
Business owners of summer attractions, such as theme parks and pools, argue that it is bad for the economy.
On top of that, schools don’t have the money to pay teachers, bus children, and cool/heat school buildings.
Just food for thought.
Well Martin, I would definitely have some negative thoughts about teachers too If I were you. You made it through…..some school without being able to spell simple words.
A good teacher knows how to communicate well with students, and knows how to make them feel comfortable enough to ask them for help when they need it. It doesn’t mean they should act like they want they be my best friend. But, there are some teachers who make me feel like I’m sticking my hand into the mouth of a hungry lion.
That’s just my opinion. Teachers could be getting paid in Greek Bonds for all I know.
But I know where your coming from. What I do for a living, a lot of people who don’t do it claim is “easy money”. When I started out doing it, I thought so to. I couldn’t of been more more wrong.
Dennis,
Interesting article and I thought I’d weigh in with my viewpoint on this subject.
I’ll say this first –
I used to be one of the people who scoffed at the sometimes seemingly outrageous demands that teacher unions presented. I used to be one of the people who thought that unions wielded too much power, and got tired of hearing people who got months off at a time during summer bitch about their pay.
I used to be one of the people who thought teaching, due in part to the amount of time off during the year, couldn’t possibly be THAT difficult. Sure, I didn’t think ti was easy, but how could it be that hard?
I used to be one of those people —– until I started dating a teacher.
Now, my outlook on life hasn’t changed completely as a result of this. I’m still fairly moderate, not like the solidly liberal stance my girlfriend and her fellow teachers take, but what I’ve learned in the process has really been surprising once you get a look inside what a teacher has to go through.
My girlfriend teaches at high school in an affluent suburb of a major east coast city. The district itself is one of the best in the state, and the high school constantly ranks among the top schools in the state, and the nation. While its true that these teachers don’t have to deal with the myriad of problems that an inner-city school has to deal with, there is still a surprising amount of outside influence that effects them.
One thing I’ve learned is that the major problem teaching in an affluent area isn’t necessarily the students or administration, but the parents who have the resources and inclination to be….lets say….overly-litigious. I have heard many, many stories of parents threatening to sue to school district because they, in their infinite wisdom, feel that they know better than the educators employed by the school and the parents KNOW that their special little child just isn’t getting the attention/education they deserve.
504’s, IEP’s, etc, while understandably serve a purpose for kids with developmental or learning disabilities, seem to be handed out like candy to any student who has a parent that wants to raise enough hell with the administration. Then once the individualized program is approved, many parents feel they can dictate the terms of the program to the school, including several stories I’ve heard of parents flat-out telling the admin and teachers that they want missing work forgiven simply because, even though the child had missed WEEKS of school, “he knows this already, so he shouldn’t have to do the assignments”. Bear in mind that said student was failing the tests, and obviously did not know the material at all. Then you have parents who just seem to push their kids too hard. In one case, a student with a 97% grade in the class would have his parents telling him that it wasn’t good enough, he probably couldn’t do any better, that college wasn’t an option for him and then complain to the teachers about how they weren’t doing enough to “ensure his success”.
I’ve learned that No Child Left Behind was one of the worst things to happen to public education in the history of this country. It simply encourages schools to push students through to avoid having state money taken away, and does nothing to fix the education problems in this country.
I’ve learned that without strong unions, teachers would be at the mercy of vindictive parents with deep pockets, and would be fired arbitrarily to avoid frivolous lawsuits.
I also have several other teachers who are friends, and I realize that this is a complex issue and that teachers aren’t always right about everything. Although I no longer dislike teachers unions, and I do feel that as a whole, teachers are underpaid – I still don’t buy it when I hear an educator say that its not fair and that they should be paid as much as doctors, because their job is just as important as someone who practices medicine. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy that. There are many, many more bad teachers than there are doctors, and I have a hard time buying the premise that the two jobs are equally important, they just aren’t. Should teachers be paid more? Probably, but not as a set standard. Its easier to be a shitty teacher than a shitty doctor. And make no mistake, there are teachers out there who either don’t give a shit anymore, are intentionally mean and short with their students, or worst of all, simply don’t know the subject they’ve been hired to teach.
I’ve learned that teaching is by no means an easy job. They are at work around 7 AM, lucky if they get to leave by 3, and then still have papers to grade and other work to do when they get home and on the weekends. One thing that’s often overlooked is that no matter where a teacher works, its pretty much expected of them to take part in a variety of after school programs, or other clubs, sports, or student groups within the school. This usually means longer hours at work and more time away from home. And while they do get a break for summer, it really only ends up being about 6-8 weeks off at most, with school ending in late june then having to report back sometimes around mid-august. Not quite the same as the break the students get. Splitting hairs, maybe, but something to consider.
It would be nice if there was a way to accurately measure teacher performance so that pay could be based on merit, and the bad teachers weeded out, but it is impossible to measure the value of a teacher based solely on the success of their students. Its far too easy for students to fail. Either through little academic support at home, or simply just not wanting to do the work or give a shit about school in general, there’s a LOT that teachers simply cannot control. They cant make the kids do their homework. They cant sit down and monitor the students every night to make sure they’re studying. Parents have to accept responsibility in this role, and the students themselves have to accept responsibility for themselves.
Thanks for the thoughtful response, Mark. I’m glad dating a teacher has helped you to see the “other side.”
For the record, yes, I agree that the problem with the teaching profession is that there’s no way to measure good teaching. As for the comparison to doctors… well, I think we’re comparing apples and oranges here, but I would still argue that good teaching is just as important–if not more–than good medicine. Poor teaching may not be immediately life-threatening, but look at it this way: Sure, a good doctor saves your life when when you have a medical emergency. But a good teacher opens your life up to possibilities that you may never have known you had.
How do you compare those two?
Yes, I agree that it’s easy to be a shitty teacher, but again, it comes down to measurability. You can measure the number of immediate lives a good doctor saves. You can’t measure the number of future lives a good teacher creates.
Also, it takes some damn good teachers, in addition to a smart person, to make a good doctor.
I think teachers SHOULD make money, maybe not AS much as your private practice specialist doctors, but as a general physician maybe. AND I think it should be JUST as difficult to become a teacher as to become a doctor.
Well said!
Teachers are the only profession that complains the way they do. I know many people from my year in high school who became teachers and with the the exception of one most of them were terrible students who could not get into any other programs I also had 4 years in a route of teachers who
I sure wish I could publish this! Parents have to be held accountable as much, if not more, than the teachers.
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Mark and Dennis, as a teacher who is so distressed about how we are portrayed everyday……you just made my day!
Thanks, Lucy! Glad I could help.
Thank you for this!!
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An elusive concept, respect… I wish more of the public would venture a visit to their local classrooms vs listening to the “reformers” who have their own agendas. I love teaching, despite the increasing struggle we deal with “outside” the classroom, what happens inside the classroom continues to make it all worthwhile. I just hope that my daughters, both aspiring educators, are still able to experience the joys of teaching in a public school classroom.
Just a thought I came up with while reading this article. True, it’s hard to measure inspiring kids. But why not to ask kids themselves? Why not to evaluate teachers by the comments of their students, and not just a quick evaluation form, but ask kids to give feedback on their teachers.
That depends. Would you rate a parent based on the opinion of their teenage kid?
Good point, Dennis. Plus, like you said, the results often don’t come until later. I had a teacher in 7th grade of whom we were all terrified. She taught English. She was strict and she was mean. She had really high expectations. I had her first period and it was always my nightmare (I truly had dreams about this and still occasionally do 20 years later) that my locker was stuck shut and I didn’t make it to her class on time. While I had her, I hated her. But even a few years later in high school, I found that she had inspired me in many ways. Now, several old classmates of mine have started a Facebook group dedicated to her and her teachings and we are grateful to how well she pounded grammar and writing into our heads. Almost all of us had a high school teacher or even college professor refer to us for grammar help thanks to that one teacher we had. But had you asked us that year what we thought of her, our review would not have been pleasant.
Totally. If I only wanted my kids to like me right now, I’d be buying them beer and cigarettes at the liquor store down the street. No, I want them to come back years later and go, “You were right, Dr. Hong. I wish I had listened to you more back then. And I’m sorry I was so obnoxious in your class!”
It’s happened a few times now….
My husband is always thrilled when a former student visits, writes, or even friends him on Facebook. (He doesn’t befriend the current students.)
Just this week he was sent to a teaching conference and a former student took him to dinner.
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I really do think that administration of a school can make it or break it!!! Just as in large corporations, the mananagement team leads the company good or bad!!! Bad admin can mean bad teachers and school!!!!
That was true for my husband. Same teaching methods, same subject, same demographics. Different administrators? Wildly different results. He got tired of being blamed and is now working for the Army.
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Some people see teaching as an easy job, half day’s work but they didn’t know that it takes double the time to plan than to execute the lesson. The last paragraph is so true, we make it look easy by working our a**es off.
I taught elementary school for several years before I became a parent but stopped to be a full time mom. One thing I have always hated as a parent now is to hear other parents complain about teachers. Often, they don’t bother to find out the whole story and often the problem is really them, the parents. I’ve read more than a few blogs and Facebook posts vilifying teachers and then a few days later they admit that their child really was the problem or they themselves were the problem and that the teacher was just doing their job. Those are the parents who think they could just walk in and do the job. And those are the parents who would fail miserably if they tried.
Thank you for this great article. I love it when something can make me hold my head up higher for “only being a teacher.” Many people have commented about the number of hours put in with planning, grading, parent conferences, etc. Many people don’t realize, however, the many other aspects of teaching. It’s being there for the child who’s father has left for a job a thousand miles away and he doesn’t feel like he can talk to his mom about his hurt. There is trying to reach a child with tremendous intelligence and ability who is determined his success will be measured by how much he can disrupt your class rather than how well he can succeed. There is student whom you know has been abused by someone yet you can’t help her get past her fear of what will happen if she admits it. My job as a teacher doesn’t just end with my planning, execution, and grading. It goes into the needs and fears of each student and what he/she needs not just to pass a standardized test but to become a well-rounded successful person.
Heidi – I have read each and every reply thus far, and yours truly resonates with me the most. I am a mom; I am a teacher. Balancing both is difficult (of course)but it (the balancing) has made me a much better teacher. I am the mom of the student you refer to who would rather be the class clown, than succeed academically, because he doesn’t believe that he can. ‘Why not draw attention to myself by making a joke, than by wrongly answering a question?’ He is finally at a public school in which the teachers are inspiring him to (I hate to use this overused phrase, but..) be all he can be academically. Other students come to me for help and advice, and I respect each and every one of them – love each and every one of them. One’s own child will rarely accept the help of a ‘teacher mom’. Yet, we hang in there – not just with our own children but with those who are like the examples you have already given. Our hearts overflow at times, but each and every day – in addition to the ‘planning, execution and grading’ of our teaching – we strive to help each child or young person become that ‘well-rounded, successful person.’To me, it’s irrelevent what “professionals” think of my role as a teacher. I wouldn’t change the course my life has taken simply because I don’t make as much as those who never went to college, did post graduate work,consistently train to better my methods (during the summer “off” btw)and get thank you notes at the end of the year with smiley faces and hearts (NOT just from elementary, mind you!) Let them judge – they know the truth. And so do I.
My friends and I are doing a 34-in-1 jobs. I wonder which other “profession” can beat us. Click on my name above to take a glimpse of our musing list? (:
Amen! You said this very well, and it holds true to this day.
Hi!
Like you, I used to “do science” as well, but only as an undergraduate, as I have made up my mind to be a teacher during the final year of my undergraduate biological science degree.
The teaching profession seems to be the traditional career path for my family (my mum’s a teacher, my cousins are mostly teachers, and even my great-uncle was a teacher). My mum make teaching look easy, but she keep on reminding me that it would not be as easy as it look, and I agree with her, partially.
I only fully agreed with her after I was placed in a school where the students who are taking biology as a science subject, have a very weak understanding on concepts that are so fundamental for human biology (cell concept, concept of diffusion and osmosis, etc).
Since I was only a ‘trainee’ teacher, the students can’t be bothered to hand in their work on time (except for one or two) when I first assign homework.
I tried to motivate the class to be more hardworking by implementing a merit system, where students lose a certain amount of points if they do not hand in their assignments on time, and the one with the most points at the end of my training period (which is next week), will get a surprise gift.
Almost everyone hand in their work on time, except for one particular boy and one particular girl. However, over time, as the boys realized that one of their friends is the sure person to win the surprise gift, most of them are now slacking off,
Despite that though, I was able to figure out which students are hardworking and which one is not; as the ones who are hardworking keep on handing in work on time (even though they know they will not win the surprise gift) while the ones who are less hardworking has started to slack off.
I also realize that most of the hardworking students are the medium to low ability students, while the less hardworking students are mostly the high ability students, except for the two who still do not hand in their work at all despite the promise of a prize.
I confided this finding with my mentor (the actual teacher for the class), and he confirmed that my finding is correct. His brightest boy and girl are the ones that he had to chase for their assignments.
When I implemented the merit system, my aim was to motivate them to do their work to enhance their understanding of concepts learned during the lesson (I only minus their merit points if the assignment is handed in one week after the due date), but with regards the two who still can’t be bothered to hand in their work, it clearly showed that one method of motivation is not the key.
Not only that, I also found out the fact that “no two classes are the same” in a hard way when I had no choice but to drop one class because their teacher cited me as the reason why her students failed their school based test (and discounted the fact that I only taught them for one week before they were pulled out from their lessons to prepare for a performance that lasted for one month – and their test was scheduled one day after the performance).
In fact, I even found out that the same class can be different if you teach them at different times of the day. My boys and girls are very hyperactive on lessons scheduled on 8.30 – 9.30 and 10.10 – 11.00 but very lethargic on lessons scheduled on 7.30 – 8.30 and 11.30 – 12.30.
Thus, yes, teaching = not easy, and one definitely needs a teaching certification.
Hey, thanks for the comment! For an excellent read on rewards and motivation, check out this book by Alfie Kohn:
http://www.amazon.com/Punished-Rewards-Trouble-Incentive-Praise/dp/0618001816/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1334336225&sr=8-4
I think he’s a little too extremist in how anti-rewards he is, but he does make some excellent points.
Great article, and on the subject of grading teachers, we must keep in mind that you can’t teach anything to anybody unless they want to learn. And, as a teacher, I found that teaching is a state of constant learning, and the best teachers of teachers are students, if we pay attention. And, would like to say that you can’t have a good school without a good principal, and I was lucky enough to have two great ones who let me learn and teach. I hope you have the same.
I think it is very interesting to read the variety of people supporting and those not supporting teachers. As we have learned from teachers most causes of conflicts boil down to 1) prejudice ( teachers are better, teachers are bad) 2) resources: we pay too much or we pay too little 3) poor leadership; evaluation process and 4) fear. Put any conflict you are having and these themes run rampant. So stop the prejudices, resource/ pay equity, run a fair ship and honor what each member of a community offers.
Hell yes. Thank you for that.
Wow, crystal sure is judgmental while offering no solutions! I’d sure like to know what she does to make a difference in this world!!!
From,
A hard working 13 year veteran teacher who works her buns off!!!
Just because newer teachers are being trained does NOT mean they are being trained well – just because there is newer technology doesn’t mean that new teachers know how to utilize it, doesn’t mean their school district will even have any of the newer technology, and definitely doesn’t mean that they are the only ones trained in it! I have had numerous, numerous classes in new technology and use what I can in the money deprived school district I teach in. There is not much to work with I can tell you – we don’t have the newest technology out there for teaching, so hmmmmm……so I take new classes in technology and pay for them out of my own pocket to go back to my school district and teach with outdated technology – yeah……… 1 in 3 new teachers quit teaching after their third year – heard that last week on npr. We have a teacher in our district who is on her second year of teaching and she barely gets by – she, like most of us are pushed around and made to teach something else in addition to our main subjects. I predict she will be looking elsewhere after this year or will just give up. I still say that those who criticize need to spend a week – no, a month with the same teacher and see what they go through each and every day, and I mean a 24 hour day, they would not last.
I’m a teacher and the truth of the matter is that the sort of teacher you get also has to do with the system. In Singapore, teachers are overly graded and ranked to the point it creates enemies among teachers for purposes of promotion. And the enhanced performance management system has been reining its ugly head and the ministry does nothing of it.
Many teachers are not enlightened beings.
Can you imagine any other job where you have to manage, train, and assess 30+ individuals? And, you take your work home every night. And, you worry for the physical, mental, and social well-being of all your “employees.” And, you’re a nurse, a mother, a social worker, a dictator, a pacifist, and a role model. And, you have to maintain constant relationships with you 30+ employees and their parents. I have been teaching 6 years in Baltimore City. It is the most rewarding and difficult thing I have ever done. You don’t know until you experience it!
Maura, former teacher, now stay-at-home dad here: just to play “Devil’s Advocate” to the first part of your post: sure, just about any lower-level management job. Mickey D’s, anyone?
Maura – well said! And Rusty – I don’t know at which Mickey D’s you order your french fries, but at mine, there are rarely 30+ people working, with their parents monitoring their manager’s every move. Missed the point, buddy.
Parenting and teaching are the most important jobs and the least respected. Neither is easy, both are extremely important and have the greatest impact on the upcoming generations. Not all parents and teachers have a positive impact, but the majority do. It’s high time society recognized and respected both, because we all know it’s not reflected in a paycheck!
Teaching, going through the motions, is easy. Anyone can do it. Being a good teacher, however, is extremely difficult and demanding. It consumes your life and changes you. It requires 12-15 hour days almost every day, and it requires defending yourself day in and day out. Being a good teacher is totally different than going through the motions, and good teachers deserve more respect than anyone is willing to give. People who have never taught have no business pretending they understand. The complaining is not about teaching itself, it’s about the public reaction. It’s about the ridiculous negativity surrounding teachers. Good teachers spend their lives trying to make a difference in students’ lives, relying on seeing that influence to make it through the next day. Then, they come to sites like this and think, “Yes, they are finally getting it.” Unfortunately, they get to the comment section, where ignorance runs wild. That is from where the complaining stems.
Damn straight.
I can see the hardships endured by teachers, yet I have often pondered upon the subject in hopes of deriving the underlying problem. This issue is predicated upon a society that essentially wants more than it has earned. Students want the easy way out and do not want education. The 99% do not take the risks associated with entrepreneurship, yet demand the wealth and luck of the 1%. Government continues to require larger and larger percentages of the income of its citizenry. Corporate parasites take larger sums of money for little or no value added to humanity. Religion demands that humanity ignores the validity and falsifiable rationale of science and follow what the Church decrees entirely on faith. Fallacies are used left and right to convince the uneducated populace. I say we take a stand and actually educate. Do not include bias, but rather encourage freethinking. Encourage behavior that adds value. Do not slow classes down to help those kids unwilling to learn. Rather, progress at the pace of those students able to learn and motivated to do so. America is falling behind because we want more than we have earned. We want everyone to have opportunity. It is time for us to now realize that everyone has opportunity, but those who choose to ignore it will fall behind. It is a simple choice. We must progress in order to stay competitive and survive. Adapt and overcome. I believe in humanity…do you?
“Do not slow classes down to help those kids unwilling to learn. Rather, progress at the pace of those students able to learn and motivated to do so.” I would LOVE to do this, but what would you suggest I do with those who are unwilling to learn – let the put their heads on their desks? We are told that it is OUR responsibility to motivate the kids to learn – why isn’t it THEIRS or maybe their PARENTS’? I want to apologize every day to the half (sometimes a third) of the class who come prepared and want to learn because I spend a disproportionate amount of my time on the disruptive, the disrespectful, and the disinclined.
Ditto what Kate said!!! I too would LOVE to teach the kids who want to learn, instead of killing myself trying to prod the unmotivated, rude ones to participate and learn… because in the end I’m going to be held responsible for their lack of effort, and that stinks. I’ve seen a big difference over the years, and kids are more and more apathetic about their grades, or they feel entitled to get good grades without doing much work. Students are not taught responsibility at all. Get this… we can no longer penalize for late or sloppy work anymore! How are these kids going to handle real life if they don’t put in effort and pay attention to detail, if they can’t focus, if they can’t meet deadlines…?
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Hi Dennis
Great article. The question of grading teachers is truly a conundrum. Is a teacher who “delivers” high grades from their students succeeding more that the teacher who “delivers” pass grades from their students who were failing and disengaged before that teacher started with them?
Continuing with the doctor analogy, the doctor who “saves” healthy people is likely to be doing less of value that the doctor who works with the very ill and manages to save many of them (but sadly loses some as well).
Two challenges with paying teachers on their “grades” are: 1) how do you measure as you said? 2) if/when you do measure teachers, a proportion of teachers will then skew their lessons to achieve better grades. These types of management intervention are typical of simple answers to complex questions, they generally end with an overall drop in standards. Sadly those management interventions are often driven by political point-scoring from people who don’t understand.
I will read more of your musing.
Cheers
This is how “it” works for the education bashers….join in every conversation, then get the teachers to start bashing each other. Throw out a few young vs old, secondary vs elementary vs Middle school comments and watch them divide. First of all regard MOST critical commentary from somebody who has not taught as uninformed. INVITE them to attend school as a visitor or assistant. Suggest they volunteer, you and I are NEVER going to change their minds. They have already been biased by volumes of propaganda against teachers or education. If a molecular biologist tells them that teaching is more difficult and less respected than his previous job, and they don’t believe it, then you arguing with them won’t work either.. Build relationships with the naysayers. We had invited legislators into our classrooms in OK for a week. This helped a lot when anti-education legislation was submitted and some of it was defeated. One was even quoted as saying “Name ONE positive thing that we as legislators have done for teachers in the last three years” Not one person in his party could answer him. Build these relationships to stop the assault.
I am a parent with two kids in an OK school. I thank God for the wonderful teachers and school system my kids are in. It is not a rich school district and yet the education my kids are getting is definitely equal to, if not better than the rich city education my niece is getting in OKC. We have been blessed with fabulous teachers in the last 4 years and my kids are excited all the time about what they are learning. It hasn’t always been easy, my 1st grader hates reading, but his teacher has found that he is inspired in other ways and has promoted that and encouraged him. That is the mark of a good teacher. Steff
Why do teachers complain more than any other profession? every day im exposed to some material or opinion about how teaching is the most important job on the world and teachers get no respect and are treated like glorified baby sitters. I think education is the most important thing in the world. I think that teachers should be paid 150 thousand dollars a year. Not to reward the people who are currently teachers, but to encourage people who are actually intelligent and capable into what is probably one of most important jobs. Teaching is an honourable profession. The system is currently setup to attract for the most part people who cant do anything else.
Hmmmm, well there now… that was quite a statement. However, I think you may have ended up bashing the people you believe should be making all that money you mentioned. Perhaps I misunderstood, but when I read “Not to reward the people who are currently teachers, but to encourage people who are actually intelligent and capable….” it seemed to me as if you were saying that those of us who teach currently aren’t “actually intelligent and capable”. I sincerely hope this isn’t what you meant because you would be sorely mistaken.
[...] friend linked to a fascinating blog, titled “The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do”. Fascinating! I was especially intrigued because the author, Dennis Hong, is a high school teacher. [...]
Well anonymous needs some Psychiatric help! I was a substitute teacher for only one year and let me tell you they can have it. I am sure that 99% of teachers are not worried about a test, all will pass. Looking at a classroom of lets say 15 year old kids five days a week wondering how many have knives or do any have guns? Will any get mad and go slaughter you and your family , will your tires be cut when you leave work, teaching is a lot more than having a good lesson plan every day, its talking to these kids looking for abuse and that is only the tip of the ice berg. 12 year old’s carry guns now people, and not there dads gun they have there own! I saw some good reply’s and some bull shit. I only responded because my first cousin Jeneifer Guillory and her two daughters, hell her whole family or teachers, all UNDER PAID. Some (not all) of you idiots need to watch the news and think before you speak . Good night, hope nobody was offended well maybe one person
Seriously? Watch the news? You mean those TV programs where they sensationalize events that are as likely to happen to you as getting struck by lightning? Some (not all) of you idiots need to stop watching the news until you can take it in the proper perspective.
I have two things to say here:
1. I am halfway through my multiple-subject credentialing program, and I cannot even express in words how much more there is to being an effective teacher than I thought previously. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to see what goes into a credentialing program, just to name a few things I’ve covered so far: differentiated instruction (being able to teach 20 to 35 students the same content when they are not at the same level), teaching English language learners (we have to teach them academic language to they can succeed in school, and yet still use comprehensible input so they understand what we are saying – figure that one out!), teaching special needs students, maintaining discipline, maintaining a welcoming atmosphere, dealing with students with behavior problems (ever heard of ODD?), effective use of multiple teaching strategies, effective use of technology, effective use of manipulatives, effective use of realia, covering all the content standards, proper scheduling (How long does it take to teach this lesson? Can I teach all of these lessons in one day?), counteracting deculturalization, communicating with parents effectively, developing in students a healthy respect for their peers, authority figures, and themselves, using multiple forms of assessments to make sure that you are giving your students the opportunity to show you what they have learned instead of just giving them a written test and ending it there, and yet still trying to get them to pass that written standardized test when testing may be their weakest point, reporting any and all suspicion of child abuse and neglect, paying for many of your own teaching supplies (I know teachers that spend thousands every year), inspiring students to WANT to learn (tell me how to do this and I will give you a big ol’ hug!). And I’m only halfway through the program.
2. Even though I plan on being a teacher, I do NOT think that teachers should be paid super-high salaries. It’s not about the money, it’s about the students, and if salaries are raised too high, there will be an influx of teachers who are there because of the money. I don’t want that for my own kids. I want them to have teachers who are there in spite of the salary.
Yes, teaching Feeds the Soul!…its the great untold secret about teaching. When you help a student to view a world they had no idea existed and you see the hope and delight on their face; it is the greatest experience. Do corporate workers ever experience that exhilaration with their work…that you are making a difference in the world? I think the teaching profession should market that attribute about the job more…TEACHING WILL FEED YOUR SOUL!
Me, I think you are on your way to realizing this dream!! Sounds like you are getting excellent training!
Ditto to what Shirley said…and I’ll give you a big ol’hug when you finish with your education degree. It ain’t easy, friends!!
As the daughter of two retired teachers, I say: Amen. It’s easy for people to think it’s a cake job, what with the 8-3 schedule and summers off, but the GOOD teachers (and most are) rarely punch the clock and turn off their teaching brain just because they’re not in school. Thanks for this post.
We should learn from Finland who has the most successful schools in the world..
They have rigorous training for their teachers and RESPECT their teachers.
They have NO standardized exams except after 12th grade.
The teachers make the decisions about how and what to teach. They, after all, are the experts.
The teachers are very well paid.
ALL of the schools are equally funded–imagine that!!
Agreed we need a change and need to start looking at some more successful places, but we also need to consider the poverty rate that directly effects many of our students. Finland has and extremely low poverty rate compared to the United States. I am sure this causes some difference in the success rate. Perhaps the equal funding could help this area. I also agree that these mandated tests need to go by the wayside…kids are burned out from testing and they really reap no rewards so have no motivation to do their best.
An exceptionally gifted college teacher (history) told me once: Teachers are like sculptors. The difference is: Their clay fights back.
I’m a retired elementary principal. I worked in an affluent district. I had many parents who were heading their kindergarten students to private schools because of all of the bad media they had heard about public schools; but, they ventured out to my kindergarten orientation, anyway. Well, many made the big step to enroll their child. Over the years, with much experience volunteering in classrooms, they became our total advocates, PTA presidents providing much enrichment for the school and served on the school board. After a parent had volunteered in the classroom for several weeks I would ask them if their view of teaching had changed, at all. A most common response was something like, “Oh, my gosh, I had no idea. Every student is so different and has such different needs. I don’t know how they (the teachers) do it. They work so hard to reach every child. My view has totally changed…I love this school and the teachers.”
Give volunteering in your school a try…not just to “spy” on your child’s teacher but to authentically offer assistance for all the children. You will get more insight to add to your point of view.
And schools, be sincere about parents volunteering in your schools…don’t just talk the talk…have jobs as teacher assistants specifically outlined, provide training for them on how to work with small groups, how and when to approach the teacher, how info. about students MUST remain confidential, how to work with ALL of the students not just their own. With the right training they will become wonderful support for your school and soon teachers will not know how they did the job without other adults to assist in their classrooms. Yes, the teachers need training, too, on how to best use volunteers in the classroom…they do not receive that training is college. Try it; you (and the volunteers) might like it!!
Thank you, Shirley. I have worked with many amazing family members (not always parents) who volunteered in my classroom these past 30 years. Those who truly came to love being in a classroom of energetic young children left to get their own teaching credentials (sadly, for my students and me) and now are wonderfully hard-working teachers with responsibility for their own classrooms. They truly understand the meaning of “it takes a village”. The saddest part for me is the number of families who must have two incomes to support their families and do not have the resources to be able to share part of their child’s school experience. I used to have a steady group of 4 or 5 parents who were actively involved and became partners in educating all of the children in the class, each year. For the past 8 years or so, I have been lucky to have one parent who could take a few minutes on Monday morning to help prepare homework folders for the week. Those who can’t, or won’t, come in and see how their child relates to others, expresses curiosity, approaches solving academic and social challenges, and lives so many hours of each day are missing out on a huge opportunity to see their child as others do. It’s a gift that parents can’t go back and open at a later date. I think I would have loved working with you. Fortunately, our children and I have had great educators (teachers, principals, aides, volunteers, librarians, bus drivers, nurses, secretaries, custodians, grounds keepers, parents and superintendents) as mentors and friends like you in our lives.
I agree that teaching is difficult. I grew up with parents that taught respect for anyone in their jobs. My sister is a teacher and her daughter is one as well. People fail to respect others in general. If you have never worked the job you have no right to tell someone they are doing a poor job. People don’t respect secretaries/receptionist/waitress/nurses/cleaning crews/plumbers/manual workers/police/security/construction… and the list goes on and on. I have always tried to take the time to listen to friends and ask them about their jobs. It has given me a greater understanding of what they must deal with that you would not normally think of. If the plumber wasn’t good at his job, then I would have a plugged toilet forever. If I didn’t listen I would not understand the pressures of working in a fast food store. Jobs that require you to deal with the public in masses means you deal with angry people, disrespectful people, selfish ones, angry ones, screaming kids, etc. After day after day of this, you just find a day when you can no longer smile and be kind yourself. On those days, your short reply to some customer means your boss will yell at you. I always allow someone serving me the right to have an off day. A day when you might not feel good but you came to work and are attempting to serve me the best you can. I will even allow you two such days. The third time I am more apt to inquire if the job is one you should be doing. It might not be a fit for your personality. It seems that teaching does fit you and I’m grateful these children have you as a teacher.
Personally, I only know of one other job that is harder than being a teacher… because, unlike teaching.. there is no education given before hand. The job… being a Mother!!!!!! Have a great day and keep up the good work.
Marjorie,
I agree!
I think at the end of it all, it’s about respect. Much like I wouldn’t confess to be able to be a molecular biologist, I don’t think I’d be able to be a teacher either. Both professions require training, and if I’m not trained in something, I’m certainly not going to assume that something would be easy to do. Ryan posted “if you are of the Brain Surgeon category or if you are more a McDonalds Cashier type” in regards to Crystals post. I wonder, what’s wrong with being a McDonald’s Cashier? Has he ever been one? Or his assumption, like that of many who assume they can be teachers, that the position is ‘easy’ and ‘anyone could do it’? (Though I would be hard pressed to find any one who would have the desire to take that ‘easy’ position, even in a struggling economy) I don’t look down on people who have jobs like that, because someone has to do those jobs.
The point being, if you’re working hard, and you’re working to the best of your ability, then that’s what people should be concerned about. The sooner everyone stops looking down on all professions, the better. I applaud teachers for the work that they do, but then again, I applaud everyone who shows up to work each day and is committed to their job.
It sounds like you’re going to pass on a great lesson of respecting people to your children. I wish more parents could be like that!
I come from a family of teachers and I myself certified to teach high school although I’m now teaching at a university. Teaching is HARD. …but the one quibble I would make with your post is that the training for teachers and the research is better now. When I went through the education program, it was a joke. Most of the classes were chock full of theories with no actual practical experience. The valuable classes were those taught by people who actually had experience in a classroom, not the people with the PhDs in education. …and I say that as someone who almost has her PhD.
I’m not a teacher, but I know when going to school (both undergrad and grad school) the best teachers were the ones with real life business experience and stories to share. I know several people I went to high school with that are now teachers and they were not good students themselves (granted, I do have two teacher friends who were very bright and hard working in high school). It seemed to be the route many below average students took. They may be very good teachers because of their personalities, but I don’t think they have the brains to pass an accounting course. And on a different note, I always think about my music teacher in elementary school (almost 25 years ago). She played the piano for us every class and in concerts!! My kids’ music teacher turns the stereo on for them to sing along with!! How I miss the old days!!
comments about new teachers being better trained…yes they are…but the things they are learning are the SAME things the veteran teachers have been taking classes on for the past several years at night or after school, while still teaching. New teachers come in with knowledge, but we are not stuck in some old school rut from when we first started….we are required to take classes all the time…keep current… I also find that students who think most of their teachers are bad..well, there is usually something going on with that kid that is making school tough for them..and they want to blame the teachers. Sadly, some parents do also. I work in a school with teachers who are new and some near retirement, and think that they all give 150 percent, and do the best they can for kids.
[...] Hong, Dennis. ”The Hardest job Everyone Thinks They Can Do.” September 13, 2010. Blog. Retrieved from: http://www.musingsonlifeandlove.com/2010/09/13/the-hardest-job-everyone-thinks-they-can-do/ [...]
Yeah, I don’t understand people who think it’s merely “fun”. I mean, I’m sure it is at times, and it’s probably rewarding as all get-out, but I KNOW that I could never do it. I think teachers deserve the pay of professional athletes and rock stars for what they do. I mean, I LIVE with my (sweet, smart, wonderful)son (who has the energy of a coked-out hamster.) His teacher spends nine hours a day with twelve of him!
I would like to apologize to all the English teachers for using “I mean” twice in the same paragraph. Also for forgetting that space after “wonderful”‘s end parenthetical.
The coffee is still kicking in.
Teachers do not have inflated egos. Most of us think that no matter how hard we work, we are inadequate. We just stay in it because we make real connections with the kids we serve. We love them and we know that we make a difference to them. As for pay, try making it on a preschool teachers salary. As for respect, we get less respect than elementary teachers. People think we are just playing. People discount that a child’s brain grows the fastest in the first five years of life and that preschool teachers have to keep pace with that rapid development to inspire life-long curiosity and love of learning.
You are correct on all counts, ML. I cannot think of any teacher I have worked with in 30 years who thought they “knew it all” and were God’s gift to the students and the teaching profession. All of us, those I liked and admired and those I didn’t, still felt that we were also learners, and that is what we do for a lifetime. Every new class of 4,5 and 6 year olds is full of revelations and challenges. I have learned strategies to fall back on after all these years, but there is always the one student that requires me to “think outside the box” one more time so that he/she can leave my class feeling positive about their ability to learn new things.
People really don’t think before they talk about preschool just being a place for you to watch children play all day. First of all, a child’s work IS play – that is how they learn to make sense of the world. Secondly, if those who put down early educators were asked to sub for you for even a few hours, most would throw up their hands, scream, and run the opposite direction as fast as their cars would carry them. My compliments to you!
Keep up the good work. Preschool years are important years. They are learning to interact, talk (not bite), walk, run… 2s, potty training… teething/constant drooling, hourly diaper checks plus curriculum. Teacher friends who have done preschool and high school realize the differences and difficulties. Some even say the pay scales should be inverted, preschool to college. Parents I’ve met are always marveling at how preschool teachers manage to teach their children with such large class sizes.
All traditionally “women’s” jobs struggle with lower pay and respect.
I struggle everyday with my daughter’steachers and I had a miserable time when I was in elementary school. Why? Becuase I had BAD teachers or for one grade a substitute for the ENTIRE school year. I thought NCLB would maybe help a little even though I thought it was misguided. I was wrong. A couple of years ago I voted to limit class sizes in my state. I thought maybe just maybe it would help. Once again, I was wrong. Unfortunately there are more bad teachers out there than there are good and not much anyone can do about it because as my daughter’s guidance counselor explained to me, “administration cannot get a teacher to do anything that is not specifically written in their contract”. So what happens? Children like mine who aren’t average normal students fall through the cracks. I don’t think the problem is with good or bad teachers anymore. I don’t think the problem is with class sizes, I don’t think it’s even “bad schools” the problem is within the entire system. I am a very left leaning democrat but re this subject… I’m starting to lean to the “right”.
^^^Another example of how anecdotal stories trump actual real research. “It must be true for everyone and every district because it happened to ME!”
I’m sorry to hear that you are having a hard time with your daughter’s teacher and had a bad academic experience. The fact that you had a substitute for a whole year indicates that the school may have been experiencing a troubled time, a time when the school environment was less than ideal.
I think you hit the nail on the head. The problem is often with the system and the teachers are often as stuck as you are. Often they can get sued and/or fired if they do things outside of their contract. I don’t know what you wanted her teachers to do, but maybe that should have been dealt with in other ways by the system. I don’t think this a left or right thing. You might note that a lot of harm was caused to the system under Bush’s watch. Teachers jumping through the hoops to prep for tests rather than having time to teach and even less time to catch those falling through the cracks.
How interesting that this post should appear today! I have been a substitute teacher for more than thirty years, off and on at times, and have seen the role of the school, administration, and teacher change drastically during that time. I now am what is termed, “a permanent sub” in one school, each day for whoever may need a fill-in that day. In this most recent capacity, I have had the opportunity to observe an excellent administration and faculty pushed daily to accomplish the most for their students with demanding testing looming over their shoulders, discipline decisions that would be on Solomon’s level, paperwork and facility decoration responsibilities, after school demands–and I wanted to write them a letter of commendation to place in their boxes this Monday. However, since this came across my email, sent by a long time teacher friend, I decided to simply copy it to their facebook with a hard copy to go into boxes. Thanks for saying what I feel after daily observing and participating with this magnificent group.
[...] Teaching. [...]
THANK YOU!!!!! This is 100% true and something I wish more people knew!!!
For those of you who think teaching is so easy, and there far too many “bad” teachers out there—- help yourself—- you can always homeschool! But wait…. most of the difficult students who complain usually come from difficult parents who are most accomplished at complaining and finding fault with anyone but themselves or their children. One must always remember – teacher number 1 is the parent…… what are YOU teaching your child????
First off, decent article. I agree and disagree. Im not able to quantify who helped project me into my career, I’ll give that credit to my parents… Not necessarily my 4th grade teacher, who I respect as a good teacher.
I can see where everyone thinks they can do a teachers job, and I see how teachers can inspire students, but that’s not necessarily their jobs. There jobs first and foremost are to educate, and luckily there is the standard bell curve that allows one to understand the effectiveness of a teacher. It’s an obvious statistic that can measure a teachers effectiveness.
Lastly, I find it funny that an article about inspiring others w/positivity and sternness has commentary from people (I assume is teachers) claiming others can’t aspire or make it through the process. Call me crazy, but that’s exactly opposite what this article dictates.
I’d just like to thank ya’ll for at least addressing the problem. I knew what I was getting into when I took the job.I have never seen a better discussion. I guess one way or another it matters
Not working for 2.5 months straight must be tough. Life is hard.
Kevin, I don’t believe you know any teachers personally. Most districts require teachers to work the week after students are dismissed and one week before the year begins. All other preparation for the new year is done off contract. Every teacher in my school works 60-70 hours per week and plans for the new year over the summer, when they are not attending conferences to improve their skills. Please don’t comment on what you don’t know.
Kevin,
Just to give you a little extra insight: Over the summer break, I will be attending professional development courses, some at my own expense. The district won’t pay for them, but I know they will be beneficial to my students. I will also be breaking down our district’s old curriculum and attempting to align it with the new Common Core Standards–all on my own time, the time I am supposed to be spending with my children who will also be out of school for the summer. I will be searching the Internet for videos, comic strips, and anything else that interests my students and ties into my curriculum. I will be catching up on the latest research, hoping to find something that will help motivate those students who so desperately do not want to do any work at all. I will be rewriting letters to parents and working on my class website making sure all is ready for that first day of school.
I will do all of this without pay, because I believe that every child, no matter their cultural or socioeconomic background, deserves the best education possible. I am not complaining about what I have to do this summer. I do this job because it is my passion. All I ask is that before you criticize it, you take the time to talk to teachers. Ask them how much time over the summer they spend thinking about and planning for the upcoming school year. Ask them how much of their personal money is spent on items for their students or their classrooms. Find out how many of them take on summer jobs to help make ends meet. Teachers are not more important than everyone else, but they are certainly just as important.
If it is so easy go back to college get a masters degree (for $70K like I did) and become a teacher. You can enjoy 2.5 months off too! Instead of judging and complaining join the education system to make a difference.
After teaching 11 years, I’m returning to the business world. I may only have four weeks off a year instead of 12, but I will have MUCH more free time than I do now. During the school year (and during my time off too), I am completely immersed in teacher-work… it’s rare to have a free evening, even rarer to have a free weekend. The last kid might leave my room at 3:15 but I will be working the rest of the day, and dreaming about it at night. And then I spend my summer playing catch-up on everything I had no time for during the school year: cleaning, doctor visits, exercise, rest, home repairs, time with friends and family (and in my case, a second job to boost my low teaching salary!). So, Kevin, don’t begrudge teachers their hard-earned time off… it’s very, very well-deserved.
Ok, so gee..like the rest of us who work…you work alot..extra hours, time working and not being paid for it..etc…we all do that anymore. I’m not going to say you’re job is hard, but really, look at jobs that people do without complaining. Cops, firemen, soldiers….come on, your job really isn’t worth complaining about.
Sorry, I don’t know very many other professions that involve most of the off-work time… In the business world we might put in some extra time but it’s rarely *all* of our own time, unless we’re starting our own company maybe. The difference with comparing teachers with cops, soldiers, and firemen is that in general, the public shows them respect. You couldn’t get away with dissing a cop, fireman or soldier… but lack of respect is an everyday occurrence when you’re a teacher. You’d bitch too if you worked your ass off and still everyone shit on you all day. (OK maybe cops and soldiers have to deal with people who are horrible to them all day, but they have weapons at least!!!)
Thank you for your article. It can be so very difficult to work hard to educate youth and so often be criticized and blamed for all that is failing in education. I have been in education for thirty-nine years and can only recall two teachers that I believed had no right to teach. We love the students we teach and often sacrifice time with our children to help raise the children of others. Thank you again.
Teachers are nothing more than glorified baby sitters. We should pay them like baby sitters.
Ten bucks and hour.
Times thirty students ($300/hr)
Times six hours per day ($1800/day)
Times 180 days per year ($324,000)
Wait a second…
Pay them similar salary to medical doctors? Wow you’re obviously a poor teacher who knew their salary coming out of four easy years of college and now is mad. Do the the world a favor, wake up and deal with your role…you chose it, no one chose it for you.
well heck, I never got paid that much for babysitting, and I did it over the summer…hmmmm….and being that I could babysit at 14 years old…you’re basically saying that a child could do the job.
Is this the same Anonymous, twice?
Not the brightest bulb, or sharpest knife, or both…
[...] http://www.musingsonlifeandlove.com/2010/09/13/the-hardest-job-everyone-thinks-they-can-do/ [...]
To those who say that teaching is easy, I say “ha!” I teach one-on-one, and while (for me, anyway) that manner of teaching is easier than classroom teaching, it’s still a demanding job. The subject matter is easy, and frankly, after awhile a little boring, but the students are all different, and present different challenges. Some are auditory learners, some visual, and so forth. To teach someone to actually do something, whether it be a skill or a thought-process, is not just a matter of “doing it by rote.” It’s an art, and a changing one, reflecting the students’ needs, their attitudes and energy of each day. I have had awful teachers, and awesome teachers, and the main difference between the two is the love of that art. Those who look at it as “just a job,” are bad teachers. Those who view it as a passion, a life-long event, are the ones who are great.
I’m tired of the attitudes people have about education. The job I have isn’t supported by taxes. I’m paid directly by the parents, or in the case of adults, the students themselves. I don’t have benefits, no paid time off, no retirement, health or anything other than the per-hour payment I receive. Though I wish for more security, I love my job, and I happen to know that I’m an awesome teacher. My students tell me this daily, and there is nothing to compare with the moment when that concept or skill is realized by the student with whom I’m working.
Definitely the hardest, but most rewarding job I can imagine.
Politics should not run education. This tells of the problem of principal bullying of teachers: http://books.google.com/books?id=G2WaoKBJ0_0C&pg=PR20&lpg=PR20&dq=Breaking+the+Silence+Joseph+Blase&source=bl&ots=USXAlvi8l2&sig=QBKrJD4TgKtkLkO_JFtHeb9jkrM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2aGRT-H-OqeW6AHJv6HCBA&ved=0CEkQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
Thanks for writing your reply, Crystal. I think it is honest and well written. I respect teachers and I love teaching my own children at home. Teaching is hard, but I have had other jobs that were also hard. I do think there is a culture among teachers to be discontent and think they have it harder then anyone else working out there. When you break it down, teaching is still a satisfying job with great benefits and A LOT of time off to decompress from the stress and strain. We should all be so blessed to have jobs that allow us to have a life outside of work, as teaching does.
Well said Beth! None of this hatred toward teachers would occur if teachers were saying “you know, I have it okay. Good benefits, time off and a rewarding career I feel good about.” Instead it’s all about tons of hours, not enough money, people complaining, etc. What do teachers think happen in the corporate world? Unpaid overtime, pay cuts, customers complaining. It’s been a downward spiral for many people, do teachers feel they should be immune to it? I think we should all feel blessed we HAVE jobs! And if teachers LOVE teaching so much, they are the luckiest because I know many of us in the corporate world can’t say that. Loving what you do far outweighs money.
Au contraire, Beth. I’ve been in corporate and in teaching; and teaching IS way, way harder. If by benefits, you mean more days off per year, then yes it has that benefit. But benefits in the corporate world (insurance, 401k, bonuses…) are either rubbish or non-existent for educators. And all that time off to decompress from stress and strain, it’s just not needed in the corporate world. I can walk out of the office at 5pm and be done with my job, go to yoga, have a meal with a friend, go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep before waking up at 7 to go to work. My teacher day can easily be 12 hours at school, I will still bring work home, I will grade or plan until I fall asleep, then I will dream all night about my students and my lessons. I’m quitting teaching for my own health, and returning to the energy business where I’m paid well, treated with respect, and I get to talk to civilized adults all day, and the best part is, I will have proper work-free weekends when I can honestly decompress! I’d LOVE to stay in teaching if I didn’t have to sacrifice my life to do it.
I keep reading about teachers spending 12 hour days at school? I pick up my kids at 5:30 from school (because I work til at least 5) and there are no teachers in sight. I’m in a great school district with great teachers, so it’s not that they’re slacking. A teacher friend told me the other day she was going to find a sub and take half a day to get things done at home for a party and my son’s teacher took off for her Florida spring break trip the day before break started! My teacher friends have their kids involved in travel sports teams and can actually get their kids places on time because they get off early. One of my son’s teachers just bought his second business and another teacher just got approved for some kind of leave because she doesn’t want to put her kids in daycare but wants to keep her seniority! This is the part I just don’t get.
It’s true, there are some teachers out the door when school is done every day. I don’t know how they do it unless they are just taking all their work home with them? It might be different in elementary school, I think they plan in teams and only have up to 30 students each? In high school, teachers can have 100-210 (!!!) students in one day. I usually have 125-135 kids in my five classes (I am one class short because I travel between campuses… most teachers do six or even seven classes). Assign a quiz, homework, test, project or assessment, and that makes for a LOT of grading. I also do not have a team with whom to plan so it’s all down to me. I know other electives teachers are up at school at ridiculous hours too, because they too are the only ones in their programs. I’m in foreign language, but I know that almost all my FL peers spend their evenings and Sundays grading and planning. True, by five most of the teachers are gone from the building, but I am pretty sure they are sitting at their kitchen table or on the couch with stacks of papers to mark… I don’t see how they can avoid it unless they are one of those rare teachers that never gives grades??? :/ But yes, I’m at school between 6:30 and 7 every morning, preparing and tutoring kids before and after school, sometimes there are meetings, extracurricular events, plus phone calls, emails, paperwork for admin, setting up my classroom(s), but just planning my lessons and grading does indeed take several hours every day. I work hard to make my lessons interesting and to provide a wide range of activities, and that requires a fair amount of organizing and time. I’m also only in my third year back (I was out of education for 8 yrs, in business) and I know it takes a few years to build up a repertoire of lessons. I’ve had to modernize all my old 1990s lessons because we’re in a different age now; kids don’t do textbooks anymore, they can barely be responsible to keep up with organizing their binders even, and I try to incorporate technology as much as possible… plus they keep changing things at school for teachers (this year, a new grading rubric; different grade weight distributions; different online gradebook; new, different, online lesson plans, etc… all that takes time to learn and requires redoing what/how we teach). Of course I can take time off work, but that means leaving decent lesson plans for someone else to be able to take over, with meaningful work for my students to do, which then I will return to, so I don’t really like to take days off unless it’s serious. Whereas when I was in business, I could just call in sick or come and go early/late without much upheaval.
Lisa, it’s no different for elementary teachers. You have a lot more students in class every day in high school (I don’t know how many preps you have). I have the same 25 students every day, but have to prep many more subjects and teach to multiple levels of understanding. The work is not less or more, just different. When I lived near my school, I was at school by 7 and if my children were lucky, I (and when they were younger, we) left by 7. My husband is also a teacher – a “freeway flyer” working three colleges, so his hours varied from semester to semester with morning classes and evening classes in the same day. I now live 50 min. away from the same school because we were fortunate enough to buy a house after renting for 20 years. With no complaints about the time for my commute, my teaching and prep hours at school and at home are the same, because I love the community of families and educators that I work with. People keep asking why I do it, and don’t switch school districts – it’s because I love it, warts and all. The respect I get from interested parents helps to make up for the generalized, public bashing of “teachers” as a group, sometimes. Often the problem is that those outside the profession who appreciate the work and are proud of their children’s learning are rarely those who make the news or make the policies. Most of the teachers at my school arrive by 7 or 7:30 and leave around 5. Those who leave earlier are going to school meetings at other sites or are coaching students at “away” games. Glad you are back in the profession!
The comparison to NBA players is faulty and I’ll tell you why: Anyone who has ever tried to shoot a basketball knows how hard it is. They don’t suffer delusions that they could be those players, but many people who know a lot about basketball believe they could coach, or critique. People believe they are experts in education because most of them spent 12 years in the system. You know, the same as how everyone is an expert on parenting because they were a kid once? Yeah.
Your last analogy is not a well-constructed one.
“People believe they are experts in education because most of them spent 12 years in the system. You know, the same as how everyone is an expert on parenting because they were a kid once?”
It would be: “People believe they are experts in education because most of them spent 12 years in the system. You know, the same as how everyone is an expert on parenting because they were parents of 30 different kids each year?” Hmmm…
Oh, and about those NBA players, as much as I think basketball is fun, I still think teachers more importantly affect and are more vital to our society.
Anyone who comments that teachers need to stop complaining about their jobs being hard completely missed the point of this article.
Dennis, please pin this comment to the top of the essay. I’m afraid the types who missed the point in the first place lack the wherewithal to read this far.
Ha, thanks. I think it’s funnier to point it out afterwards to those who do miss the point, though.
Wow, interesting opionions on the topic across the spectrum. I am a preschool teacher and someone said that teaching the subject is easy, but teaching the children is what isn’t easy. Patience is the number one keyword in being successful in teaching children This is true. If a teacher lacks patience, he/she is a bad teacher to begin with. Someone said don’t judge teachers according your bad experiences. I agree with this too. The whole point to the article is simply informing people that teaching isn’t easy. You’d have to be a great and patient teacher to ever understand and agree with this. End of story. To Chrystal…..If your Uncle and Aunt thought that teaching was easy, they weren’t doing their job right. Someone else said this and I agree with this too.
Teaching is for the strong. I love teaching and interacting with my students. I have my ups and downs. However I find it so rewarding. I understand them better now than before as I see my own children grow and try to understand them.
Teaching is a blast! ALWAYS exciting things happening when a group of young people get together! Sure, there are frustrations…mostly due to requirements put on teachers from those who really don’t know what it’s like to be in the classroom. This includes administrators who think they know, but don’t…or simply don’t remember anymore. Over three decades as a teacher has taught me much. I thank God each day for the pleasure of working with some of His greatest creations! Many of the current trends in public schools sadden me. These are done in the name of education. The children are paying quite a price now. Society will pay later. I hope and pray and work towards helping youngsters discover some of the wonders in the world around them while also discovering the power within themselves.
First off, as a teacher I would think you would know how to write proper sentences and how to use punctuation. Second, as much as i don’t want to be a teacher and respect anyone who is, you can hardly say it’s the toughest job out there. I mean what about police officers, firemen, soldiers..etc…..Thank you for doing what you do, but it’s not the toughest job out there by any means.
You missed the point. Completely.
While proving it resoundingly, I might add.
[...] Like my friend Dennis would attest, though he’d somehow manage to avoid the cliché, that’s easier said than done. [...]
Teaching is valuable and skilled work, but comparing teaching to a skill like gene replication is like comparing apples and fish. Performing tasks in molecular biology requires conceptual and intellectual skills that most people don’t have. You’re closer when you bring up basketball. Most people who follow basketball (or any sport) have played it or can easily imagine playing it, hence the term “Monday morning quarterback,” and the phenomenon of spectators talking back to players. Many non-elite athletes DO second guess and have plenty of advice for the elites. That’s because most of us know what it is to play these games. The same can be said of teaching, in it’s broadest sense. We all teach each other, have taught our children from the time they were born, and have been taught a myriad of things by others. The difference is that the profession of teaching seeks to embue knowledge and skills—social, academic, etc.—in a classroom with many individuals with different learning modalities, motivations, personalities, etc. So, teaching with a capital “T”, that is, professional teaching, is qualitatively and quantitatively different from the kind of “teaching” or sharing of knowledge and skills that humans do all the time. Nevertheless, it’s not hard to understand why folks have opinions and suggestions about it. Taking a defensive stance is not conducive to building an understanding and appreciation of the challenges of teaching in schools, though I can understand your reaction.
One teacher’s opinion: It’s easy to be a bad teacher; it’s hard to be a good teacher…it’s as simple as that.
What’s interesting to me is that the conversation happening in the reply section focuses on who is a good or bad teacher. That is not the intention of this piece. What she was originally commenting on is the level of respect that teachers receive (or lack thereof) comapred to other professions. All I have to add to the conversation is that, if you think that teachers suffer from a general disrespect in our society, now just imagine that your charges are not high school students, ready to embark upon college or a career, but the very young. I have experience teaching high school, middle school, elementary and preschool. The hardest job I know of, in the teaching realm, is that of the professionals who are early childhood educators. We do all of the same things that are listed in this article, but on a fraction of the salary, with little to no planning time and we do it all with the youngest humans who have a much less developed pre-frontal cortex – people who are still trying to construct their ideas about the world around them, who may have limited verbal or comprehension skills, who are at the beginning of their journey in learning impulse control and decision making, who are just beginning to navigate the social world of their peers. Add to that the added pressure from parents to provide a heightened academic environment, which leads to a need to educate parents, alongside their children, of what is and is not developmentally appropriate for the very young. As for respect, these early childhood educators are often seen as nothing more than glorified babysitters. It’s time that the academic community and the teachers themselves recognize these teachers of our youngest citizens as the professionals that they are!
Apologies to Dennis Hong. I should have written, “What HE was originally commenting on…” Perhaps I have just shown my own occupational bias and for that, I apologize. We need more men in education – at all levels!
[...] read this blog post today and wanted to pass it along. Teaching is a job that , unlike doctors, lawyers and engineers, [...]
This piece resonates with me. I’ve been teaching introductory college biology courses for more than ten years. Last year, I earned a MAT and the credentials to teach science at the secondary level. This year I am teaching my college class and substituting in middle and high schools across my city. (Aside: here substitutes must hold complete teaching credentials.) So, I have insights into teaching from a few different perspectives.
I think a big problem in our society is that as a group, we don’t respect children, especially teens. Sure, we love our own, and we know some that are good kids, but as a group, society tends to expect the worst. And so, how could we possibly offer much respect to those who work with this group? Yes, I invite the public to come volunteer and witness their schools. I challenge them not only to see a real day as a teacher, but as a teenager: packed into a room of thirty with no privacy for your own thoughts, very little personal space, and not even able to go to the bathroom without asking permission. Expected to focus and learn one subject for a set time, and then at the ring of a bell, immediately shift gears relocate and refocus on a new subject. And that doesn’t address the social battlefields in the hallways that are very real and usually of more immediate concern for the students. Oh, don’t forget, they can’t quit this “job,” truancy is a crime. Most adults would refuse to be subjected to such work conditions, yet seem baffled when teens react badly in this stressful environment. Respect for students as a group is lacking in our country, so it is little wonder their teachers struggle to feel valued.
As for the thread comparing past and present teacher training and environments, I contend a big difference that the public doesn’t generally witness is that a few decades ago students who were too disruptive or noncooperative were kicked out of the system. While it is a vast improvement to society as a whole to resolve to no longer simply “throw away” so many kids, but instead insist they are not “left behind,” the result is a very different landscape in the classroom. The schools know this, but the public perception continues to be some fantasy of teachers only having to work with those students who meet them halfway. That somehow “those” kids, disruptive, non-responsive, unwilling, can be kicked out of class so attention can be devoted to those students who are receptive. Parents and eager learners are resentful of teachers who indulge too much time with the “bad” kids. Yet administration and government policy insists keeping them in the classroom (in every larger classes) is better for everyone’s learning. Teachers are expected to be masters of their content, able to make lessons constantly engaging, adept at simultaneously teaching differentiated lessons, as well as trained to deftly navigate the minefields of special needs, racism, sexism and poverty that walk through the door each day in a volatile mix.
As for comparisons, I suggest teachers should be compared to clergy. Many have similar levels of education, and the work is also described as involving much more behind the scenes preparation and long hours. The impact on lives can be hard to measure, and often not fully realized for many years. Both are more than a job, more than a profession, more than the sum of our training… they are a “calling.” And it can be just as hard to get rid of bad ones.
As a teacher with 10 years of experience, I think your comments are spot-on! I definitely see how adults automatically expect the worse when it comes to some of our students (I work at a predominantly at-risk school in an urban area) and how they treat these kids. And I agree that a lot has changed between the way things used to be and the way things are. We can’t just “get rid” of the bad apples anymore, not without an extremely valid reason that goes through a lot of bureaucracy. This has a huge impact on the climate of our classrooms. And of course, there are so many other factors. But I just wanted to say thank you for your insight.
My problem with what this teacher is saying is while he was trying to figure out how to inspire the kids, WHERE THE F were the admins making sure the students are bringing paper, pencil and doing CW and TRYING TO LEARN INSPITE of a teacher not being ‘FUN’. American/western society is toooo amusement oriented and if a kid refuses to learn if the material is not fun, then something is very wrong with the attitude towards learning.
Wow, I wish I could have given this article to the Ivy League graduated lawyer who I sat beside on a flight from France to the U.S. After 15 minutes of spouting all the things wrong with teachers from their lazy work ethic to the fact that they only taught because they made more than working down at the local Quickie Mart, she FINALLY noticed that I hadn’t said one word. She meekly asked, “You aren’t a teacher, are you?”
My reply: “Yes I am, and it’s parents like you that make the job soooooo rewarding.”
We didn’t speak for the rest of the flight.
Love it! Perhaps she’ll think before ranting next time, especially in regards to any school her child might be attending ( should I fall into stereotyping someone and guess that her child would attend a private school instead of a public one? HA!).
Great article and completely true!
I had a thought: I wonder if part of the reason everyone thinks they can teach is that we were all once kids in school, and we all once had teachers. Because of this, we all feel that we have a good idea of what happens in a teacher’s day-to-day, and what goes into it. Kids don’t really get that kind of look at any other profession, and it’s understandable that they would have difficulty as children understanding the complexity of the teacher’s job. Once they are adults, they look upon the teaching profession with children’s eyes, not adult’s eyes, and therefore maintain a child’s attitude of “I can totally do that, and I’d do it better.”
Thoughts?
I concur wholeheartedly.
If they did use adult eyes, they would think, “Oh, no, I’m not doing THAT!” (An actual, real-life quote from a certain young man when he grew up! Said they were not too nice to their teachers.)
I think that’s part of the thought process. “I’ve been a student in a classroom, therefore, I know how to be an effective teacher.” **shrug** Lots of people have been passengers on a commercial airline. Doesn’t mean they know how to fly a 747.
Dennis, you sound like an awesome teacher & I hope your blog inspires more of the same.
However, I cannot give any insight on how to quantify teaching ability; I will take your word for it.
The reason why there is an argument as to why people think teaching is easy or some teachers are good and others bad is because teaching methods tend to be subjective. Yeah there are guidelines as to curriculum but there really isn’t much to say a teacher is wrong because that argument becomes a matter of opinion. I’m sure teachers of the same subjects are going to have different views as to the best way to present to students the information at hand. There will always be this disagreement. I was told by several teachers my writing and grammar was excellent and then also told it was lacking. As a student how am I supposed to know who was correct or not? This is the problem many students go through I believe (at least the ones that care to participate in class). No one is perfect but when things become a matter of opinion than fact there is too much grey. Then we have to rely on administrators to make the correct call on issues or teachers? Now that becomes another subjective issue. Now you throw bureaucracy into the mixture and administrators are fighting to become head so they can impose their ideas of what methods are correct or not.
Before I finish I would like to leave you with another example of my “opinion.” while I was studying a marketing course I was also working retail. My teacher was teaching us one thing while I had experienced something slightly different in the “real world” and when I presented my experience to her she just about bit my head off and told me I didn’t know what I was talking about. This is a big disconnect in my opinion. I really believe teachers need to have experience in the “real world” to also have a better understanding for themselves an not just rely on their own knowledge.
Just my two cents.
I’m a teacher and I agree with you 100% on having experience in what I call the “real world” before teaching. Teaching is a whole different “animal” and it’s good to have some outside experience before you enter the zoo.
Whoever contemplates that instructing and managing children in an educational environment is effortless is ludicrous. The individual may as well cruise over to 11″21′ North latitude and 142″ 12′ East longitude and perform a time out exercise there.
The Wonder of Childhood – March 2012– Education is an Art, Not a Science
http://thewonderofchildhood.com/2012/03/education-is-an-art-not-a-science/
One Hundred Factors
http://www.eons.com/uploads/7/9/79681745_100_Factors%20that%20can%20affect%20a%20child%27s%20classroom%20behavior%20and%20learning.pdf
Education as a Crap Shoot
No matter how carefully you study theories on child development and education; no matter how thoroughly and deeply you research your options for schools and teachers for your child; no matter how involved you are in your child’s education – your child’s education is ultimately a crap shoot. No one can know the effect or results of their child’s education until he or she is grown and out of school. Maybe not even then. It is a very long process. There have been countless people who have gone through “public” or “state” education and have thrived and who have had some wonderful, amazing, inspiring teachers. There are countless others who have gone to the “best” schools – private schools, creative schools, alternative schools, Waldorf schools who have encountered teachers who would be considered “mediocre” at best. Some children with mediocre or even “lousy” teachers still progress and excel in life. Many children with the best, brightest and most creative teachers still reject or fail to process a lot that they are given.
The thing is – there is no way of knowing until it is long “over”. There are no guarantees. Education is an Art. It is NOT a science – never has been and never will be and there are no formulas that will ensure that all children (or even one child for that matter) will be “successfully” educated. There are more than a hundred factors that can affect each single child each single day and support or break down whatever is happening in every classroom.
To have a child is an act of trust in the Universe. To choose an educational system is an act of hope. To accept the teacher of your child for what and who he or she is, is an act of faith. There are no guarantees.
If teaching were solely a matter of a teacher being a “great” teacher, then Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, great Gurus, great philosophers, great artists would have been able to reach every person who ever heard their words and teachings. Possibly, whoever was truly the “greatest” of them all would have reached everyone by now and the whole world would already be transformed into a Paradise. But no “great” teacher throughout history has ever been able to “reach” every soul that came before him. If Jesus couldn’t do it – why do you think your child’s teacher (or you as that child’s teacher) can?
Ease up. Don’t expect “perfection” from your child’s teacher, yourself as a parent, yourself as a teacher or from your children. Enjoy the ride when it is smooth and when it is full of ruts and bumps. Surf the tide as it rolls in and out. Support each other and encourage each other in spite of all of the “failures” that are our daily lot. Have gratitude in abundance for those moments of “success” and joy. Have courage to face each day handing over your child. Have courage each day to receive them.
Christine Natale
A Teacher’s Prayer
“Lord, who am I to teach the way
to little children day by day,
so prone myself to go astray?
I teach them knowledge, but I know
how faint the flicker and how low
the candles of my knowledge glow.
I teach them power to will and do
but only now to learn anew,
my own great weakness through and through.
I teach them love for all mankind
and all God’s creatures, but I find
my love comes lagging far behind.
Lord, if their guide I still must be,
O let the little children see
the teacher leaning hard on thee.”
Author Unknown
I do have total respect for teachers and all the hard work they put into their jobs. It is no easy job by any measure. However I will say that when it comes to pay it seems everyone forgets to include all their summer/spring/winter breaks when quantifying their salary. If our annualize the teaching salary over the acutal number of weeks they are working you might see it is not so low. Also there are plenty of us that are salaried employees and work our fair share of weeks over 40 hours…
Please, go ahead and do that math with actual numbers. I think you’ll find the compensation isn’t nearly as high as you imagine. But this may be difficult, as I see there are plenty of studies out there with wildly different estimates of the “average teacher workweek.” The contract hours for most teachers include eight hours per day, and then they work evenings and/or weekends prepping and grading. Those summer vacations often include a few weeks of classes required for keeping a teaching license. And let’s consider this argument about time off, how many other professionals have so little latitude in their vacation time? Yes, it is nice to have the holidays, but part of the trade off is absolutely no say in when that time is scheduled.
The issue for many teachers is that when they compare their compensation to others with comparable education requirements and work hours, the disparity is disheartening. It isn’t just comparing to everyone out there working more than 40 hours, it is everyone with similar education and licensure requirements.
And finally, what do you suggest? Would society like to employ teachers over the summer? I know plenty who would be happy to have that option if it meant comparable pay! I have an idea, how about we go to year round school? My reasoning is that if the only thing holding back a comparable salary is that I have a job that forces me to take all that time off on a schedule of my employers choosing, and then I’m expected to suck it up and find another job (which somehow fits into this inflexible schedule) to provide a salary that is high enough to compensate, that let’s cut to the chase and make the job have that magical schedule that makes it alright to pay me for my advanced education, training and good job performance evaluations.
I needed this today… I was hired Mid year to take over for a teacher who DID nothing… literally let the kids wander… and I am not a garunteeded a job next year. I actually am automatically terminated and my job is “open” No one will give me an answer as to when I will know something.
I needed to read that I am a good person and that I am supposed to be a teacher
Great article. Shared it on Facebook. As a former teacher (and, now, a stay-at-home mom), your observations ring true.
I can fix fighter jets, I can fix cargo jets, I can wire business jets, I can put together work packages for completing or modifying aircraft, I can play and teach the piano. However, teaching a classroom of children all day long, planning those lessons, and grading the work generated during those lessons is the hardest job I have ever had! I worked 6 – 7 days a week during the school year, so the “free” summer off was more than made up for during the regular school year. Teaching is a very hard job.
Yes there are also people who work 60 hour work weeks for 12 months and have 2 weeks vacation who are salary employees. Teaching may be hard but its not the hardest job like some teachers make it out to be! There are MANY hard low salary jobs out there…
Thank you, dear teacher. I am an elementary school counselor and a former classroom teacher. Who else has the privilege of spending Friday afternoon listening to a classroom teacher cry because she can’t manage to get her kids to understand she is trying to help them when they ask her a question about math and then don’t listen to her answer? And then get the problem wrong and get mad at her? Someone please help me keep this fabulous lady in the classroom.
Wow….so many comments! This just shows how important a “subject” such as teaching is. There are probably many reasons why some teachers are “bad” teachers. The most compelling argument I know is that teaching is very, very difficult! Very difficult. But each time I think of quitting I also think of the love and appreciation I receive from the amazing children I teach. They deserve the best. So let’s keep trying.
I don’t think teaching is easy at all. I think why most people take this attitude is the non stop whining from teachers about how they are underpaid and how hard the job is. The job is not any harder than any other equally paid job. Plus those equally hard jobs actually require people to work for 12 months.
Our education system was built for a different time. It no longer fits our present societal needs. Maybe we shouldn’t be educating all of our children in the same way, in the same buildings, with the same materials, with the same expectations as in the past. OUr system, old and out-dated from the 19th century, is expected to produce kids ready for college and careers in the 21st century! The system is flawed, but who do we blame? Teachers. Everyone here learned to write, as evidenced by the literate and sometimes eloquent posts I’ve read. Even Crystal’s post, which started this firestorm, was well-written. I wonder if maybe Crystal had good teachers who were just not the nicest people? We tend to say a teacher is bad when, in fact, maybe they were just mean. And really, instead of mean, maybe they were just strict. Do we call teachers bad if they just won’t let us get away with bad behavior or laziness? Maybe this is the real truth of the matter. We call teachers bad because the system is flawed and they are the scapegoats. We call teachers bad if they were strict and made us do things we didn’t want to do. Could that be what this is all about?
I am extending a challenge to all of you who are not teachers. 1. Raise your children to learn that there are consequences, good and bad, for their actions, and LET THEM SUFFER THE BAD CONSEQUENCES. Do not shield them from all bad things in life. From adversity and hardship come great growth and wisdom. and 2. Volunteer on a regular basis IN THE CLASSROOM of a local school. Listen to kids read. Work with a small group. Help the teacher. Go see for yourself what teachers are faced with everyday. You will be shocked at how most teachers spend their time each day in class. Listen to the way the kids interact with each other and the adults. Watch the kids who have been taught a limitless existence. No self-discipline, no impulse control, no intrinsic motivation. Your assistance will be invaluable to the teacher, and the experience will give you a new, realistic idea about teachers and education. Stop pointing the finger. Extend the hand instead.
Wow! What a great catalyst for conversation, debate, praise and illustrations of having no clue. I have been an occupational wayfarer. After graduating from one of the top universities in the nation I went to the military for 5 years, got out as a CPT to find my way in the private sector. I have been in manufacturing management, retail at the basic level and the luxury (very expensive) sales level, I have been a designer of home automation and a/v systems, I spent most of my youth working in my father’s custodial company. In ’96 I got the opportunity to teach … a customer was an asst. principal and my desire & degree got me into the educational system like lightening striking.
It was by far the most difficult job I have ever had – ever. at the same time it was the most rewarding thing I have ever done. My 1st year I came home exhausted daily and hen had to work until 10, 11, 12 PM grading papers, making lesson plans, calling parents, designing projects. The military and other private jobs were cake in comparison.
Then there is the classroom. there is a unique psychology you have to learn to have any chance of controlling the students. I taught middle school math. you have to be stern enough to keep control, loose enough not to have them afraid (yeah kids afraid), honest enough to be you (kids see right through phony), and understanding enough to be helpful even when you are angry … there is more, but that’s enough.
I wouldn’t have made it my first year if they didn’t provide me a retired teacher as a mentor. Bless im wherever he may be.
Sadly I had to leave the profession because I couldn’t survive on $31K a year as a provisional working toward full certification … i was living in Manhattan (NYC), teaching in Queens, taking courses part time and during the summer (I didn’t have my Masters), and working part time to try to make ends meet.
Teaching is the hardest job, with the least financial reward and the most impact on our children and thereby our future. Teachers spend more time with the kids than most parents.
There are bad teachers, of course, but they are in the minority in my experience. Kudos and blessing to all teachers, you have to love it. i did. The greatest feeling I’ve had was when you get through and a kid gets something they struggled with, a kid gains confidence. the hardest day was my last day – we all cried. it’s not the the subject that taught. You teach how to think, reason and learn … it is the basis for living a life that is greater than just surviving.
I know I was blessed to have had those few years as a teacher.
Blessing to all the educators everywhere!
Okay be patient I had a lot of thoughts.
So much to say, such a long feed.
First I definitely agree, it is very difficult to evaluate and assess a good teacher. However, if you walk through a school, and visit classrooms recognizing the rooms where you see engaged and active learners, in a positive and stimulating environment, with an active and engaged teacher….I think you have found a great teacher regardless of how his/her students perform on the standardized tests. On the other hand, before you reach the classroom, you sense chaos, you walk into a very bland classroom in aesthetics, a teacher sitting at his/her desk possibly with their feet up, students engaged in conversations and other behaviours not attached to the curriculum. Some may be working on something because they are the intrinsically motivated learners….this teacher I would suggest is on the not so good side of the spectrum, for whatever the reason….burnt out, got into teaching because it’s the ‘easy’ job to do. But yes this observational method that we all naturally do is not measurable and every teacher can knock off a great, well planned lesson when someone is evaluating…..
I think some people see teachers as ‘complainers’. I personally see good, great and excellent teachers as defenders. These teachers also see and recognize the ‘bad’ teachers. They are probably more aware and more frustrated by the behaviours because they know that this teacher impacts EVERY teacher. The bad teacher gets talked about so much more than the good ones and the good ones take the criticisms to heart as they continuously work to better their teaching methods.
Yes teachers get a lot of time off, however a good, great or excellent teacher whether at the grocery store or away on vacation is always thinking about his/her students, mentally preparing a lesson, formally preparing a lesson, working on course to improve their skills, marking, attending their students after school events etc etc etc. Maybe any adult can deliver a lesson but it takes a good teacher who LOVES his/her career, understands the minds infront of them, is energized by the gift of learning, and wants to truly see every student be successful in some way or another to actually be successful in delivering, engaging, managing and monitoring success.
You see, I believe that a teacher is best understood, if you know a teacher in the profession – I mean in close contact with a teacher. These people see that teaching certainly isn’t an 8 to 3 job. It isn’t a job at all, it’s a calling, a passion that takes far more hours from the day and several days in the summer. One post talked about picking the kids up and all teachers are gone. Personally speaking, I do leave the school shortly after the kids, to have my own life tended to, ie: groceries, cleaning, yardwork, the gym, dinner…but then I return to my work at home marking and planning. All teachers address their personal lives in different ways, just realize no matter where a teacher is, many are still working.
I remember a work to rule year where we had to leave the building 20 minutes after the school or we would be fined. We were not allowed to take work home nor hold practices etc. This was probably the most trying year of teaching because I could do my work to the best of my ability as I was constrained to the teaching day, that by which many people believe is our working hours. When work to rule ended, students and parents alike were constantly thanking us for the extra time spent to ensure a positive, rewarding and successful education for their children. Ask families who have gone through those times, they will tell you what respect they do have and how they don’t in any way condone the criticism teachers receive.
I also believe that teachers are forced to defend themselves. Teachers, doctors and nurses I would suggest equally have to defend their profession. Always under the microscope of those outside the profession, including media and politics. Education is the one area I feel that everyone has an idea better than the teacher his/herself. Great offer your suggestions, we love to play with your idea and maybe use it, if it fits the needs of the classroom that year. Or save it for someone who cares to listen to you complain about the individuals who are working hard to ensure that those who will rule the world when the current generations cannot will be able to do it successfully.
Personally, I feel maybe teachers from years past found teaching easy because there weren’t constrained to standards etc. They taught what they wanted, felt the students needed, not what the government says students need at that particular grade. Teachers now are pressed with a great number of standards each year, plus Individual Learning Plans for several students who are not learning at grade level. Teachers are assessing and evaluating, writing huge report cards (I remember my own and loved receiving clear and short comments – I now write paragraphs upon paragraphs stating what the students know and can do).
So…teachers again are defenders. I think that if infact teachers complain as some suggest, they can’t be the teacher they want to be because they are putting too much energy into that task. Teaching takes alot of energy, patience, generosity, kindness, empathy, sympathy etc etc etc. Teachers do not feel they deserve anymore than anyone else or any other profession, yet it would be nice that each profession received equal heat to that of a teacher. Teachers are the first to be put under the microscope because I guess being happy and confident in the great teachers out there is a difficult task to do.
Something I was given in my first year teaching that I feel summaries the good teacher (the thoughtful, caring, mind molder)….
I Am A Teacher
John W. Schlatter
I am a Teacher.
I was born the first moment that a question leaped from the mouthof a child.
I have been many people in many places.
I am Socrates exciting the youth of Athens to discover new ideas through the use of questions.
I am Anne Sullivan tapping out the secrets of the universe into the outstretched hand of Helen Keller.
I am Aesop and Hans Christian Andersen revealing truth through countless stories.
I am Marva Collins fighting for every child’s right to an education.
The names of those who have practiced my profession ring like a hall of fame for humanity…Booker T. Washington, Buddha, Confucius, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Leo Buscaglia, Moses and Jesus.
I am also those whose names and faces have long been forgotten but whose lessons and character will always be remembered in the accomplishments of their students.
I have wept for joy at the weddings of former students, laughed with glee at the birth of their children and stood with head bowed in grief and confusion by graves dug too soon for bodies far too young.
Throughout the course of a day I have been called upon to be an actor, friend, nurse and doctor, coach, finder of lost articles, money lender, taxi driver, psychologist, substitute parent, salesman, politician and a keeper of the faith.
Despite the maps, charts, formulas, verbs, stories and books, I have really had nothing to teach, for my students really have only themselves to learn, and I know it takes the whole world to tell you who you are.
I am a paradox. I speak loudest when I listen the most. My greatest gifts are in what I am willing to appreciatively receive from my students.
Material wealth is not one of my goals, but I am a full-time treasure seeker in my quest for new opportunities for my students to use their talents and in my constant search for those talents that sometimes lie buried in self-defeat.
I am the most fortunate of all who labor.
A doctor is allowed to usher life into the world in one magic moment. I am allowed to see that life is reborn each day with new questions, ideas and friendships.
An architect knows that if he builds with care, his structure may stand for centuries. A teacher knows that if he builds with love and truth, what he builds will last forever.
I am a warrior, daily doing battle against peer pressure, negativity, fear, conformity, prejudice, ignorance and apathy: But I have great allies: Intelligence, Curiosity, Parental Support, Individuality, Creativity, Faith, Love and Laughter all rush to my banner with indomitable support.
And who do I have to thank for this wonderful life I am so fortunate to experience, but you the public, the parents. For you have done me the great honor to entrust to me your greatest contribution to eternity, your children.
And so I have a past that is rich in memories. I have a present that is challenging, adventurous and fun because I am allowed to spend my days with the future.
I am a teacher…and I thank God for it every day.
This article is so true, and to Crystal, teaching never gets easy. I am in my 11th year of teaching, and I’ve taught the same curriculum for the last 7 years. While certain aspects do get easier, like knowing what I have to teach and developing better ways of evaluating and instructing the students on a particular topic, it is NEVER easy. I still bring home the same amount of work as I did 7 years ago. I still am changing and rewriting lesson plans though I have taught this subject for 7 years. Just because a lesson worked great for my students last year and the year before that doesn’t mean that it will work for my current batch of students. I have had “honors” classes that were really bright, who I needed to challenge everday, and then I have had honors classes that aren’t as strong in science, who I have to provide less challenge or a different challenge. Kids are not the same, and just because something worked for 3 years doesn’t mean it will work for the next 3. Then, we have the state that decides to randomly change the curriculum, and you have completely different topics to teach. Now, you have to start all over again. I love my job. I hope that my kids learn something from that sticks with them. I have had kids come to me in the years after they had me and tell me that I was a good teacher and I really did teach them, even though during the time they were in my classroom, they didn’t think so. And I’m sure that there are students who think I was a bad teacher, and maybe for those few I was one. But as with any profession, there are bad and good. I don’t see bad doctors, lawyers, plumbers, electricians, hair stylists, or secretaries getting bashed as much as bad teachers. It’s amazing how a group of individuals who have to have a master’s degree and who have to pass extensive testing to get certified don’t get the same respect as our doctor and lawyer colleagues who are equally as educated.
There are those who truly are bad teachers, and I have worked with a few, and I am glad to say they are no longer teachers. If those in charge to their jobs and get rid of the bad teachers from the beginning, if would be a benefit for all. However, I can truly say that I never had a bad teacher. I had teachers I disliked, teachers who I felt were mean or unfair, but I always found a way to succeed. Maybe it was because my parents wouldn’t accept anything but success, maybe it was because my parents saw that the teacher had a valid point. But either way, I succeeded. So, if you are not successful, don’t blame your teacher, blame yourself for not finding a way to succeed on your own.
Most teachers are pure garbage. Teaching itself is an obsolete profession becoming less and less necessary as technology advances. Yes it is easy and the results are worthless.
Oh no you didn’t!!!
Teaching has always been around and it will always be around. I’ve worked so many different jobs in my life, and teaching is the hardest BY FAR. Unfortunately that’s why I’m leaving it after 11 years, for an easier life in the energy industry. It breaks my heart to leave, but my health and my family deserve more attention than they get when I’m devoting ALL my time to my teaching career. Sad but true.
All of you teachers posting responses need to get back to work and get off you computer!
Teachers feel disrespected because we take blame for the following : poor parenting, the structure of the school day/ year (we don’t get paid for summers, FYI), regulations from lawmakers, and the general decline in society. When it comes down to it, whose fault is all this?
The point of the article was that teaching is harder than it seems. How is that even debatable? What job isn’t?
My question is why would any adult ever send the message that teachers don’t deserve respect? Why does any adult not deserve respect?
Whatever job you have, imagine, daily, hearing that everything is your fault and youre the only one who can fix it. And the pay, yea we knew about it going in, but I ask why should a garbage man make more than me? Give me one good reason please.
Do any of you teacher-bashers do anything but complain? How involved are you in your child’s school? How educated are you on current policies? Why is it so impossible to think constant negative public opinion would not start to wear on “good” teachers?
The purpose of the article was to stand up to public opinion.
PS: The majority of students are different people at school, with their friends. They come to class high, skip to have sex in the bathrooms, and will cuss me out when I ask them to stop texting (usually their parents) in class. If you think your child is not one of those kids, you may want to take a closer look. How well do you know your child and who they are when mom’s not around?
Why do you have no respect for “garbage men”? Do you think the trash you put at the end of your driveway just magically disappears everyweek? I think you missed the whole purpose of the discussion to not judge other people’s jobs and think it is easy.
Actually, I think you missed the point. I’m not standing at the end of my driveway to tell the garbage man he’s doing a terrible job. I trust him to do it correctly.
Yeah but in your point you just trashed the hard working waste disposal personelle like they are second rate citizens. I am sick and tired of people disrespecting these people.
Why would you only focus on the negative comments in life. In my experiences, people are I know have a lot of respect for teachers and what they do. We should also have repect for other people and professions too, right?
Did not trash the. Simply asked if it was right that they be paid more than teachers? Don’t immediately jump to arguing. They aren’t second rate. I’m married to a blue collar worker. But I would be wrong if I didn’t push my students to be more than garbage men. Even a garbage man would want better for his kids. I am entitled to my opinions as you are yours. Don’t be so quick to judge. I’m sure if I said 2+2=4, you would look for fault in my argument. My point was it sends the wrong message to those in the profession when we are out paid by a profession that does not require the work that teaching does. Curious, ever been a teacher? If not, I challenge you to sub for a week. See what classroom is like. I don’t care about the pay. I care about the level of respect you apparently don’t think I deserve.
Please read well. Stephanie did not put down garbage men. Where would we be without garbage men: Up to our necks in garbage. She DID pose a valid question. Teachers should be making as much as garbage men. Anonymous: Are you saying teachers are not as important as garbage men?
Just because I’ve been to the doctor’s does not mean I can be a doctor, but everyone who has been to school thinks teaching is easy! Thanks for your article!
I’m sure the garbage man wishes he’d taken more advice from his teachers about doing well in school.
Here we go again, making fun of the garbage man. What is so wrong with being a garbage man? The world needs garbage men. We should appreciate them more and not create this negative stigma over this type of job.
Why would the garbage take advice from the teacher? They make more money than teachers.
As it stands now with the “measurements” and “observation” systems, much creativity is out the window. I became a special education teacher after years of success in other fields that are scorned – retail, health, and most honorable of all – motherhood. Despite complaints from the union, I worked overtime and weekends. I was finally beaten down by administrators and a co worker. I still miss my classroom and teaching but family calls. I am helping a family member as well as attending to my own health issues.
I loved teaching and yes, it was very difficult toward the end, but when you are in the “zone” it is like driving your car or flying your own plane.
Tenure is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of……..what other job can you just go through the motions and it be almost impossible to be fired! I would love to go to work without a care in the world knowing that I will never be let go. if a teacher is doing their job they should have no need for tenure. Why make it so difficult to get rid of a teacher who is not doing their job?
You’re confusing tenure as it applies to public school teachers versus professors at colleges and universities. For a public school teacher, all tenure guarantees is the right to due-process. Additionally,in my district at least, you have to do a whole lot more that “just go through the motions” to achieve tenure. There is a rigorous data-driven evaluation process each year prior to tenure AND after tenure is achieved to ensure that each teacher is not only working to potential, but that students are learning in that particular classroom.
Depends on where you are. I heard all the stories about “can’t get fired” – now if you can get in the right spot at NYC Department of Education – that might happen.
Try where I’m teaching – one of the negative metrics I’m being judged on counts the “absenteeism” of students that are incarcerated, and in a couple of cases, deported by INS.
If somebody can explain to me exactly HOW my teaching technique could be modified to keep students out of Jail – or make them legal immigrants – I’d be interesting in learning that.
Why are you assuming that people slack once they get tenure. This attitude may be more a reflection on your own values. I’m not a teacher. No tenure anywhere for me, but even I can see how important it is. Job security is important in order to do your job well. Also, I have seen how important it can be in order for tenured teachers to be able to have the leverage to support the up and coming younger teachers who do not have tenure. I would hate to see good teachers lose tenure, then lose their jobs on some bogus form of measuring teaching. Sometimes it’s more an excuse to let go those who have earned pay raises and benefits over many years to hire cheaper labor.
If you can read this ….thank a teacher
Y’know, people always say that. However, my mother sat with me, reading to me, teaching me, and encouraging me to read long before I was in a classroom. It’s because I had good parents that instilled a desire to learn.
I didn’t just learn because a teacher instructed. I was learning long before from parents, siblings, grandparents and more.
I agree with you Fiona. While I am very appreciative of teachers and know they have taught my kids a lot, 2 out of 3 of my kids could read before entering school. And I am spending a ton of time with my kindergartner now helping her as she is struggling a bit. I don’t expect a teacher to do all of the work, as I don’t think they want us to expect that, but they don’t mind taking all of the credit.
Fiona: Please count yourself as a lucky one. Many, too many, of my students did not have a mother (or other family members) such as yours.
The responses to this comment gave me a chuckle. I see this almost every day in preschools. You can ask “Johnny, did you put away your book (or any kind of activity)?” There’s usually two or three children, who are not Johnny, who will insist on telling you that they put away their book.
Definitely, too literal of an interpretation of this post, on purpose so as to not create understanding. So you learned to read, but not to understand. Not everything is about you personally. (Hehe!…and who said parents can’t be teachers …and did your parents learn by themselves or from a teacher?)
Still never answered why they should make more.
Why shouldnt they?
After having spent some time reading the article and the subsequent posts, I have very mixed feelings. I am a teacher. I love my job. There are very hard days and very rewarding days. I believe that there are very few people in the world that think they are accurately compensated for their work, including teachers. Do I think I get paid fairly for my hours? Yes and no. I knew what I was getting into when I got my degree. However, it is unfair to say that teachers work 8-3.
There are bad teachers. There may always be bad teachers. Unfortunately, I’ve had some of them. More importantly, I had teachers who invested time to get to know me and help shape me into the person I am today. That is the person I want to be as a teacher. My students (high schoolers) know they can count on me to come in every day and try my hardest to be the best teacher I can. They deserve that. I care very deeply about them and preparing them for a bright future. Some students appreciate it and some do not.
My frustration stems from being lumped into a group with everyone, good and bad. Having students share problems, from medical to personal issues, means I am trusted to help them. There are days when I cannot make their problems better. I carry those problems home with me and have spent many sleepless nights worrying about my students.
I encourage all community members to take the time to get to know the teachers in their school district. Many teachers are just like me, some are not. Listen to the good ones. Help them. The bad eventually weed themselves out. The good try to stay because they love what they do. Without teachers, we would not have other occupations. Technology can only do so much. It cannot give an encouraging word, a smile, and happy thought.
Final thought: I know some posts delve into the world of bad teachers and bad experiences. Please remember just because one is bad, doesn’t mean they all are. Saying all teachers are bad is the same as saying all people are murders or rapists or thieves because of a few.
You get 3 months off… Enough said!
This comment shows your ignorance. I don’t know if you really want it published
Published?
First, it is interesting this is the first place you went. No where in there did I complain. It appears that you do.
Secondly, I don’t get three months off. I am contracted twelve months out of the year. Even if I did, I would only get paid for nine months that I was contracted. Nine and a half at some districts.
Lu,
Many people think that we get three months off, however it’s not really true. Granted I do not have to show up to my classroom at 8 and teach until 3, but I am always preparing lessons for my students. During the summer I create projects, book reports, I plan how far I am going to get in the math book, what history concepts to focus on amoung other things. Also, during the summer I work at Target in order to help make ends meet, I am a new teacher (in my 3rd year), and my salery does not make ends meet. Lu the main thing you have to relize is that after 3:00, and on vacations most teachers are not “taking it easy” we are preparing lessons for the following school year, semester, or day. A lot of the behind the scenes work goes on after school hours. Even with all the work I do, I love my students, and my job!
They do not get 3 months off. Educate yourself. All of the teachers I know work for at least part of the time school is not in session. Also if you added all their work at school extracurricular events and extra time put in, it may not even cover as comp time.
I am a teacher. In a strange and twisted way, I am glad that I don’t get paid what I am worth. (I am a skilled mathematician and could easily make twice my salary in another job with no additional training). I am also glad that I don’t have the respect that I deserve.
If I did, then there would be many in my job that are there for the wrong reasons.
I want to be the change that I expect from the world. I don’t tell my students to do anything that I am not trying to do myself. I know that people will tell me that I don’t matter. I will teach anyway. I know that people will tell me that teachers don’t really change lives. I’ll change them anyway. I know that people will just not understand what happens in the life of a dedicated and skilled teacher and it doesn’t bother me.
I don’t claim that teachers are the only great profession in our society, but they are among the elite few that can rightly claim that without them society would be forever changed. In the end, God will be my judge. I will always give everything I can to give the utmost care for the young lives to which I have been entrusted. I will hold my head up high whether I see the seeds of my efforts come to fruition or not. God bless all those who work in a variety of professions who truly give their lives in dedicated service. We all owe them more than we realize.
Thank you crazy math. I completely agree with you 100% In response to the salary response and days off….just an FYI we do work 7 x 5 = 35 hours of student instructional time a week….add to that all planning, marking, reporting etc….I’d say any given teacher you can add at minimum ten more hours so at minimum 45 hours a weel. We are paid for 196 instructional days, not for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or the summer. So, yes for my working days I do feel my salary is justified by the time i put into my career….yet it doesn’t compensate for the money of my own I put directly into my classroom and my students. Yes I get paid in the summer but this is because years ago teachers chose to take their ten months of teaching salary and stretch it over the summer to make the summer months manageable. I appreciate these actions because they very easily have benefited my life. But truly don’t be misinformed…I’d never trade my calling for any other BUT I certainly don’t get paid for my vacation time like many seem to think.
Night all.
I wool trade my job cooking for your job teaching. You see, when those kids get out of your class and go looking for a job, they inevitably end up coming to me for professional training. In other words, I not only have to teach them how to do the job, I have to unteach them everything they think they know. Sure, it’s easy to make a single hamburger in ten minutes, but I need you to make fifty four hamburgers in six minutes, some rare, some medium, some well done. And each has a different set of toppings. Now, let’s move on to grilling talapia, preparing a hollandaise for welsh rarebit , or god forbid, simply frying a chicken.
Then, after I get them taught, some customer claims the kid is incompetent because his dinner didn’t taste the same as when his mother made it at home. Mom took an hour, you gave the kid fifteen minutes. Do you think you could teach every topic you need to perfectly in only fifteen minutes? And while you teach math to one group of kids, you are also teaching English to another, and biology to a third. Each with that fifteen minute deadline demanding A+s on every exam in every subject.
All while trying to explain to that kid that he has to work on Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and New Years Eve, all because somebody else wants to give him another test.
And just to make it really worthwhile, do this for around HALF the salary that teachers make, with no weekends, no spring break, and no “records day” to get your side work done.
Sorry, dude. I’ve taught physics and calculus, and middle school history. Teaching is a cake walk compared to running a restaurant.
This is nothing but a whinge. Instead of complaining about how hard it is to train your cooks, you should exercise your freedom to hire competent people. Teachers can’t choose their students. You just sound like a bitter asshole who hates his job.
And no one is saying that running a restaurant is easy. I’m just saying you like to whine way too much about something you can actually change easily, because you’re apparently a complete toolbag.
Oh, AND you missed the actual and obvious point of the original post, you illiterate jackass.
That has nothing to do with this discussion unless you just want to argue. Perhaps you might be suffering from burn-out and might want to consider a change of occupation. Especially if you are only making half of what teachers make, because they aren’t getting paid too much. Hey, go back to the cake walk and double your pay.
[...] to Jeeniya on the phone
She also sent me this blog entry that I enjoyed: http://www.musingsonlifeandlove.com/2010/09/13/the-hardest-job-everyone-thinks-they-can-do/ and it did the trick to remind me of why I am passionate about teaching. Really looking forward to [...]
one of the major differences between the american and other countries is that many of the american teachers went from secondary school into a educational program. in many other countries one studies an undergraduate degree, often due to competitive entrance requirements of teaching college an honours degree, then after graduation applies to teachers college. i think this system allows a more mature choice of whether education is what you truly want, also they tend to be more intellectual as they have studied within an academic paradigm prior to entering the educational stream. i state this even though it directly contradicts my experience having been educated by teachers that never obtained a degree, entering teachers college from secondary when it was just a one year post secondary diploma, and they were outstanding, of course there was no student centred nonsense, as well the teacher was always right, creating a classroom of disciplined students that could then focus on learning the basics before university allowed us to develop the critical thinking skills that created the technology driven world we now have.
Joella,
I am currently persuing an education degree at WWU, I just wanted to let you know that not all teachers go directly into a teacher ed program. At Western we are required to get a BA, along with a teachng certification. The BA cannot be in education, it needs to be in a subject area such as history or math. Since I am required to get a BA (90 credits) and go through teacher prep (106 credits) plus GUR’s (General University Reqs) I am going to be at college for 6 years, that means about more than 100,000 in student loans over the course of 6 years.
You are right not all schools require that students get a BA before attending a teacher ed program, but more are more schools are starting to require this.
I completely disagree. ANYONE can be a teacher….anyone can go through the courseworka and get the degree. Wheather they are effective or not is a completely differnt issue. And I’m sorry who do you think was my children’s first teacher? Before the age o 5 who potty trained them or taught them their name or how to get dressed. It was not a teacher….all adults have the ability to “teach” children. Whether your passing along that information in a formal public school setting or mentoring/parenting a child. One is no better than the other. Teachers have a hard job…..but please remember that YOU CHOOSE that profession, begging for acalaides just tells me that you’re heart isn’t where it needs to be anyways. Everyone has a difficult job and everyone else thinks their neighbors job is easier.
Maybe if you paid better attention in school you’d know that you used the wrong “you’re” in your “you’re heart isn’t where it needs to be anyways.”
It’s YOUR, not YOU’RE (you are).
Maybe if you paid better attention in school you’d know that you used the wrong “you’re” in your “you’re heart isn’t where it needs to be anyways.”
It’s YOUR, not YOU’RE (you are).
I hope you didn’t teach your kids that.
I don’t hear them begging for accolades, but rather feeling disrespected. Not everyone, but a large part of American society has been spoiled by the entertainment idea. Americans often expect to be entertained by their teachers. Education should a personal process that teachers help and guide you through. Often teachers are told they just have to make it fun and their work is trivialized.
After having read the article and a majority of the responses I figured I would chime in.
To give some sense of where I am coming from, I currently am in my third year of teaching high school mathematics.
In response to teachers being underpaid: I have a hard time agreeing with this notion. The average teacher made over $57,000 in the state of Illinois (where I currently teach) for roughly 40 weeks worth of work. Proportionally, if teachers worked 50 weeks of the year, we would average over $71,000 per year. I certainly do not complain about how much money I make when I look at those numbers.
There are teachers who do the bare minimum and will continue to do it until they retire. There are also teachers who try and compensate for that, by making themselves readily available for their own students and students of the less dedicated teacher. I am a single 25 year old male who has the time to put in before and after school to stay and help kids, but I can also understand that those with families have a different alignment of priorities.
I suppose my one pet-peeve is that quite a few people I meet expect teachers to put in the time after school. I do so voluntarily but it should not be an expectation, especially when coming from individuals who fight tooth and nail for overtime pay if they put in extra time at the office (again, not applicable to all, just those I have met in my experiences).
In response to the earlier post about asking spouses about an effective teacher: I completely agree. When my family or co-workers ask if I am seeing anyone I merely tell them that dating season falls between June and August. If I do not meet anyone within that time frame then I probably will not have one for another year.
Those are my thoughts from my point of view. I understand you may have had different experiences and I would love to read them in response to my post. Thank you.
About fair pay: I began teaching in 1976 in the second lowest paid school in my state (the nuns got less). I will say the top pay in my current school district is somewhat less that the “average” in your state. I have four degrees, including a Masters in my field. I was in the top 5% of my high school graduating class and graduated with honors and Phi Beta Kappa from an excellent university. After more than 20 years in my current position I still earn less that the average in your state, though considerably more than I would in some other stated. And I have always worked overtime—generally 10-25 hours of overtime a week. My students have my home email and phone number, I stay after school, and most often my “weekends” are one day, if I’m lucky. Yes I have 9 weeks off in the summer. I spend at least a week of the time preparing curriculum for my next year. Tell me, in how many jobs are people not paid overtime? If I were a lawyer working 50-75 hours/week, wouldn’t I expect to be paid for those hours? Or a plumber or carpenter or housekeeper? True, business owners work long hours without benefits, but that’s another issue entirely, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong. I love my job and I love teaching. I am good at it. I care about my students. I know enough to understand that the way I teach makes my job harder than it has to be, but I respect myself as an educator enough to know that if the job is easy, my students are being shorted, and I am doing it wrong.
I’m glad to see some teachers are being paid a more livable wage. Unfortunately that is not the case where I am. Also the cost of living here is high.
I agree with your pet peeve. It’s amazing how many people have no sympathy for teachers on the issue of overtime.
Teaching is the only profession where you go to college, graduate and then told you don’t know what your doing. Have your pay reduced along with other cut. Also to start a job where it takes 13 yrs to get to full pay,if you don’t have a pay freeze. And I type this as my wife grades papers for the next 8 hrs to or more on a Sunday as she has for the last 17yrs. I would have been in jail by now if I was a teacher. Would havehave punched out a smart mouth kid and or parentI for that matter She teaches 9-12 and give her all the credit I can.
As a second year Biology teacher, this is great to hear! Sometimes I question my decision, because honestly these past two years have been the most challenging of my life. However, reading pieces like this and seeing students succeed and come to love science makes it all worth while. Thank you to everyone who supports teachers!
My sons highschool teachers have been a huge suport in his life. They taught, mentored and watched over him in this difficult senior year. Their caring and love for what they do made all tge difference he is doing better every day!
Teaching is very difficult. But what about flight instructors like myself. Not only do we have to inspire, motivate, and educate an individual, we have to do it while flying an aircraft. Whenever my students reach a certain amount of hours, I have to let them make mistakes, but the tough part is to see how far they go. Its life threatening sometimes, but the experience they receive is great. Also, we have psychological issues, aeromedical factors, regulations, physics, and engineering.
My moms and girfriend are teachers and it is not easy, but at least people know can have an opinion on whether its difficult or not. Most people have no clue what flight instructors deal with. Everytime I’ll tell someone I’m a flight instructor they always ask, “are you a pilot? How often do you fly? You mean you don’t sit around in a simulator all day?” Its so fustrating, I don’t even tell people anymore. I just say I’m a security guard.
I think everyones job it hard in different ways. There are many jobs out there that are hard that require more than 40 hours a week where they do not get paid much. There is not a person i know why is satisfied with their pay. How about social workers Or psychologists who have to deal with emotional challenges all week long? I bet they want higher pay as well. Bottom line is when going into a proffesion you know the pay scale. If you want more pay suck it up and get a degree in something else. Yes its unfortunate that teachers pay is so low and i do think it should be more, but everyone knows thats not the case and all teachera know that going into it so dont complain ywe knew what we were getting into.
Did you even read the article?
I think the teachers who believe in their craft don’t need to get on here and defend themselves. No one can do what others do. Everyone, teachers and non teachers alike, need to get over themselves, and worry about no one but themselves.
I think everyone should respect all professions. Let’s not get carried away and say teachers have the hardest job though. There are plenty of hard jobs out there-why do we have to make it a competition? Some teachers are really, really bad at their job, and some are really great and change lives.
I couldn’t have said this better myself! On the topic of “bad” teachers in the comments: I was public school educated, and I can honestly say in 12 years of school, I had maybe two bad teachers. Those are pretty good odds, I would say. I have been a public school teacher for ten years, and again, I can maybe think of one or two bad teachers I have met along the way. The majority of my colleagues are extremely hard workers, with the stress level, high blood pressure and insomnia to prove it. And it just keeps getting harder. We are often second-guessed by administrators and superintendents who have had far fewer years in the trenches. I worked in the outside world for nearly a decade before becoming a teacher, in the high pressure, fast-paced environments of television news, public relations and advertising. I too thought becoming a teacher would be a fun way to make a living; so much easier, I thought then the rat race I was working in. I can honestly say that the work is harder, much harder than the work I was doing in my previous career. I can honestly say that there are days I dream of having an hour for lunch, windows that open, a bathroom that is clean and more than two minutes to use it. I dream of quiet, just the hum of the computer on my desk, as I get my pile of work done. In teaching, my work is continuous and I have at least 25 young adults fighting me while I get it done. Teenagers can be funny, interesting and insightful; they can also be down-right frustrating and completely self-centered. I once had a student standing next to my desk complaining about making up a quiz while I was choking on a hard-candy, complete with tears running down my cheeks. She didn’t notice and just kept ranting. I’m not sure she wouldn’t have noticed if I dropped dead. Do we have the hardest jobs in the world? I’m certainly not saying that, and the author here isn’t either. We just want people to acknowledge that we are PROFESSIONALS with advanced degrees who know what we are doing. We do, really. Hate us because we have the summers off? Go ahead, go back to school, get your certification, start working on your masters and greet that first class on the first day of your first year. Then, be a good teacher to them.
People think motherhood is easy too. People also think anyone can be a singer, because anyone can talk …
Thank you for sharing this. It was just the message I needed to hear. I have been a teacher for 14 years. I was an instructional aide while earning my teaching creditional. I always wanted to be a teacher and have always been happy and proud to be a classroom teacher depiste the negative
publicity teachers receive (like all of society’s problem are because of the flawed educational system!) but this is a topic for a different discussion. Recently I have seriously been thinking about leaving teaching all because of the fact that I work with one of those “I DO NOT CRAE” teachers.
To everyone who thinks teaching is “easy” and anyone can do it, I challenge you.
Volunteer in a classroom for a day.
Sit in on some teacher prep courses.
Substitute in a classroom.
Do my job for one day and then come back and tell me it’s easy.
This is the only country in the world that treats its teachers like crap and then wonders why our children are failing miserably.
HINT: if you come across a teacher who thinks their job is easy, that means they’re a bad teacher.
Im not saying its easy…just saying there are many hard jobs out there so just do your job whatever it is and do not complain. If you have to complain then maby you should not go into that profession!
I don’t think teaching is easy and I don’t think I would be able to handle teaching because of how hard it is. That is why I am not a teacher. I do find it annoying that half of the teachers I know bitch about how tired they are and how hard it is when that is the profession they chose. My job is hard and can be annoying seeing patients all day and not being able to take a day off for paper work as well, but that’s what I signed up for being a doctor. It involves staying past work hours to write reprots and worring about the patients once you go home. I will never try to convince anyone that I have it harder than they do as I have never walked a day in their shoes. Everybody should just do their jobs and stop fighting about who has it worse as every job has its ups and downs.
I’ve done your job for a couple years. I’ve done other jobs too. I’ve even taught college students where I had to go back and, within one week, teach the kids what you guys were supposed to have taught them in high school but failed to do. What you do is relatively easy. There’s nothing wrong with that, and nobody would really care if teachers would stop complaining about how hard their gig is.
Thanks. Very well said. I’ve had two jobs “everybody thinks they can do” – I retired from the Air Force and started teaching high School JROTC. Oh, and there are plenty of TEACHERs who think JROTC is not “real teaching” – since my degrees are in Medical Technology, Electrical Engineering, and my Masters is in Management. Yep, and in an inner city School with a 40% graduation rate, my cadets have a 98% graduation rate, a 100% accepted to college rate, and we average $30K of scholarships per cadet. You see, unlike core curriculum teachers, I can vary my Lesson plans – and I use my curriculum to synergistically reinforce the core curriculum…as well as teach life skills, and spend some time on “How to get scholarships”.
A lot of students – and not all of them cadets – are amazed that I spend a lot of time encouraging them – not just the Cadets on their performance art, but I’m an assistant Coach on the Math League, the Technical Supervisor for the Stage performances, and spend most afternoons tutoring math and science…I backstop the core teachers in those areas.
But – the administrators have decided I don’t “meet the needs of the students” so I’m headed back to the Corporate world.
I used to want to be a history teacher in the high school age bracket. And some days I still think I would love to share my love and knowledge of history with kids, but I am smart enough to know I don’t have the temperament for it. I have a great deal of respect for my kids teachers and the schools administration. A first year teacher in my state is likely to make in the range of 14K and ten years in they are generally lucky to be making in the 25K range. I don’t know a single teacher in our area who makes over 40K. Granted the cost of living in our rural area is not what it is when you get in the cities or toward either coast, but still shows that we don’t value them nearly enough.
[...] out what to do. I actually had a conversation with a fellow teacher about this and read about it on a blog post. And here’s my two [...]
[...] between automatons and saints, that we will unfailingly do what our students need us to do. (Here’s a post that’s been going around lately, detailing what that entails.) And it’s true that if we’re good teachers, we WILL strive to do that. We [...]
Indeed a great article. Having taught in 5 different countries, I have to say the US is definitely the WORST place in terms of the amount of respect -or lack thereof- that teachers get from the community. A few parents are grateful for a time but teachers mostly remain “that guy that my kids once knew”. Try to ask an American kids if they like to become a teacher… Wow, nothing could be worse! You make no money and who are you?? Just a nobody who couldn’t figure out something better to do with yourself! That is the vibe!
I worked in some countries where people thought that being a teacher was the best thing you could become. Because, there, receiving an education wasn’t a God’s given right, it was the difference between living in the street or living a normal life. And you know what? The achievement levels were amazing there.
Maybe it was because kids didn’t think that their teacher was a loser…
Great post…
@Ed….
I am not one of the teachers belittling jrotc. ROTC paid for my college, and I currently have a “tough guy” in one of my classes who, with the help of JROTC, is working his way out of his situation. With a little more work on his part, I might be able to get him a full ride to my alma mater, VMI…
Dennis,
Thank you so much for this article! I taught for three years before I started my family. I put teaching on the side until my children are through their formative years. I went into this particular field because I have always had a passion for working with children. I also have a passion for education, and finding those moments of discovery. Those three short years as an educator taught me so much! Every day was a challenge and while I could excite some students in their studies I couldn’t capture all. I also dealt with parents who ridiculed, criticized, called me on the phone screaming at me as if they felt the need to teach me a lesson. (I only had this with three parents altogether) They didn’t understand how much I loved my job and how much I loved their children, and how much work I put into every day trying to reach out to everyone in my class. I also dealt with friends and family who thought it was so easy to do this job and tried to give me advice on how it should be done. I currently have friends who have begun to homeschool their children with no previous knowledge to education and they claim that anyone can do it. Once they start this task they panic and are overwhelmed by what they need to know. I watch them flounder around trying to grasp concepts that we are taught in college and those long endless meetings after school and I can’t throw in my two cents because they would be offended by it. This isn’t to say that all parents who homeschool can’t do it, it’s just something that I am currently observing with my personal associations.
With all of that said I agree that there are good and bad teachers out there, but the point of your article is that for those teachers who do care and try, it truly is a challenge that not everyone can meet. And it is so frustrating that those critics on the outside just don’t get it. Four years of training and at least one year in a classroom might be good for them.
In what other profession do you have the option of summers off? In what other profession are you offered tenure?! In what other profession do you get a steady 7-3, weekends off, bad weather off schedule. In what other profession do you accrue sick/vacation time at such a pace? You’re a teacher. That’s wonderful. Hopefully you are even half as inspiring as most of the teachers I had as a child. With that being said, get off your high horse. Your job is no harder than most out there. It is a different kind of hard. I was a teacher for 10 years before changing careers and I am now a juvenile corrections officer. Trust me, no job is made for everyone to be good at.
In what other job does Fox News brand you as the enemy? In what other job does everyone tell you how they can do it better? In what other job are you repeatedly told you are overpaid? In what other job do you have to spend substantial amounts of your own money in order just to do your job? In what other job do you have absolutely no control over the raw materials you get in? In what other job are you personally held accountable for the end product?
Yes, there are some perks to being a teacher. Every job has perks. But 7-3 is not one of them. Sure, that is the time clock you need to punch, but you don’t stop work at 3 if you are doing your job. And summers, for me anyway, are for professional development, which I have to pay for. Sick/vacation time depends on the contract you have with your district, just like any job (After all, I can complain about non teachers getting 14 million for destroying their companies, but not everyone is a CEO, are they?)
Is my job harder than other people’s jobs? Well, I’m not getting shot at, but the blog title wasn’t claiming that it was the toughest job. The title was “The toughest job everyone thinks they can do”
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Good teachers are born, not made. A good teacher likes kids, remembers what it was like to be a kid, is always learning, has a sense of humor, but most of all is empathetic. Kids remember great teachers teaching skills and knowledge, yes, but more importantly they remember if they genuinely cared for their students. This may not be hard to measure – just ask kids who is a good teacher. Odds are their test scores closely reflect a good teacher’s efforts. And, yes, it is very hard, but a good teacher relishes how hard it is.
You are absolutely right – my job is not harder than any other because I am well trained and passionate. I would argue that most people’s jobs are appropriately challenging – unless they are truly not qualified. I teach my students that “difficult to do” is a terrible measure of expertise. If I was challenged to do most jobs out there – I would probably not be stellar my first day. Following your passion in life is the key to success in any field. The best teachers are the ones who genuinely love what they do. Let’s face it – we aren’t in it for the cash.
I do it because every single class presents an opportunity to change the world. What if one student hears something/learns something in my class that helps them be a better version of themselves? All it takes is one, and I’ve made the world a better place. That’s cool – and that’s my job. I’d do it for free.
Interestingly – my son asked me what I get paid today. Easy answer – I get paid in thank yous. They are more meaningful than any paycheck could ever be. So I guess I take issue with “if you can read this, thank a teacher” because that’s only part of the truth. (Btw, my mom taught me to read- any many other things). Teachers helped me WANT to read this – they inspire me. Even the bad ones – because they taught me the “is not” so that I could better understand what a great teacher is. Not just in the classroom – but everywhere in life. So is it the toughest job most people think they can do – yes, probably. We just need to better educate them about what greatness really is. A great teacher can teach anything. And those who are great at what they do probably recognize that in others. Stop listening to the negativity from those who haven’t experienced the amazing feeling of helping a student truly love to learn.
Though frustrating at times I can truly see results as the year goes on. I also love the aha! moments when students say “I get it now!” For all the political garbage out there, unless you do another job for a whole week you can’t make judgments.
I totaly agree there are bad teachers and I work with one I have gone to the administration 4 times nothing is being done she has slkapped students in her previous position and wanted to sue the administator never any plans always tired never gives extra because she is to busy volunteering for everything a good case of brown noseing and this is kindergarten the start of a childs learning she is on computer all the time or her phone where is that in her teaching plans oh I forgot she doesn’t believe in plans when I asked to have plans because I am very organized she stated she liked to work off the cuff oh well that is not the qualities of a good teacher that is qualities of a bad teacher but no one seems to be worried about it but me cause I am there for the students learning not to show off that Iam a teacher
Those who can’t teach is pure rubbish….those who can teach!!! Teachers are not the scape goats for politicians to build their rederick around while campaigning. We cannot the USA to China. China does not have the multitude of ESL classes that we have in urban schools and mainstreaming Sped. China is a society that dictates how many children to have and values less female births over males.
Looking through these posts, teaching is not a 7-3 job that’s for sure. It is great to have the summers off but let’s face it not teachers are off. Some work summer school for the money while others like myself take some PD (either I pay or some is free). Either way during the school year, I work as if I am working a second part time or sometimes another full time job. So yes summers off is a perk but you did your time during the school year. I used to work in the corporate world where I didn’t get too much time off. Of course, I didn’t have to buy supplies for my job either. That is another area that folks forget that teachers don’t get the supplies and resources they need. Each district differs but I know that teachers always spend their own especially for snacks for students who come from poverty.
I left another profession to become a teacher. I’d been teaching 3 years before I thought: “I think I’ve got a handle on this.” I’d learned what worked, what needed to be fine-tuned, and what to throw out. I’d also gotten better at classroom management and developing lessons to reach multiple learning styles. This is my 8th year teaching. I’m still learning.
I’m always inviting people to spend just one day in my kindergarten classroom. They don’t mind telling me that I just watch kids play all day, but shudder and decline when invited to join me “just watching kids play.
SOOOOO true Linda! Same applies for childcare workers – way overworked and way underpaid!
I read here and there on this site from 2009 to today. Teachers are the greatest. Teachers rescued me from an abusive existence by giving me options. Teachers believed in me so I could. Teachers helped me develop reasoning skills that allowed me to go far in my profession. All the naysayers have their own problems, but the teachers are seldom the cause.
Lela, thank you. The thing that keeps us all going is the hope and belief that we are helping someone who doesn’t yet know what that help will turn out to be. I had a second grade student bump into my husband in a coffee shop in a town 30 miles away, 22 yrs. after she had been in my class. The encouraging words I had said to her all those years ago as an 8 year old helped her through very hard family circumstances. . . and she is now working on her Masters in psychology. You never know how the words you use will make a difference for better or worse. As a teacher, I’m hoping there are a few more of those students out there that I have helped in some, unknowing way. That’s why I teach.
[...] friend shared this, but she got it from someone else. It’s from a group blog called Musings On Life and Love. A lot of what shows up is about dating and relationships, but not all. This one is about teaching, [...]
Wow, so may opinions, but all I will say is that this article doesn’t apply to teaching, but every job. I make my job look easy and it’s not. There are good and bad professionals in every job – so not sure why teachers need their egos stroked. I appreciate teachers, however I have spent several thousand dollars on tutors so my child doesn’t fall behind because while there are good teachers the education system sucks.
Amanda, have you ever watched Fox News? Every time there is a budget problem, government workers are called out for being overpaid. And one of the largest groups of government workers are teachers, so obviously we are evil and need to be destroyed. Fortunately, there are some people who see through this… http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/jon-stewart-nails-fox-news-hypocrisy-on-teachers-vs-wall-street-pay-levels.php
Egos stroked? Where did you get that? As you say the system sucks. The teachers are often the scapegoats who get the blame for that no matter how good they may be. I’m glad you appreciate teachers. It’s unfortunate that too many people do not.
Every word is true. For me, now 30 years in the job, there is no greater joy than teaching children!
On occasion, I have the opportunity to teach Sunday School (yes, I know it’s probably not even in the same ballpark).. but with that limited experience, with a typical student:teacher ratio of 6:1, I can testify that I could NOT teach a public school class! I don’t think I could handle that high of a student:teacher ratio.
I applaud those who can.. and want to.. and DO!
(And yes, you’re teaching people (kids, adults, etc).. not (insert subject).
Teaching is the most misunderstood profession in the world. There are so many factors over which a teacher has no control, yet he/she is supposed to work miracles with kids who don’t care and with parents who don’t know how to raise their own kids. It’s worth it, though, when you realize that you did have a positive impact on someone’s life.
To everyone who’s saying teachers should stop complaining because their job isn’t any more difficult than the next person…have you stopped to think that without teachers you wouldn’t be in the profession you are now…unless you are trying to tell us you never spent a day in school your entire life…but exactly like the post states, you can’t measure a teachers influence until someone 25 years later thanks them for making a difference, people like you are the reason good teachers don’t get the recognition they deserve
Go Guys! A lovely article and great inspiration for any teacher or parent. Thanks for sharing your views- I look forward to sharing this with my friends.
Kind Regards,
Janice Tuck
I’ve been teaching for almost thirty years. It has changed leaps and bounds over those years because society is different today. Children (and a lot of parents) do not have respect for any kind of authority, much less teachers. Add to that the astronomical increase in autism and other special needs, decrease in funding, and apathy in the community, and YES…YES, teaching is difficult because the truth is, most of my day is filled with doing what parents should be doing at home: expecting common sense, basic courtesy, and perseverance. I am older and wiser and have experience to back up my opionion. Teaching is NOT what it used to be because somehere along the line, parents relinquished their roles to lay the foundation.
opinion…somewhere
[...] and completing those 39.3 miles of walking is a journey which I directly connect to teaching. Dennis Hong writes that teaching is the job which the general populous views as ‘easy’ since we have all [...]
I love teaching. Yes, it isn’t easy. Yes, it is all consuming, exciting and demands constant alertness, creativity, empathy and patience – but when I walk into my classroom tired, in a bad mood, worried about something and I start to interact with my students, the world goes away and they open my soul with their vitality, their needs, and their still open minds. It is an honor to teach them. It would be nice to make more money and be more respected in society but frankly I laugh at those who don’t respect teachers. They just show their own lack of knowledge and i pity their well paid but often empty days.
This is exactly why we need teachers to help us learn how to measure what they do. What I’ve been seeing a lot of is resistance on the part of teachers to be part of developing the measurement tools, only to criticize the tools that are developed in their absence.
It isn’t an easy job. I understand having a job that people don’t understand. That’s why I’m working on developing standards for my perfomance that (1) accurately reflect what I do and (2) are within my control.
I think that is the other area where teachers get “stuck” by measures that others develop. There are so many factors in a child’s life that refect on their school performance that have nothing to do with their teachers’ work.
It has happened that when someone tried to assess teachers, they had made life harder for them. Resistance comes from past experiences and betrayals. Having them take part in the development of measuring their work feels like asking them to make their own harakiri blade. My thoughts are with teaching, every class is different, every year is different. If you measure one year, how can it really be useful for the next year? The parameters might be totally useless in measuring real progress in the next year with no way of telling because the year is a work in progress.
I have taught education majors and found them to dumb as dirt. I have also battled with the school district who won’t acknowledge students’ special needs, because then they would have to actually do something to help them. After all of this, I am taking my son out of the educational industry and giving him a fabulous education at the school of Mom.
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Insightful, to say the least. I would add that those who see teaching as a “calling” are probably the ones who last the longest in this underappreciated profession. Not all teachers are good ones, but the same can – and should – be said about doctors, lawyers, mechanics, etc. Lucky is the child who has had the good fortune to find himself in the class of a truly good teacher. I spent nearly 40 years of my life teaching as a career and find that in retirement I’m still doing it whenever the opportunity presents itself.
[...] this started as a reply to a link MLHawke shared with me on Facebook about teaching being the hardest job everyone thinks they can do, and then it just got far far too long to be a Facebook reply, so it turned into a blog [...]
Thank you teachers! This whole topic frustrates me, so I will just say “Thank you for all that you do!”
Amen.
The author is confused. He seems to think his primary job as a teacher is to “inspire” and not to teach. How convenient that there is no way to measure inspiration.
The people who go on to become teachers from any college are the scrapings from the bottom of the intellectual barrel (with all due respect to communications majors). They do less work in four years than an engineering student does in any given two week period. Teaching education majors is an eye-opening experience. They are too dumb to know how much they don’t know. The self-importance and ignorance in most of the above comments is sickening but par for the course for this profession. As somebody who has taught AND done actually challenging work, the constant whining about lack of appreciation and lack of pay from people who have no other marketable skills is priceless.
If you honestly think that education majors do little work, you are sorely mistaken my friend. Especially now that alot of college are presenting education as a minor, most teaching students have at least one other degree besides their teaching certificate. People who think these students don’t do as much work are seriously ignorant and unknowing.
Education majors do VERY little work, and what they do is usually of poor quality. Taking several hours to do the work a competent person could do in twenty minutes does not make you “dedicated” or a “hard worker.” It means you are inefficient and kind of dim. My best friend, girlfriend, and roomies were all *education majors. A smart person like my buddy could drink til 2 AM the night before a project was due, sleep til 6 AM, and bang out a paper that was the best in his class by 8 AM because he was surrounded by lazy mental deficients. I’ve been through an engineering curriculum, taught engineering students, and taught education majors. There really is no comparison, and people who have experience in the real world know that.
The fact that you are comparing the work education majors do to your buddies ability to write drunken reports is pathetic…and you are comparing the work education majors so to your view of two or three people, who apparently aren’t good teachers themselves considering they half-assed all of their work…but there are those of us out there who believe it or not put alot of time and effort into anything we did and didn’t do iy while drunk and hung over like you and whoever you associate with obviously did
I’m sure you did put a lot of time and effort into it. He didn’t have to, and he was far and away top of his elementary ed cohort because the rest of the students weren’t very bright. That was the point. He’s an excellent teacher. His kids learn the curriculum, and he never has to stay late or put in 60 hour weeks because he works efficiently and plans well. You “trying hard” doesn’t mean dick if you don’t actually accomplish anything. I know how much work education majors do and what type of quality is expected. It’s not a lot of work, and it’s not hard, and, on average, the people going on to teach our youth are the least talented people at the university. A smart individual, like my friend, stands out like a sore thumb.
Every comment you make only proves the point of my article, which I’m pretty sure you didn’t actually read.
In any case, I’d consider earning a Ph.D. in molecular biology to be pretty prestigious. And as an ex-molecular biologist, I can attest first-hand to the challenges of being a teacher.
Still, I am curious, if you don’t consider molecular biology to be “actually challenging work,” what field must you work in that qualifies you to render such a sweeping judgment on the six million teachers in the United States?
PhD chemical engineer. I’ve worked in polymers and semiconductors, taught high school math, physics, chemistry, and math and chemical engineering at the university level. I’ve also worked extensively teaching test prep for undergrads taking the MCAT, LSAT, and GRE. A PhD is not prestigious in my eyes, as I know and have worked with plenty of PhDs who were morons with an additional three letters after their name. You are supposedly a PhD scientist advocating that there is, at present, no decent way to measure teacher performance, and that your primary job is to “inspire.” I can write a test that will easily measure whether a kid understands a set of scientific concepts or has retained the desired material. My gut tells me that my primary job as a teacher is to actually teach. I agree that inspiring kids to achieve is great, but that is worthless if you haven’t actually taught them how to multiply or write a coherent sentence by the time they graduate.
I do not consider molecular biology, or biology in general, to be challenging compared to engineering, math, and the physical sciences. Biology is where all the people who failed out of engineering normally wound up.
And that proves that you have no idea what it is to teach.
Since I obviously don’t know you, I’ll have to take your word for it that you are indeed as brilliant as you claim to be. But then, in that case, you are clearly so disconnected from the rest of the population that there is no way you could possibly understand what it’s like to teach–or even interact with–people who are anything short of intellectual genius.
I bow to your intelligence. But, I also pity your inability to relate to humanity.
So far as I can tell, the following is “what it is to teach”:
“Mine is the most special of all professions, and it is thanks to my unparalleled talent, dedication, and unique caring nature that anybody else ever does anything worthwhile. I would like people to worship me as special regardless of whether I do my job well or not. I will resist any attempts to measure what I do and insist that quantifying my performance is impossible. Also, I am underpaid, and anyone who mentions that, statistically speaking, my profession is made up of the dumbest people who could still get into college, is a heretic who must be shunned.”
Very few people would mind you if you guys just shut up and did your work like everyone else. You don’t have to do it if you feel unappreciated, and believe it or not, there is no shortage of people who can teach children to read, write, and do math.
Wrong.
You can NOT be serious!?! I have *plenty* of other marketable skills, two BA degrees (I got my teaching certification *after* uni), a web design certification, I speak a handful of languages, have traveled the world, and I have worked in many different jobs in many different fields. I know plenty of multi-talented, brilliant teachers who gave up better-paying careers to be in the classroom. How dare you say “no other marketable skills”…? You couldn’t be more wrong. I chose to go into the classroom to share my passion, but now I’m choosing to get out because I desperately miss having any kind of life outside school. I think I’ve aged 10 years in the past 3 years of teaching. In my new career in a prestigious energy company, I will be paid a lot more for doing a much, much easier job. Your argument is completely wrong. And I’m not in some kind of teacher-land bubble either… I am surrounded by friends, family, & neighbours in blue- and white- collar jobs (amongst them plenty of engineers), and I know darn well that teaching is indeed much harder than what most of them do. Not all, but most. If teachers whine, it’s because it’s sadly becoming a practically intolerable job. One shouldn’t have to sacrifice one’s health, life and family for a job. I’ve read some spot-on perfect comments on here written by teachers who are brave enough to stick with the profession. They have my complete respect because I’m worn out and am giving up, and I feel quite ashamed for copping out. But I would be crazy *not* to take the money and free evenings and weekends, right? It won’t be even half as rewarding, but neither will it be even half as frustrating or stressful. Good luck to all you teachers who will return for another year! Enjoy your well-deserved summer.
So you’ve been an engineer? I’ve worked as an engineer and taught at a few levels, and I’m telling you, as somebody who has actually done both, that teaching is not nearly as difficult. Have you ever run a business? That’s another thing that is harder and requires more time commitment than teaching, and they don’t have a guaranteed paycheck even if they do everything well.
Get over yourselves. You do a job, but your job is not the only (or even the most effective) way to educate people. It’s important, but so are other people’s jobs. You might work hard, but you aren’t the only ones. I don’t see farmers constantly bitching about being underappreciated and underpaid.
“The author is confused. He seems to think his primary job as a teacher is to “inspire” and not to teach. How convenient that there is no way to measure inspiration.”
How much history do you remember from HIGH SCHOOL?
My kids are going to forget 80% of what they learn. I hope they keep the skills. I hope I inspire a love of history. Inspiration is so important.
Oh, and I have a BA in history (focus Ancient Medieval & Russian through the Revolution) from a prestigious university. I have an MA in curriculum and instruction. I also have an MA in educational administration. I couldn’t coast through any of those degrees and finish successfully.
So the primary product of your career is that you might inspire some kids to like history that wouldn’t naturally be drawn to history without your example? How many of those do you think there are? Actually expecting them to learn and retain the history of their country, state, and others is not the main goal? You hope they keep the skills? Like reading comprehension?
I’m so glad you have two education MAs and a BA in history (from a prestigious university no less!), and I hope you didn’t take on too much debt getting them.
Way more than you think, dude. And the fact that you question that reveals how shitty a teacher you must’ve been.
My pity for you increases with every post you make.
I know, right? I must be some rank amateur to think that my job as a teacher was to impart some knowledge to those dang critters in my classroom. Silly me, thinking that actually learning math and science to create functioning members of society was the primary part of the gig. Turns out that’s completely superfluous to the inspiration process. We really ought to be called inspirators. Dream big, but not so big that you know how to balance a checkbook or write a cover letter.
As I mentioned in the thread right below, you’ve just outed yourself as a troll, so I no longer see the purpose of engaging in a meaningful discussion with you.
Have fun on here. And thanks for the site traffic!
You are welcome, Dennis. Go sell some ads. My last question for you: which teacher taught you how to ban IPs?
Ok, so who taught you how to be such a successful engineer…oh, or are you one of those baby geniuses that just inheritantly knew how to be one
Other engineers taught me to be an engineer. It’s an actual field where you need to know things in order to do stuff, so it’s best to learn from people who have actually done the job. We’re less concerned about inspiring than we are about making stuff that works. Believe it or not, you can’t inspire a building to stay erect or encourage oil to become gasoline, plastics, or commodity chemicals.
I just realized that it’s been awhile since any teachers thanked my profession for their transportation, housing, food, clothing, energy, communications, medical technology, and computers. Or, silly me again, I guess I should thank the TEACHERS who taught us how to do all that stuff. Pretty selfless folks, those teachers, to inspire us to create these things instead of using their boundless talent to do it themselves and make a buck or two. Where would we be without them?
Without a teacher somewhere along the line you wouldn’t know how to read or write to be the arrogant dick your being right now…you wouldn’t know how to do math to complete your job, and you most certainly would not be a successful anything right now…heck, now that i say that those teachers definitely should have just left you fall behind, damn them for doing their job
Actually my mom taught me to read before I ever went to school, and she and my dad taught me to do basic math in their spare time up through algebra. Somehow, I was able to learn things before a certified teacher brought them up. Amazing, right? How could my poor, uneducated mother, who clearly has no idea how to inspire, how children and adolescent minds work, etc., manage to transfer knowledge to me and my siblings? I mean, she doesn’t even have multiple education degrees to let her know how to teach children! Without a masters in curriculum, how did she even know where to start?!?!
Once you can read and have some ability in math, you can teach yourself from a book. So maybe we really ought to be worshiping publishers or parents. Have you ever thought that maybe teachers give themselves too much credit? Somebody with involved parents and an ounce of talent will probably learn better, faster, without stewing in your mediocrity and self-importance, as inspiring as you may be. To hear you tell it, any failure to teach a kid is due to his crappy parents or poor attitude, but any kid who does excel is due to your skills and not good parenting and innate ability. Again, get over yourself.
Well give your mother a big fat gold star then, but some children aren’t as lucky as the high and mighty engineer
So…when your mom and dad taught you to read and “do math,” were they teaching you not to be a dick, and they failed miserably?
Or were they also teaching you to be a judgmental asshole?
Probably the latter, at least, when daddy wasn’t busy touching all the neighborhood boys.
Are you bitter because he liked them more than he liked you? I bet he didn’t make them practice their math before he would “play” with them…
So parents who teach their own children are child molesters now? I guess if I sucked at my job to the point where I was scared to be evaluated, I’d probably be threatened by competition too. I’d especially hate competition from people who accomplish more in a few minutes per day for free than I do working all those 12-hour days year round for no appreciation and 9 months of money.
I’ll probably go back to teaching when I retire. Hopefully we’ll have come to our senses and allowed for weeding out of hateful, no-talent hacks like Karl by then.
No, you anonymous coward.
First off, post under a real name or stop using mine.
Second, no, parents who teach their children are not necessarily child molesters. I know some homeschooling parents who are wonderful people.
However, adults with attitudes like yours were almost DEFINITELY raised by abusive or neglectful parents. No one grows up to be that big an asshole unless they watched one of their parents treat people like that all the time. I was merely pointing out that your PARTICULAR brand of bitterness seems like the kind brought on by someone who wished they were molested more. It’s called trolling. GOML.
Anyway, since you failed to understand what I wrote, I’ll assume your mother did a terrible job “teaching” you to read. Most likely, this is not her fault, as the only way to cope with daddy’s “private time” was to spend a lot of her own in the bottle. It’s ok, you don’t have to be bitter that daddy was a molester and mommy was a lush and nobody ever paid any real attention to you.
BTW, I hope you NEVER go back to teaching, or you will ABSOLUTELY molest those kids, you sick piece of garbage.
Oh, and I’m a lawyer, not a teacher. Smarter and more successful than you. Not necessarily smarter than a good teacher though.
Oh my god, are you ALREADY touching children!? Stop that, you’re disgusting, you sick monster!
Crybaby.
I’d listen to Karl if I were you. He knows all about the boy-touching.
One of the downsides to anonymous posting is that every new troll ID that shows up to support you is OBVIOUSLY you.
Fail.
You’d have been better off threatening to sue me for defamation. But then, you’re not as smart as I am, so that never occurred to you.
Just stop trying. You fail at everything, even trolling. I have a friend whose 3 year old has better reading comprehension than you. Better comebacks too.
I guess I’m getting tired of these types of articles and comments. Why do teachers feel like they need to continue to let everyone know how hard their job is? I don’t go walking around complaining to everyone around me that as a Recruiter I have the hardest job ever. If I did, I too would get challenged. I’m sure everyone could say their job is challenging in one way or another so do what you enjoy and if teaching is so dissatisfying for some, then they should find a new career that makes them happy or at least enthusiastic about the challenge.
We’re not complaining about how hard our jobs are! WE LOVE OUR JOBS! We’re complaining about idiots who think that what we do is easy… that we’re somehow glorified babysitters.
Pretty sure a glorified babysitter could manage to teach my kids some damn history. Probably would unload the dishwasher, sweep the floor, and not complain about how society undervalues babysitters to anything that will sit still long enough.
Bahaha. Okay, now I know you’re just a troll. That actually makes me feel a little better, because I thought you really were that clueless for a while.
Well played, dude. Well played.
If I weren’t getting such a good laugh out of your rhetoric, I’d have banned your ass ages ago.
Perfectly stated, Eileen!
I really hate when people talk about a teacher’s time off. We are paid on a contract that is not a twelve month contract. Many of us take classes and spend lots of time in our schools preparing for the next year-unpaid. If you think you can do it so easily, walk in our shoes and see how easy it is.
If teachers are paid on a contract that is not a twelve month contract, then they are FAR overpaid. Thus making the incessant whining about not making enough even more ridiculous.
Teachers are paid for working 8 hour days, 9 months a year.
I don’t know a single teacher who works an 8 hour day.
I work from 7am to 5pm IN THE SCHOOL and then I go home and work from 7-9:30pm. That’s 12.5 hours a day. I am not contracted to work weekends, but I will be grading research papers all day Saturday and Sunday. When I don’t have research papers – I work at least all day every Sunday on curriculum and grading.
I also answer student emails constantly. My husband sometimes starts yelling “unplug! unplug!” at me when we’re out with friends and I’m answering a student or parent email because they have a question, and I want to help them.
Add up all my hours and I work what a typical person works in a 12 month year.
And that doesn’t include the summers when I take students through China for two weeks (unpaid, but full time in loco parentis).
Some of the best teachers I know work 7 hour days. The best teacher I know, a band director, works 6 hours a day. Have you considered that maybe you shouldn’t have to spend so much time on your work, especially if you aren’t being paid for it? There’s a point of diminishing returns, and 12.5 hours a day for a teacher is well beyond that. The kids will learn (or be inspired, whichever means more to you) regardless of whether you put in 8 or 12.5 hours. Try dialing it back, don’t say anything, and see if anybody notices. Moderation in all things.
Dennis, I very much enjoyed your article. I thought it pointed out a very important concept, that teaching is itself a skill. Teaching is a skill that one must learn and develop. It is a skill set not easily measured, yet it is vital to master that skill set before you can become effective as a teacher. I too teach. I sense that there is a lot of frustration out there, both inside and outside of the teaching profession, about what the role of a teacher is, and how it should be measured and about how much it should be valued. It seems that your article has stirred up quite a discussion with many emotional responses. I guess since we have all had teachers, we are all impacted by them, for good or ill.
I agree with Dennis, that a good teacher has a skill set that is difficult to quantify, though it can and has been done. People can and do learn the skill of teaching, and it does take practice to master it.
I fear that great and creative teachers are experiencing frustration due to a general lack of understanding among the general public about what they do, and why it is important for them to continue to do it. I don’t think for most of us it is about money. I think the emotion is about respect, and about a desire to try to impress on others the importance of the teaching profession and the value of good teachers to our society as a whole.
I don’t know why these sorts of public discussions always tend to turn into a sort of verbal brawl, but they seem to. I worry about all the anger and frustration out there, and I worry about what that does to educators, and then in turn, to our young people.
I hope that wonderful people, such as those I work with every day, will continue to choose to teach; and that the children and youth of our country will continue to be influenced in positive ways by the master teachers among us. To those who try so hard to make a difference, may I just say, Thank you.
Wow, some nasty comments on here! What I like about this article is the assertion that it’s difficult to quantify the impact of a good teacher on individuals and societies. In that sense, I think teaching is one of the most difficult jobs because it’s undervalued in our society. The same is true of a good parent. There’s no immediate profit tied to either job, so therefore many feel it’s not worth investing time or money in it. I appreciate those in our world that can see past money and immediate rewards and dedicate their life’s work to children. Children who, if they have parents and teachers who take their jobs seriously, grow up and make the world a better place.
Merinda, I have to challenge that teaching is undervalued in our society. There are all kinds of public gratitude towards our teachers. Not to mention the discounts at stores, museums etc. that teachers receive. I don’t know of any other profession that gets the priveledge/recognition like the teaching profession does.
Getting a discount spending our OWN money doesn’t really count towards “gratitude”.
Do you know the last time I’ve been told thank you for staying after to help someone’s kid pass a subject that I DO NOT teach? Or the last time I waited far beyond the time allowed for a parent to pick up their child?
I want the same thing everyone else wants in their job and life. Appreciation. When is the last time you thanked one of your employees or coworkers? It is not that hard to say thank you. We all need to start.
Well said, Sherri. Angry emotions, especially if based on past experiences in school, can obliterate any sense of respect – for teachers or anyone else. Any vocation which deals with serving people, requires unique skill sets in order to be effective over the long haul. Since teachers have the power to shape and form young minds, for good or bad, they require continual training, and remain targets for those who feel they have more difficult jobs. Those teachers who face the barbs that our society can bring against them and still retain their enthusiasm and love for their vocation, deserve respect, but not the begrudging kind which seeks to compare the worth of individuals. Instead, it is the quiet, yet heart-felt thanks of former students who tell them they’ve made a difference in their lives. If you’ve ever had such a teacher, be sure to tell her/him so.
teaching is also the one job where people think they can speak openly about how underpaid they are… even around people who work 12 months a year and get paid less. and work hard too. the culture of education is so WELCOMING to this – the culture encourages teachers to talk about how under appreciative and under paid they are. YOU ARE NOT THE POOREST OR THE MOST UNDERPAID OR THE MOST OVERWORKED – but, you should sure talk about those more than those who probably are all of the above.
I’ll let you in on a secret, where teachers are valued for their skills and fairly compensated, no one complains.
My district values us. We all know that where I teach. On a regular basis, we thank our lucky stars that we got hired in a school that values us as much as we value our students.
Food for thought.
To those of you who say this is a “load of crap” (LJD) – how many teachers did it take to get YOU where you are today?
There is good and bad in every profession out there. There are bad doctors, lawyers, construction workers, nurses, secretaries, and the list goes on….Just because of one bad apple doesn’t mean that every single person in that particular career should be punished. Teachers teach every person in every career. Doctors are doctors, lawyers are lawyers thanks to Teachers….
It is 6:20 pm, I am sitting here in my classroom. I took a short break from grading to read the posts here. I usually take my grading home, but tonight I was grading tests (Algebra)and my own three children make it hard to really focus on the details. Sometimes I can grade after they go to bed, so it is usually a choice between staying at school late or staying up late. The tests look good though. I think the extra letters I sent home a few weeks ago to the parents made a difference. I teach in a low income area and have for 16 years. In my opinion, the parents haven’t changed much since 1996 when I started, they love their kids and most want them to work hard at school. What I have seen is a big change in the students, however. They are much more savvy at hiding their grades from their parents and placing blame. And they have so many more ways of sneaking distractions into the classroom (cellphones, music devices). I have never had to work so hard at combating student apathy as in the past few years. It takes much more work than it used to. I am willing to do whatever it takes though. I love my students, and I realize they are just children, amazingly coercive and self-sabotaging children, but children all the same. I don’t blame the parents (most of them) and I don’t blame the kids. I do think I am one of those teachers that makes it look easy. It is not. Every time I get good at one part of the job, I find something else that needs work. As teachers we are always in that mindset, always looking to improve things, the students, the curriculum, the methodology, ourselves. It is exhausting, but rewarding.
[...] memory came to light when reading this blog post, and then a follow up from my friend Karebear on her [...]
As, I sit here, at 12:15am, finishing up work for today (so that I can be at school by 7:30am and not leave until 5pm), I smile as I stumble across this article and these comments. Thank you to those who stand up for educators. No, we don’t get tons of money and Yes, it appears we have tons of time off when we really don’t. Our job is tough….”taxing” might be a better word. People believe what they want to believe. Just understand, teachers only have 10 month contracts. As first year teachers, they barely make enough to pay rent and buy groceries/gas, so, yes…they have to get part time jobs. Now, there really isn’t time for those part-time jobs, because new standards state that teachers must teach bell to bell, are not allowed to sit down as they should be up monitoring students (which equates to walking around the room constantly), and they need to be teaching using technology (this does not mean just using a computer and interactive whiteboard). Oh yea, they also need to meet to plan lessons during their planning period and they better not be late. Don’t forget you have parent meetings after school – to develop IEP’s, PEP’s, BIP’s, SIPs, and more. Don’t forget all those categories you have to place students in – EC, OHI, CC, ID, IDM, 504, LD, SLD, OCCU, and more. And the tutoring – oh yeah – don’t forget that- or the bus duties, game duties, fall festivals, spring carnivals, math night, reading night, fall concert, winter concert, spring concert, character ball, PTO, Safety meetings, staff development, and hey – why not go back to school yourself???
Just because the students aren’t at school doesn’t mean the teacher’s are sitting home…..relaxing. And yes, they get summers without a contract. Here is our summer schedule: Students out on June 8. Teacher workdays til June 12, Summer enrichment programs start up on June 18 and run until August 12. Teacher training – depending upon the subject starts June 15 and runs until August 18. All subject areas meet during the summer, some for the entire summer. Did I mention all of this is without pay?
On top of all the other things that teachers are supposed to be learning, a new curriculum was adopted by 48 states – so now they have a brand new curriculum to learn – teachers will be meeting and training all Summer, and throughout the year to get a handle on these new standards (as they have been doing all this school year).
……….Now, on top of all this, how many people do you know that will be evaluated on whether or not they can get other people to perform AND will have those same people they are pushing to do written surveys about them – which will go on their evaluation forms? Think about this for a while? Contemplate the severity – the ramifications?
Just wanted to give you some food for thought. Would I trade my job for anything – no……just one student whose light “comes on” and you realize you got through – they “got it.” It changes your world.
I’m a pre-service teacher.
In 2004 I was an exchange student in Finland, with the number 1 education system in the world as far as the PISA rankings go.
Now, for my post Grad Studies in Education I compare what we do in Australia, versus curriculum in Finland.
Did you know we all get paid about the same?
Did you know if you didn’t have to teach a lesson in Finland you can go home early or start late because everyone knows you will make up the time?
Did you know you must have a Masters Degree at minimal to teach there?
Did you know you are hired by a principal and regional board not some HR person in a Head Office?
Did you know a large day in a Finnish classroom for a teacher is 3-4 hours, the additional time is spent improving old work, or making it relevant for this month, improving the learning of their students?
Did you know they take the best 350 applicant students from high school in the country and enable them to enroll to become teachers in a FREE university system maintain academic integrity?
Did you know they get the next 650 best applicants and have them sit university entrance exams and then take the next best 325?
Did you know the most bright and intelligent students in Finland would rather be Teachers than Doctors or Lawyers?
Did you know in Finland it’s rare for a parent to verbally abuse a teacher because 1. they are good at their job, and 2. to be a parent you don’t have know how to teach, just how to do the wild thing.
When we take a step in these directions, increasing salaries will have more people wanting to teach, enabling the cream to rise and the sour milk to be thrown out. When more respect is given by society, more teachers will teach for longer bringing more experience to the industry.
I started studying to become a teacher, now with the workload I question where I want to go. I just moved in with a couple, a male who left teaching last year after 3 years to become an electrician, and his fiance, also a teacher who said if I hadn’t already started she would have told me not to go into teaching.
That’s what it’s like on the inside looking out.
Long I know, but hopefully educationaly
I cannot believe some of the sanctimonious crap some of you have written disparaging teachers. Really, I have 3 sons. I cannot fathom having to teach any of them in class. I have worked with my first grader through MANY types of reading programs, phonics, sight words, hooked on phonics, teach your kid to read….ummmm yeah. Whatever, it is the most stressful, difficult, frustrating, and sad thing I have done with him. We know he is extremely smart, his retention is amazing, but somehow reading just did not connect for him, until he began working with this teacher. I won’t even pretend I know what all she has done, but she has turned his life around as far as school goes.
Not to mention that she has done this while also teaching sixteen other students at least four of whom fall on the autism register in the fairly high functioning categories.
In addition to this in most schools now recess time is less than what it was 20 years ago, so they are not getting their energy out outside, they have less resources as far as books and supplies, and are generally there much longer hours.
My husband is a welder, he works twelve hour days welding live gas pipe. Many of you would look down on that blue collar job, though it too requires much training and is truly an art. Most of our friends travel with their spouses and use some form of homeschooling. I am intelligent enough to know my limits and the thought of attempting to teach math to my oldest is enough to make me beg to go take college level trigonometry again. Both of my older boys have straight A’s and work hard to keep them. My youngest hasn’t started school yet, but I am glad to know that he will be fortunate enough to have some of the best teachers I have ever encountered at this school. I wouldn’t presume that I could even begin to do half the job they do. I don’t even want to sign up to substitute.
I am thankful for what they do and totally agree with them that for what they are paid, it is one of the toughest jobs going.
I work in a school and when spring breaks, or holidays come the teacher go to Mexico, Florida, on vacation. They are not doing work at home. GIVE ME A BREAK. When the are out sick a sub can fill in and do there work even an aide. Most teachers have aides in there room to help them with problem children.
If the loved kids so much they would not have to be paid all that money they would work for what private school teachers get paid. (Which is not much)
Wow. What a load of crap.
I’m a high school teacher. I spend 10 hours a day grading research papers EVERY winter break. I have not gone away on vacation in the winter for the past 12 years.
When my husband was in the hospital having his second surgery for cancer, I stayed with him. Because there is not a sub on the planet who can move my world history the class the way it needs to (whole world’s history, 9 months… good luck), I used a program to upload lecture materials and recorded all of my lessons, including pauses for students to read primary source materials (that I had to give a detailed explanation of, including the importance to the sub). I spent hours preparing those lectures in the hall outside my husband’s hospital room so I wouldn’t disturb him while he slept.
I love my students, but I also deserve to be compensated for the hours that I put in. I deserve to be compensated for the fact that I’ve continued my education and earned 2 masters degrees to further help my students. I deserve to be compensated because I can’t live on love alone, and while I’m constantly told what a fantastic lawyer I’d be (including being offered a job if I’d get the education)… the world doesn’t really need another lawyer.
And one more thing.
I have three curriculum projects that I’ll be working on this summer with peers so that we can improve the way we teach students. So much for having all of summer break off.
My background:
I have worked in both the private (corporate) and public (high school teacher) sector. Being an “average” (by my definition) teacher requires a great deal of work. As a teacher, I strove to be the best teacher I could be for my students. This meant long hours grading and planning and attending classes and so forth (12+ hours daily). My work day began around 7am and ended around 9 or 10 pm. I was not the best teacher ever. I was struggling to meet the needs of my students and scavenge time for a social life. I was what I consider an average teacher – neither exceptionally good nor exceptionally bad. As every teacher is different, so too is every school’s funding and pay scale and classroom assistance and generalizing by saying things like “Most teachers have aides in there room to help them with problem children” is misleading and does to represent every school. Please understand, your school MAY be that way, but others are not. Where I worked, teachers had the maximum allowable number of students (36) in every class period and no aides in the classroom. I have no complaints about the years I spent teaching. I learned a great deal and love those kids as if they were my own. If I didn’t, they never would have frustrated me as much as they often did.
My time in the private sector has been varied and I currently work in a field which uses the same degree I used in teaching: English. I am a writer for a tech company and produce documentation. For my part, I will say that corporate work is FAR easier than teaching. I will not say this is true for everyone. However, those who over-generalize with comments about how “everyone” is expected to be available after hours to answer emails and calls and so forth are doing a disservice to their argument. Some people are, indeed, expected to work this way and some states may have labor laws that permit such. Some states make it illegal for companies to do such things without paying overtime for the emails and calls that are not a part of the work day. This, by the way, only really applies to hourly employees. Salaried workers are a different matter entirely. I am hourly, which means that me clocking out at the end of the day means that work stays at work. No one calls me or emails and expects an answer until I come in the next day. My work load is lighter and my hours more predictable. Is this true of everyone? Of course not. It would be absurd to think otherwise. My experience, however, backs up the assertion that teachers work harder than other, similarly-paid professions.
Bearing this background in mind, I would like to say two things:
1. GOOD teachers (by which I mean exceptional) work LONG, DIFFICULT, UNPREDICTABLE hours and give of their time, energy, and personal resources to further the development of other people’s children. Average teachers (not exceptional, but still strive to do the best they can for their students) do likewise, but to a lesser extent. These teachers are deserving of respect and are not shown it because there are a third class of teachers: bad teachers.
2. Every person who has not BEEN a teacher is disqualified from saying how the job SHOULD be done. I am not qualified to dictate how a neurosurgeon should do her job, I have never been a neurosurgeon and do not REALLY know what I am talking about if I pontificate about HOW she should do her job. All I do is parade my ignorance and make myself a laughingstock. What the author of this article is getting at, I think, is that being a GOOD teacher is DIFFICULT and every half-wit with a large enough vocabulary to express an opinion thinks he can do the job better than those with training and time in the classroom. These self-same half-wits would not DREAM of telling their oncologist or pilot how to do their jobs – those jobs are difficult and require a specialized skill set and we all know it and so keep our howling screamers SHUT. And rightly so. We SHOULD extend the same courtesy and respect to teachers whose jobs are DIFFICULT *IF* (and I stress the IFFINESS of the proposition) the teacher is striving to excel.
Having said my piece, I now drift back into the blue nowhere of the internet.
Thank you for this.
Everyone has been a student, so everyone thinks they can teach. They have no concept how different and difficult it is until they try it. Every student teacher who has ever passed through the school where I work has said “I had no idea it would be this hard!” I remember thinking that myself when I was student teaching. Everything you said is 100% true. I wish everyone would read this and believe it. You should send it to the NYTimes.
You all miss the point. This article said NOTHING about being underpaid- not once. This article said NOTHING about the job being somehow unfair in terms of compensation relative to other jobs. It simply makes the very accurate point that people grant a level of professional respect to most professions while somehow thinking that they know about teaching simply because we have all had to sit through 12 years of schooling. The point is that people who don;t teach don;t know ANYTHING about that craft. People, please get over the money and vacation thing- this article doesn’t discuss that. For all of you that are obsessing over those invisible points, you must have had a bad English teacher because your reading comprehension sucks.
To Jack 623:
Step into the “shoes” of a teacher for a week.
THEN write a post again.
[...] I read these words in a blogpost by Dennis Hong, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Here in less than 25 words is what we do every day, [...]
I have a child now out of school but he had add and oppositional defiance. Learning for him was tough but his kindergarten teacher spent the summer tutoring my son. He was an angry child who would take off running down the hall and sometimes it would take several teachers to calm the situation. When he became frustrated there was a special education teacher but my child was not the only child in the school. After my sons tantrums they needed to resume teaching after being hit,kicked,spit at and swore at with my child being five. I felt bad and my son was working with doctors and pscycologists to help. The summer tutoring changed my sons life. She gave mew guidance as did the special education teacher and I listened. For years and even now when I run into the teachers my son had we cry at thee success’s my son has had. My daughter suffered an illness that kept her from school for years, depression was bad, but it was a reacher that made her feel worth something and got her through. God bless you teachers for standing by me and helping me through and my children through. I have seen kids with drug addicted parents and parents that I have died. I have seen kids whose parents call them names and yet a teacher has to teach a kid who can not believe in themselves. My house is a shelter for many but I can tell you that the teachers I worked with cried for my children. They cared enough to get him educated and snot give up on him. It is a role that I would not take on for the emotions can cause a burn out in the job. The responsibility of spending more time with our kids that we do in general because when we get home it is dinner time, game time,or whatever. Kudos to you teachers kudos
Oops a few missed spellings in the last post but I hope that you can see what I mean rather than teer them down. Darn iPads anyway.
As I’m sitting here thinking about how to begin this post to express my mixed emotions, I realize one of the difficulties in my profession is written above. No matter what is said, some people feel that a teacher’s job is similar to a babysitters with a couple months off in the summer. Let me start out by saying that I’ve been a third grade teacher for 14 years and had one year at a special needs preschool before my public teaching started. My decision to write a reply is NOT for sympathy or praise, but to try to inform the ignorant to what a CARING teacher’s life is like. I’m not saying it’s the hardest job, because I haven’t experienced what others have gone through. However, I do agree that there are people who feel anyone could do our job and don’t treat us like we are, which is qualified professionals who have a greater insight into the minds of the children we teach. Unfortunately, those that think this way have never gone into the classroom to help out. As I’m sitting here thinking about my classes over the years, I can tell you that I love each and everyone that has been in my class. There is not a day that goes by (yes, even on holidays and in the summer) when I am not thinking about teaching and the students and how I can better meet their individual needs. I spent each year getting to know and enjoy the unique personalities of the children, including there life outside of school. There is so much I teach my students that is not out of a book or in my curriculum that I wish I could some how show the people who have never experienced making that difference in a child’s life. I am not mad at those that feel I have nothing to complain about because I have a “holiday” often and then get “2 months off”. Sympathy is more the feeling they get from me because that means they probably went through life not experiencing that caring teacher. There are teachers out there that arrive at school at the time they have to, leave with the students, and consider what they do as a means of an income (however small it is) with 2 months off to lay around. In the 4 schools I have taught at, I can honestly say the caring out weigh those teachers, just like the people who respect me as a professional FAR out weigh the ones that don’t. So, in the end, I’m a math teacher, who can’t afford to budget her money due to having to pay for family benefits and, in this economy, take pay cuts while having to increase my responsibilities to the point where I can only bring in an extra income during my 2 months off as long as it doesn’t interfere with school courses that teachers must take (and most pay for) in order to keep our degree, BUT holding my head high knowing I’m making a positive difference in children’s lives that can’t be judged by anyone!
Wow! This is a real “hotbutton” for so many people and it should be. I couldn’t even read all of the comments, but from the ones I’ve read you’ve touched on teaching from both sides, probably from all sides!
FYI, fro anyone who is thinking about leaving their current field to enter teaching and DON’T want to get another degree to teach, many private (independent) schools will hire the right person without a teaching degree. They are not held to the same state rules for public education and they can hire anyone they want. They also fire teachers who don’t perform and it doesn’t take years to do it because there are no teacher unions. I know many unbelievable teachers in private schools. They have Ph.Ds, law degrees, Masters, MBA’s and all sorts of backgrounds and the ones who are truly gifted in the classroom stay for years with incredible rewards for their efforts.
It is a shame that people associate the word “teacher” with only public school teachers. There are plenty of great private school teachers, and I’ve found the administrators and teachers at the private schools are much more responsive to parents’ concerns. Like you said, they are free to focus on bringing in the best teachers, which is not necessarily the same as the best people who have a teaching degree.
Wow. No time to read through all the comments/arguments, but this topic always stokes the fires, doesn’t it?
We need a comprehensive, scientific poll: I always wonder how many teachers, the ones who love and respect the job and the ones who whine and complain (and yes, you could do both) would change careers if they could? Just pick another job and *poof* now you’re a contractor, lawyer, restaurant owner!* Then compare those stats to all who would switch to Teaching as their paycheck?
IMHO, and as one who as worked 20 years outside Education first, Teachers done got it good. Yes we work hard, yes we must be creative, yes we deal with bothersome irritations, constant frustrations, and seemingly unattainable expectations/goals, but what job worth doing doesn’t? Not to mention apathetic students and ignorant parents. Yet we are doing something that makes sense, means something, can and does have a positive impact, AND we can be home most days by 4:00 and never, ever work Christmas Eve!
Appreciate it, Respect it, and get back to work.
*Choosing “All Pro Linebacker” or “Multiple Oscar Winner” doesn’t count. Stay realistic.
Karl,
Sorry about your mouth. It’s hard to control, what with the barbs and all. Call me.
How do you know if someone is the hardest working and best teacher in the world?
Answer: They tell you they are. While crying. Geez… Get over yourselves. Shut up and get back to work. We all difficult jobs. Quit bitching about it. Seriously, half the stuff you claim are so hard my wife does with out children everyday. I’m an engineer. My jobs hard too. You don’t hear me having a pity party over it. I need to go now. I’ve got to sit in a corner and cry about how hard you have it….. On those summers off as you get paid a full years salary with golden benefits.
Sincerely,
Not a teacher so I don’t work as hard as you.
Did anyone see John Stossel’s report Sunday night about teacher’s unions and public schools? The union is out of control! That one district had to spend almost 1/2 million dollars and still couldn’t fire the teacher who slept through class!
Our of all the jobs I ever had, teaching was by far the most difficult. I was just thinking the other day that the actual teaching is the easy part. Try dealing with spoiled brats whose parents do not discipline them, try dealing with all the “issues” these kids have (many due to poor parenting) and the ones with special needs because of neglect or drug use during pregnancy. The majority of the problems the kids have is due to poor parenting. You should have to got to school and get a certificate to be a parents. Some of those kids in the HS are the rudest bunch of brats, losers who will do nothing with their lives, and you can thank their parents for that
To all you silly trolls who insist on bashing teachers with your pathetic troll delusions: “We can explain it to you we just can’t understand it for you.” Our hangnails have forgotten more about teaching than you ever knew. You would not have a roof over your head or a car to drive nor any other manufactured goods were it not for teachers. Think otherwise? Go build a power plant by counting on your toes. If you ever discover what counting is in the first place. I have no tolerance for those who think that eating the seed corn will grow next years crops.
If you think teachers don’t get enough respect, try being a civil servant. And look at what you’re thinking right now: “Civil servants don’t deserve any respect because they don’t do much.” You make my point for me. Every profession has some people who work hard and some who don’t. Those who contribute the most deserve respect, regardless of their profession.
If it makes you feel better, I don’t have a ton of respect for “civil servants” or public school teachers, but most of the public employees have an advantage in my eyes because they don’t beat the “underpaid and underappreciated” drum nearly as much as the teachers do. Just going by supply and demand, both are probably overpaid, but nobody tends to mind as long as you just do your job without begging for appreciation and saying how hard your job is.
Okay, those of you who feel that teaching is easy have never actually taught. Plus, I don’t walk around bashing other careers and discussing how easy I think it is, so don’t do it to us. I am sick and tired of hearing people talk like they know anything about what is going on in the classroom these days. We, teachers, have the government,our bosses (which are probably in the double digits), members of the community, parents, students, and the general public pressuring us every single day. If we’re lucky we also have a family to take care of as well. Somehow we need to squeeze in lesson planning and grading in there because we simply couldn’t get the time to do it in between meetings, counseling kids, or making phone calls to parents. That is just a snapshot of a teacher’s day. That may sound like complaining, but it’s not: it’s just our job. Squeezing 12 months of work into 10 is not easy, which is part of the reason why teachers have to devote so much time outside of school to accomplish what’s needed. I don’t complain when my friends who aren’t teachers talk about all their free time to work out and spend time with friends and family after work. However, I’ll admit, in the summer I take the time to travel to see those that I’ve neglected because of my lack of time during the school year. We wouldn’t feel the need to protect our careers if we weren’t constantly bashed all the time. Just shut your mouths, and let us do our jobs if you don’t want to hear us “complain”.
Really? Teachers don’t bash other careers? They just have the HARDEST job ever and never get a decent wage. I wonder how people working in sweat shops feel? Or soldiers away from their families and missing their children being born feel about comments like that.
I think you get attacked all the time because you complain more than any other profession in this world. “We are so underpaid, we have such a hard job.” Blah. Blah. Blah. Maybe I should start complaining to my patients. “It is so TERRIBLE for me that you have cancer, I only get paid $19/hour to care for you.”
I recently had a friend who is a principal say she was taught in one of her HR classes in college “it’s not worth the effort to get rid of a teacher with tenure.” Must be nice to have that kind of job security.
I think it just about sums up what’s wrong with America when we take the word of the reptiles who work in HR over that of the teachers who’ve devoted themselves to our kids.
Also, like countless others here, YOU MISSED THE POINT. The point is that every idiot in America THINKS they could be a teacher, and feels free to bash teaching and teachers, and to tell teachers how they should be doing their jobs. Hardly any other profession endures that level of disrespect. Plenty of people work harder than teachers, but their hard work is RESPECTED, not belittled by small-minded bottom-feeders like you.
Kelcy, you said, I recently had a friend who is a principal say she was taught in one of her HR classes in college “it’s not worth the effort to get rid of a teacher with tenure.”
As a business professional, who has led an HR department, what a load of BS, most teachers have a union, that union has an agreement (collective bargaining agreement, or CBA) with the school board. The CBA lays out in very specific steps how you discipline someone and do it legally. Here in lies the real problem with our education system. Lack of professional leadership…
Those teachers are so devoted to our kids that they strike when they don’t get a raise.
I don’t know that EVERY idiot thinks they can be a teacher, but I do know PLENTY of idiots who are teachers and have been for awhile. Anyone who can deal with kids can be a teacher. If you have the basic ability to relate to people that most have, it’s not difficult. Spending more time than you need to does not make it hard. A lot of other work is respected because it is specialized enough that not everyone could do it. Also, workers in other fields don’t go out of their way to direct attention to how hard they have it. It’s especially ballsy to whine teacher-style when you are whining to the people who pay you.
Here here…. Amen worded well.
My daughter’s teacher grades papers on her own time like nothing I’ve ever seen. She gives countless extra hours to our district Odyssey of the Mind team. After local competitions, many of our teams went to states where she followed us all an entire Saturday. The next day she toted her own child to a travel ball tournament requiring her to stay up till 3 a.m. to complete interims due Monday. I can’t even begin to tell all her sacrifices she makes daily. I too am a teacher, at times staying up until 2 a.m. to complete our elementary school’s yearbook. Thankless hours that sacrifice not just our family but our health. It takes special people for sure. Teaching is not enough.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the less than positive comments regarding teachers and their field coming from people who have no idea what goes on in and out of the classroom.
My wife is a teacher, I see first hand what it takes and what it costs to be a teacher. It is amazing to see the comments about all the paid time off, funny, my wife gets paid over the summer only because her 10 month pay is divided up over 12 months. Not to mention, spends about 3k per year out of her pocket for classroom supplies, food/drinks for kids on field trips for parents who can’t afford to send money, etc. All the time spent grading papers, parent conferences etc. not paid. My wife has a Masters, just started earning over 40k a year after 9 years teaching, I earn more than double that with an MBA. She doesn’t complain about the pay, she loves teaching kids, hates her job.
There are several bad teachers at her school, lets the kids watch videos all day, among other things. Administration doesn’t do anything about it, why, they don’t know how. School administrators are educators who have had Ed leadership training, they are not business people. We need more business leadership in the education system. Education is the business of teaching our children and preparing them for life. As far as measuring a teachers performance, measure student growth one grade at a time. Test every subject at the beginning of the year per student, test again in the middle of the year and at the end of the year. If there is growth per individual student, the teacher has done their job and then some, if no growth or a loss, well then there is a problem. My hats off to all the professional teachers who are there everyday, you have my respect and admiration. Thank you.
I think many of the people leaving comments have completely missed the point of the article, unfortunately. The author was not saying that teaching is the hardest career out there or that we deserve huge pay raises or that our unions are perfect. He was merely pointing out that teaching is the hardest career that everyone feels free to judge and evaluate without having been an educator themselves.
I have a few family members that have PhD’s in chemistry and do important research with biofuel technology. Clearly, their job is important and helps improve the world and has a valuable place in society. However, I would never presume to tell them how to run their research or structure their experiments. However, because everyone has been a student, many people feel like they have enough experience to judge how the education system should be run. They do not take into account all the advanced educational theory and practice teachers study in college in order to become licensed professionals.
Therefore, if teachers complain more publicly than other professions, perhaps it is only because teachers are attacked more publicly than any other profession.
I think people understand it perfectly. The author is saying that A) people assume teaching is easy, and B)teaching is actually hard. I reject that premise, having taught and done other work. Teaching was incredibly easy compared to most of the other jobs I’ve had. Mentally easier, physically easier, safer, more relaxed, more-than-fairly compensated. I didn’t particularly care for dealing with parents who didn’t care or for some of the other teachers, many (but not all or even most) of whom struck me as whiny, incompetent, and lazy. Much more workplace drama as a teacher than other fields.
The points about teachers complaining about how hard their job is or how little they are paid and appreciated come from teachers responding to the initial post. Look and you’ll see plenty of commenters opening themselves up to criticism for whining about pay, hours, difficulty of the job, lack of appreciation, etc.
Anonymous, your reading comprehension is poor, your analytical language abilities are nonexistent, your anecdotes do not equal data, and you’re a cowardly, lying troll.
I’d tell you to try again under your real name, but then you’d be outed as a 20 year old Ron Paul supporter who hates unions, and loves ayn rand, but has never done an honest day’s work in his sad little suburban libertarian life.
Karl! So glad to see your mouth has healed! Sorry again about that. What can you do? Barbs will be barbs.
This anonymous guy is about as clever and entertaining as Jay Leno, but a bit more predictable…
Anonymous-
Again, I’ll say that people seem to be missing the point of the essay (yes, including you). Also, you’ll notice that I neither condemned nor supported the other commentators on this thread regarding pay, difficulty, or appreciation.
As an educator myself, I appreciate this article and it’s author. I’ve read his other articles and agree with his viewpoints on education. Mr. Hong has a good view of both sides of the education debate and takes a level headed approach to it.
My stance is this: I chose my career because I love working with children and helping them learn and grow as people. I try not to complain about the less than pleasant aspects of my job, because I know that there are parts of every job that are less than perfect. What truly makes me upset, however, is when those who have not trained to be educators feel that they can tell me how to do my job. I don’t tell my doctor or my mechanic how to do their jobs because I don’t have specialized training in those fields. I want, as an educator, to be extended the same courtesy.
Laura,
Please tell me, concisely, what the point of the blog entry entitled “The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do” is then. Disagreeing with the point of the piece does not imply that the point was not understood. The author also believes that the transfer of knowledge is secondary to more intangible benefits like inspiration. I got that from his writing, agree that inspiring kids is great, but I don’t believe it is as important as ensuring the students retain basic knowledge and skills they need. Part of that stems from working with ineffective teachers who resist measurement of their poor performance by falling back on similar arguments. Me inspiring someone to be an engineer is actually kind of cruel if I don’t effectively equip them with a working understanding of physics or calculus before they go on to college.
If, in the process of learning the material, the student realizes they have a natural ability and interest in my field, that’s a great perk. For every one of those kids, there are at least ten more that may not be so inspired but will need to know some math to make intelligent decisions in their everyday lives. To me, that is a more important priority, and it is also easily measured.
Damn, dude. After, what, 30 comments (?), you’re finally making your point clear. So, I shall respond….
Everything you’ve said up to this point is built upon a flawed assumption, and your entire argument breaks down when deconstructed. Let’s take a look at your line of reasoning:
1. First, you assume that I don’t consider teaching to entail the “transfer of information,” apparently because I make no mention of it in this article.
2. Next, you argue that transferring information is easy and that therefore teachers have an easy job.
3. From there, you conclude that teachers need to stop complaining about their jobs being difficult.
This whole time, you’ve mired yourself in arguing your second and third points, which is your prerogative. The problem is, both of these points are dependent on your first point being true. And, in fact, your first point is patently false.
Here’s why:
I never claimed that teaching doesn’t involve the transfer of information. To me, that’s a given. That’s what EVERYONE knows teaching to involve. Let’s say, for instance, that I wanted to argue that a Ferrari is a better car than a Lamborghini. Well, I wouldn’t open my argument by saying that the Ferrari has an engine. BECAUSE THAT’S A GIVEN. IT WOULDN’T BE A CAR WITHOUT AN ENGINE.
Similarly, no one has ever argued that teaching doesn’t involve the transfer of information. BECAUSE IT WOULDN’T BE TEACHING WITHOUT THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION. Ergo, there was no reason for me to point that out in this article.
Instead, my argument is that teaching involves MUCH MORE than the transfer of information. That’s the misconception I had before I became a teacher, and that’s the misconception you continue to have. And that is the entire point of this article.
You can disagree with this point if you choose, BUT YOU WILL BE WRONG IF YOU DO SO. Because teaching does, in fact, involve much more than transferring information. EFFECTIVE teaching involves inspiration and psychology and everything else I mentioned above. If you disagree with this, you only prove yourself to be an ineffective teacher.
Let’s also not forget that you started all this by constructing a straw man argument and assuming that, because I didn’t mention teaching involving the transfer of information, I therefore do not consider it to be an aspect of teaching.
Do you get it now how fallacious your entire line of reasoning is? Despite everything you’ve posted up to this point, it turns out that YOU’RE the one who needs to get over yourself.
And NOW, I’m officially done with you. Feel free to continue commenting all you want. You’ve already demonstrated your ignorance plenty enough.
It’s easy to measure if kids have learned the information. If transfer of information is implied in the title “teacher”, which it should be, why do you argue that there is no good way to measure what teachers do? Sure, the additional aspects may be difficult to impossible to quantify independently, but wouldn’t they be indirectly measured via testing? Hell, couldn’t you score higher on a test on child/adolescent psychology and physiology than somebody who doesn’t know about those things? My argument is that the information transfer is the primary responsibility in teaching. The other stuff is nice, but it doesn’t matter if that first goal isn’t accomplished. Often times, the transfer of the information is enhanced by inspiring kids or understanding psychology. Wouldn’t students who are inspired by a teacher work harder to learn the material? Wouldn’t a teacher who understands how developing minds work, and presents lessons accordingly, see better results than a teacher who teaches the same group of kids with less effective methods?
You say in your article that a teacher’s skill cannot be measured. Focusing on all these intangibles, while insisting that what you do can’t be quantified, comes off to others like you think these secondary aspects of your job are as important as what most parents and laypeople would consider the primary product of your work. Others disagree with that set of priorities. That difference in opinion seems to be the source of our disagreement.
Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m actually glad you’re finally willing to engage in a productive discussion without resorting to blanket attacks, because I’m always eager to talk about this.
Yes, I agree that the transfer of information should be the first goal of teaching. And yes, I agree that if you accomplish all the other intangibles, your students should (theoretically) show an improvement in their test scores.
But, realistically, there are some shortcomings to this system. In fact, I devoted an entire article to this topic:
http://www.musingsonlifeandlove.com/2011/05/30/standardized-testing-merit-pay-and-misaligned-incentives-in-the-american-education-system/
Misaligned incentives aside, though, let’s talk about the realities of testing for information transfer. A lot of the information that I’m mandated to teach (i.e., my kids MUST “master” these topics) is stuff that the kids will likely never use again in the future. Yet, retention of this information is what they’re measured on. What’s the use in that? How is that going to prepare them for the real world?
Even worse, standardized tests only measure information recall. They don’t measure any higher-level cognitive abilities. I mean, come on, who fucking cares if a kid can remember that the mitochondria produce energy for the cells. When it comes to developing vital skills, that piece of information matters for shit. Yet, it’s what I am required by law to teach them.
Okay, so let’s say that I take my job as a teacher seriously (which I do), so I focus instead on helping the kids develop actual skills that they will need in life. I give them problems that require higher-order thinking skills. I help them learn how to work with others. I help them develop leadership skills.
Well, guess what, that comes at the sacrifice of time in class I could’ve been teaching them to memorize the information that will be on those standardized tests. And that means they likely won’t perform as well. Now, you can argue that if I were to teach all those other skills mentioned above, the information recall should come with them, but that’s simply not true. The ability to perform well on a standardized test is only tangentially related to all these other skills.
In that case then, no, I don’t agree that measuring how much information has transferred into the brain of the kid is a valid measurement of how well I’ve done my job as a teacher.
Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that you can’t quantify many of the skills that these kids are going to need to be successful in the real world, because as a teacher, I’m only planting the seed for them to develop these skills over the next few decades. You may think it’s idealistic, but I guarantee you, any teacher who actually cares about teaching considers the importance of these skills. And if you can develop a way to measure these skills, then I guarantee you that every teacher would be happy to be measured on them.
So… no, it’s not laziness or sour grapes that makes teachers complain about standardized tests that measure only information transfer. It’s the fact that they DON’T MEASURE TEACHING, plain and simple.
Ok, Mr. Anonymous…I believe you STILL don’t get the point, but I’ll give you an easy chance to prove me wrong. You should have no trouble here, unless you’re totally full of crap.
Your challenge is to name at least one (the way you talk, three should be a cakewalk) profession which meets these two simple criteria:
1. Most people, despite having never engaged in it professionally, nor having any specialized training, nonetheless assume they could easily do it as well as or better than most professionals active in the field.
2. It is clearly more difficult than teaching to do well.
I don’t think you’ll be able to do it. But have a go. This should be interesting.
Dennis,
I think there are plenty of subject areas where you can test higher order stuff (more than just recall), particularly in math and the physical sciences. There you need to have some notion of the material and also the ability to do something with that knowledge in order to find an answer. There is a lot of vocabulary involved with biology, so it’s harder than most subjects to avoid just having the kids memorize a lot of it. I think it would be one of the more difficult subjects to teach for that reason.
I agree with you that a lot of the stuff that is taught in high school and even college isn’t what’s necessary to be successful. I know a lot of highly educated people who can’t seem to figure it out and plenty of people who never went to college who are very successful. On the other hand, the taxpayers are paying you to be a biology teacher, so first and foremost, they’d like to see how much biology your students have absorbed over the course of the year. Assuming the tests are still going to be administered, what other evaluations do you think would best capture the differences between your teaching and somebody who is less effective?
You can test higher order stuff on any subject. But that’s not what’s happening in our current public school system.
And now, you’re arguing circularly. Do you honestly believe parents send their kids off to school thinking, “Gosh darn it, I hope my kid memorizes his cellular macromolecules today, cuz that’s sure as hell where my tax dollars are going!”
Because that’s sure as hell what standardized tests measure.
No, I argue that parents send their kids to public schools expecting them to get an education, to learn skills that will help them become functional, productive members of society, to prepare them to be successful in life.
As I’ve been pointing out this entire time, that’s what effective teachers aim to do, that’s what parents expect their kids’ teachers to do, and yet that’s what the current system is unable to measure. You can’t base your argument on your own faulty assumption.
If you read the other article I linked, you’ll notice that I left it open-ended. I’ve actually been researching and developing ideas. I just haven’t had a chance to put them down in print yet.
Stay tuned for that one.
You know what, I think I’m getting where the disconnect is occurring here….
From what you’ve posted, I gather that your teaching experience has been in higher education or otherwise affluent (i.e., private) schools. In those cases, yes, parents might look to the teachers only has disseminators of knowledge, because they’re already at home, helicopter-parenting their kids into functional cogs of society. They don’t need teachers to take on that role.
But you neglect the rest of the population… the majority out there, in less affluent neighborhoods, who basically depend on their kids’ teachers to be babysitters, counselors, psychologists, role models, and educators.
So that’s where the big irony comes in: Private schools frequently pay better, but it’s actually easier to teach in private schools, because all you’re doing is transferring information. Public schools, though… that’s not how teaching works.
You are almost right about where I’ve taught, and there’s a reason for that. I would not teach in some of the school districts where my friends teach, because no matter what they do there, they are essentially babysitting budding criminals, or just criminals in the case of the older students. The kids have either nobody or a bunch of bad examples at home, and you have second graders talking about having sex and shooting people in the classroom. It really is a job for a juvenile corrections officer more than it is a teaching gig. It’s not the difficulty of the work that scares me off so much as the infinitesimally small chance of success. When you are surrounded by that kind of culture, the few kids who want to learn have no chance. Getting those few kids into private schools or just away from some of the bad apples will help.
I did read your other article, but I couldn’t find any concrete alternatives to testing. At least you are smart enough to not throw out the usual metrics like GPAs, graduation rates, etc. that are completely controlled by the teachers being evaluated. I can’t tell you how many other teachers I’ve talked to who try to say the fact that 80% of their class earned A’s or B’s was indicative of their great teaching.
As a parent, my expectation is that my kids learn the subject matter they are being taught. There are some life lessons involved in all of that if the teacher is good: how to read and think critically, hard work pays off, be punctual and manage your time well, prioritize, take pride in your work, that sort of thing. Most of the tools for being successful in life will be learned at home by watching my wife and I. If we are concerned about teaching kids stuff that will help them be successful, we really ought to scrap half or more of the high school curriculum requirements and focus on teaching them how to handle money instead.
In my experience, the stuff that determines success in life is almost entirely behavioral as opposed to being based on knowledge or intelligence. The kind of discipline to pick up an additional job when money is tight or to deny your impulses to be successful later on is something that’s hard to teach in schools. Most people are taught it by family, the military, or by necessity when they screw up.
Having been in this environment for seven years now, I can assure you that the chances of success are far greater than “infinitesimal.”
Either way, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. But I guess that’s where I choose to be where I am.
I disagree with your use of the word “most” there, but my point stands either way: You may have been lucky enough to learn those skills from your parents, but not everyone is as lucky as you. Those are the people whom teachers serve, and I’d argue that there are lot more of those people than you might realize.
Well, anonymous, I can see that you’re unable to meet my challenge.
You’ve been full of shit this entire time. If that’s the level of rigor you bring to engineering, it’s no wonder you have time to sit around making an ass of yourself in this argument for the past week.
I’m saying most people who end up learning it learn it from parents. A lot of people, even smart people, never do learn it, despite life giving them repeated encouragement to do so. My brother is one of those people who never learned it, even though we grew up with the same folks, went to the same schools, etc. It’s one of those things where you need to learn either from good examples or from experience over a long period of time, and even then, you need to DO something to make good things happen. Learning it from a teacher in a school is not going to be effective for the vast majority of kids. Will it work occasionally? Sure. Is it the best way to do it? Definitely not. Bad or absent parents is not something that you, me, or any teacher can fix. It is a fight that is not winnable with the incentives set up the way they are right now.
Just out of curiosity, if you were to quantify it, how much of your job is purely teaching, and how much is mentoring? Out of your mentoring, how much is trying to get kids to shoot for the stars and how much is trying to get kids to not end up in prison or on the dole? I would have a hard time in the latter situation, because I know that no amount of work of mine is going to appreciably help most of these kids.
Exactly. So maybe now you understand why teachers don’t feel respected. It’s because the “incentives” being lobbied around (or already in place) simply don’t address what we actually need to do to get our students to be successful.
At the same time, have you considered that we teachers do believe the fight is winnable? And that it starts with people realizing that teachers do so much more than just disseminate knowledge?
Do you see the point of this article now?
At my school, probably 20/80 teaching/mentoring. Of course, I don’t tell every kid that they will grow up to be a CEO of a Fortune 500, but if I can get them to realize that they can get a steady job with reasonable pay, then I’ve accomplished my goal.
There’s plenty of room between “the stars” and prison, ya know. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. And, in fact, the vast majority of the kids at my school do find their place somewhere in there.
Dennis,
Based on your own quantification, is it really accurate to call what you do teaching? If it’s that much mentoring, couldn’t any successful adult who can relate to kids do it? Regardless, I can respect somebody like you doing it where it’s most difficult. I would not thrive in that situation, because the lack of parenting would piss me off to the point where I wouldn’t give the kids my best. The thing that drives me nuts is that the teachers who do not have those challenges, who really don’t need to fill any role other than teaching, still complain about how hard they have it. Having taught kids with involved parents in somewhat well-off districts and universities, I can’t bring myself to call teaching in that situation difficult. Really, I could plug anybody with decent people skills and adequate subject matter knowledge in and they’d figure it out pretty quickly.
Would you agree that we should test to get some data, but the decisions we make with that data need to be influenced by the situation at hand? Naturally, your performance would be evaluated differently than someone teaching biology in a wealthier district, but I think it is silly to say that one of the few standardized data sets you have is worthless. What kind of records do you keep to chart progress of your students to get an idea of how well you are doing with a given class in a given year?
I wasn’t talking about incentives for teachers, by the way. The destruction of families and our collective common sense/work ethic that makes you spend your time mentoring instead of teaching has largely taken place through subsidizing poor behavior, but that’s probably a topic for another place.
So you are saying that it isn’t worth the effort…seems to me that even if the success rate was small that those successes would feel much sweeter because they are harder won.
I have to say, the more I read the more thankful I am for the public school my children go to and its teachers.
Still afraid of the challenge.
Still full of shit.
Oh, come on. Do we really need to resort to an argument over semantics? Aren’t the details of what I do more important than whatever label you wanna slap on me?
If mechanical engineering is that much math, couldn’t any successful adult who can perform long division do it?
Again, that’s the whole point of my article. Understanding how kids think is way harder than people realize.
Thank you. I think that’s the first nice thing you’ve said this whole time.
Of course. I can think of a ton of ways to accurately measure teaching. But, given how many teachers there are and, as you pointed out, how decisions need to be taken on a case-by-case basis, thorough and accurate measurements could be a logistical nightmare.
Thorough ones.
Seriously, I’m not sure what you’re asking for here. That seems like such a wildly general question.
Dennis,
I mean, how do you, personally, measure how you are doing in the part of the job that’s measurable? The district will do what they’re going to do, but don’t you like to have some numbers so you can say to yourself, “yeah, I got through to them on this,” or “that needs to be fixed sooner rather than later”? I liked to give my math or physics kids diagnostics to test understanding of general concepts at the beginning of the year, halfway through, and near the end. Gave me a big picture view of what I did OK, what sucked, and it fired up (most of) the kids to see that they actually improved quite a bit and made them more confident for their finals and/or AP exams. The fist one also served as a quick check to see what they forgot or had never learned but would need. Just quick stuff, one hour. You can’t tell me you’re a PhD scientist and you don’t use as much data as you can get. It’s in our nature.
Using the test scores doesn’t have to be a nightmare, as long as the people making the decisions don’t try to do too much. In my experience, they aren’t the best at this. If you are drawing students from the same pool as the other biology teachers, but your kids’ improvement over the course of the year is significantly higher than the mean, I’d like to be able to pay you more, regardless of how long you’ve been teaching or what degree you have. If there is somebody who sticks out as sufficiently bad over multiple years, I’d like to be able to fire them. In short, measure changes from a relevant baseline and only compare to a relevant population. Is that reasonable? It’d take longer than just comparing you to state, national, or local averages, but not very much more.
I really wish that lying coward would come back and try to answer my question.
He’d fail, though, so he ran away crying. There’s NO WAY that guy could make it as a teacher, in any district, for any age group, for any length of time.
A recent post from our friend Crystal’s website. I wonder how she’d like to deal with Individualized Educational Plans if fetching a few limes bugs her…(and yes, Crystal, I HAVE waitressed…plenty. In fact, until i started teaching it was the hardest job I’d ever had…but don’t worry- after the first year it gets MUCH easier.)
Nate, I see your smiley face, but I have to defend my position here and recommend that you tip highly if you are going to ask for something unusual like a lime (unless you are at a bar — and I mean sitting at a bar asking for the drink from a bartender).
If it is a table service situation the waitress has to go out of her way for every little lime wedge you ask for because it is unusual — making it a SPECIAL request. And I’m sorry, buddy, but it is totally pretentious because it is asking for something extra as though it were no big deal.
It is more work so it is a big deal. Especially if you ask for SEVEN of them.
and obviously, i have to wonder how crystal would deal with SEVEN Individualized Ed plans…as you rarely get just one in a class…
Crystal – you cannot have “natural agility”, you build it. it’s a skill. natural abilities, like learning, are different and you are BORN with it. hence, the beauty of teaching.
What you need to consider when comparing teachers and other occupations is this.
Teachers get the summer off – to supplement their income
Others have to work extended hours, take work home and deal with unruly bosses. They deal with ONE boss. They do not deal with 20-30 bosses all under the age of 18 and their parents who are also their bosses. Their bosses do not sit in the corner yelling at them that they can’t do the work. They don’t run around the room shouting out and disrupting the whole office. Their bosses do not sit staring idle out the window ignoring every word that comes out of their mouth and then blame them when they don’t know the answer to the questions on the paper.
They do not have to watch those same 20-30 bosses to make sure that boss A is kept away from boss B because boss A is bullying boss B and boss B’s parents are concerned over how it is effecting them.
Keep in mind people that without these fabulous people who CHOOSE to do this job day in and day out and put up with all those out there who want to say “but they get summers off”….. Those other professions would not have the intellects available to do the job that they are required to do. So to all you lawyers, doctor’s, pro-football and basketball players, or the average JOE who works in a pizza joint…… remember you are where you are because some teacher, somewhere along the line, CARED.
To all you parents who don’t appreciate these men and women remember, they spend more awake hours a day with your child than you do (for most people). They watch, they care, and when they lay their head down at night to try to fall asleep they do not have YOUR child to worry about…. they have 20-30 children to worry about. They do not worry if YOUR child will graduate their class, they worry if the 20-30 children will graduate their class. They don’t worry if little Johnny will get into a good college, they worry if 20-30 young minds will pass the math test tomorrow, and if they taught them all they needed to know in 180 days to be successful next year.
Lastly, they don’t send your child to the next grade and figure their job is done. They keep tabs on them through their years and are just as proud of every achievement and just as upset by every mishap of all 20-30 children per year as you are of your 2-3 children. YOU DO THE MATH……
If it is such an easy job with all this free time, how come those who complain about teachers haven’t tried to cash in on this by becoming teachers yourselves? Begin list of ridiculous excuses now…..
Teaching limits your pay on the high end. Let’s pretend you are the best teacher ever in the public schools, but you have only been there ten years and have a BA. You would get paid less than somebody who sucks who either has a masters or has been there longer. Don’t get me wrong. You can have a very comfortable life as a teacher, and it’s a great deal if the pensions and health insurance that have been guaranteed are still around to be paid out in 20 years. However, somebody who is good at their job can make much more money doing something else.
After my family is financially secure, I will go back to teaching, most likely at a private school. It’s less stressful and I enjoy it as much or more as my career as an engineer.
Wow! Strong opinions. I am a teacher. I have done plenty of other jobs over the years. The difference is that you have no time to rejuvenate during the day when you are a teacher. You are constantly on alert…for one reason or another…so the stress level is higher than many other jobs. The lack of down time is what makes the job so difficult day-in and out. I happen to love teaching and love my job. For all the years of education I have been through and additional training I could have been a lawyer or a doctor and made tons of money. I chose this..I knew going in (although you are too young to realize the consequences of that decision…so idealistic). The atmosphere in the US is not kind to teachers right now. That makes it even more difficult…no respect…or very little. BUT everyone wants the teacher to be it all: teacher, mentor, disciplinarian, mediator and jump into the middle of a fight if it happens. A lot to ask… As far as getting summers off…thank God….You need to regroup! BUT that will be coming to an end. There are plans for all year round classrooms. It fits more with the lifestyle of parents…2 wage earners…or even 1….and noone home to watch over the little darlings! oh I forgot to add babysitter….. Ah well lucky we have a job some would say. I agree. Just don’t be so hard on us! After all we are only responsible for No Child To Be Left Behind….
Let’s just take teachers out completely for everyone who thinks teachers have it easy. Teach your own children at home, while meeting all of the state standards. Prepare them for the real world with the real skills they will new to be a doctor, lawyer, banker, plumber, social worker, etc. see if you can do it much better.
I think a lot of people are forgetting the education and training teachers must go through. In my state you have to pass a test before you can enter the college of education. Then, you have two years of schooling focused on the psychology behind learning, assessing students formally and informally, how to create engaging lesson plans. Then you have your internship and student teaching. After you finally graduate you are not a certified teacher. You have to pass another test to show you are qualified! By the time a teacher gets to a classroom they should be considered experts. Even after you begin teaching you still have to complete many hours of continuing education a year to keep your license.
I know that I, as a teacher, would like respect for being an expert in my field. I love teaching, but I am tired of being disrespected! Teachers are disrespected by parents who think they know about teaching than we do, because they’ve been to school. Teachers are tired of being disrespected by students. This generation of students are entitled, they all have rights. You can’t tell them where to sit or assign them detentions or write them up. I would gladly be happy being underpaid if people would just acknowledge that after my arduous training, as much as a doctor after my Master’s, that I am an expert in my field – Middle School Education.
Beautifully said, Julie!
I have been teaching for 31 years and those of you who think we get summers off have no clue what it means to be a good teacher. In the summers we revise lessons, look for new labs and read up on new discoveries in the science community and in the teaching community. Many of us sign up for classes and summer workshops–to help us be better at what we do. We make it work because we have a passion to help students learn how to learn and solve problems and be successful in life. Unlike other professions we do not have an 8-5 job. I arrive at least one and a half hours before school starts and stay after for an hour then I go home and read and evaluate student work for another 2-3 hours….. Plus shop for supplies for labs –many times footing the bill out of my income. So perhaps fellow teachers our 3 months off in the summer is really comp time for all the unpaid overtime hours we put in during the school year. NOT that we use it as “free time” THOSE WHO CAN TEACH, THOSE WHO CANNOT CRITICIZE.
A-teachers Linda!
You said this so eloquently, I should have read all of the way to the bottom before I replied!
short work day? Really. My required work day is 7.5 hours and I get a 25 minute break. That’s it. Most days I work 8-9 hours directly with students. This is not extra time spent grading papers, planning, or searching for teaching strategies.
Just yesterday I worked 16.5 hours directly with students. I worked from 7 am to 11:30 pm. This happens once or twice a month.
Yes, I do get summers “off” to go to school to learn more about my job. I do NOT get release time from the regular 201 work days for this like most other professions provide. I do not get paid or reimnbersed for any of these classes though they are required for me to maintain my liscense, also different from other professions.
Most people who have never taught have no clue what we really do during a school day becuase, like others have said, we make it look easy.
If I have one more person tell me to accept my level of salary because I knew what I was getting into when I entered teaching, I am going to scream! It is the American way for everyone to better their ecomic situation but when it comes to teachers or other public servants it is assumed we all took a vow of poverty. I thought everything that happened in the business world was suppose to be the model for education to follow?
I also have had other jobs before teaching. Actually, teaching isn’t as hard physically as many of the other jobs I’ve had. Waking up early to set up a restaurant is not bad, and closing it down late at night is okay also. Working eight hours in the factory is very hard, especially when it’s over 100 degrees and there’s no AC. Rucking 12 miles, whether it’s in the heat, rain, or snow, with a 100 pound backpack is also physically exhausting. The thing is though, these jobs were physically tiring and I did usually at my own pace. Teaching I have found to be mentally exhausting. Between physically tired and mentally tired, it is totally different. I won’t even talk about the time it takes to plan for a class, but I’ll talk about how it is to teach a class. It is a battle of will power between a student and teacher everyday. We have to be entertainers because if we don’t teach interesting enough your lovely child will fall asleep on us. We also have to be oracles because we have to sound like we know what we are talking about at all times and answer any random question your lovely child asks. Then we have to be disciplinarians because when we turn our backs on them, your lovely child will try and do something sneaky. Then we have to be counselors because they will try and bring up every excuse not to do their work, from the spiritual to the functional…meaning “I don’t have a pencil/pen(like they didn’t notice that within the first hour of class/school).” By the time the school day ends, teachers are mentally and emotionally drained. Then we get to do it all over again the next day because your lovely child has “slept since then,” and needs us to find a pen/pencil for them….again.
I believe all this article is really trying to say is that educators need to be respected. It is that simple. It’s easy to respect someone such as a surgeon. Personally, I would not ever like to literally hold someone else’s life in my hands… No way! However, people very easily forget who put that surgeon there… Teachers. How else did they learn to be a surgeon? Certainly not from a self-help manual. Every sophisticated profession is possible because those people were educated by teachers. Are there awful teachers out there? Sadly, yes. I would hope that surgeon didn’t have too many bad teachers in their life because we trust that surgeon with our own lives. Is the teaching profession the most difficult out there? No. However, teachers dedicate their lives to making professions like the surgeon’s possible. It is usually at the sacrifice of their own time and money… At least for the superior teachers. By this, I mean the countless summers spent in a university classroom learning new information for their students, and paying the thousands of dollars it takes to earn college credits. The countless hours at night and on weekends at the expense of family time to finish grading those 200 term papers. The countless hours spent in meetings outside of school time to ensure students with special needs receive appropriate accommodations to ensure their acdemic success and meetings with parents who believe B+’s are unacceptable grades. You’ve got to “love” the helicopter parents. As a teacher, you are part knowledge bearer, part disciplinarian, part counselor, part parent, part psychologist, part motivational speaker, part actor, part nurse (lots of band aids), part mediator, part… Well, you get the idea. Anyone who believes that teaching is easy is either A. An AWFUL teacher or B. Someone who has never spent a school year on the educating side of the desk. To the A’s, do us all a favor and find a different profession. To the “B’s,” put your money where your keyboard is and start substitute teaching… Beware… Just remember how you treated your substitute teachers as a student.
I’d love to be a teacher. holidays, weekends off. summers off. great benefits. union ensuring great pay. there are very, very few good teachers in the world, and a great teacher is a rarity. that said, I’ve been lucky enough to have 2 great teachers in my life and to be great is really, really hard to achieve. most are mediocre or just plain bad
I find it very sad that you have not experienced many very good, let alone great teachers. I am tempted to ask for the research methodology that allows you to project from the “very few good” and very rare “great” teachers in your experience to make claims for the whole world. A teacher and school administrator for more than 30 years (and still in the classroom), I have supervised teachers in all stages of their careers in all types of schools for over 20 of those years and have had quite the opposite experience. I have had the honour and the privilege to work alongside a large number and great variety of skilled, intelligent, inspirational, enthusiastic and caring men and women who didn’t count the personal nor professional cost to bring the very best education at their disposal to the teenage students in their care. I have seen them struggle with resources that are inadequate in number and quality, often supplementing those from their own income. I have seen them swallow their frustration and look for yet another approach to try to reach the difficult but able student who doesn’t want to learn, while spending long hours researching a way to help the student with learning difficulties who is desperate to know, and still try to cater for the myriad of learning styles and learning needs in between. I have called for volunteers to assist and/or supervise extra-curricular activities and never been disappointed. These teachers are at work early in the morning, late into the evening, and across holidays. Yes, there are teachers who are deadwood, just as in any walk of life, but they are what I find to be very few in the profession. I feel sad that your pocket of the world is so much less blessed than mine.
Thanks, I needed that today.
You are very welcome. I think that we will never convince our critics of the point of this article – not that it is the hardest job, we do not claim that, but that many people think they can do what a teachers does, and that teaching is easy. They have not all had brain surgery, nor built bridges, nor brought planes in to land, so they respect the expertise involved there. They have, however, been students for 13 or more years and so know what needs to be done in a classroom. It is a short step then to criticising the hours and the holidays and the security.
We will never convince them of the mental strain and drain of first managing then engaging 25-30 students, of the long hours of preparation and grading – with the imperative to keep going being the welfare of children in our care – that takes its toll on family time, of the emotional strain of dealing with defiance, aggression, rudeness and disrespect (thankfully, mostly from the few in the classroom) and remembering that it is not personal, that this behaviour is an indicator of a problem the student has and that it gives us valuable clues to unlocking the cause of the issue.
It is a sad fact that it takes so many more positives to counteract the negatives we hear, but I have a letter I received years ago above my desk which keeps me going when I hear or read ill-informed comments, such as those sprinkled through this blog. It is from a child I battled to bring into line across his school years, even going to the extreme of banning him from football games unless he both behaved appropriately and completed his school work. He told me how much he had hated me, how he had often contemplated keying my car, how he called me names to his friends – for 3 of those years. Of how he realised in the fourth that he would not have made it through school if I had taken the easy road and let his behaviour continue, how the only thing that could have got him to fall into line was his love of football. He absolutely stunned me with this letter and a huge bunch of flowers at his graduation. (He is now married with two children and a job in sports promotions, and IMs me every so often to let me know how he is getting on.)
This is what helps me to ignore the barbs of the critics, and to keep going on the many tough and disheartening days, the fact that we will often never know that we have made a difference. But caring teachers such as you, Cynthia,(and yes, those few short words were enough to show that you are), will always make a difference. Hold your head up, apologise to no one. You are shaping the citizens of tomorrow, often by counteracting the permissive/bigoted/abusive parenting with your firm/tolerant/supportive modelling. The world is a better place because you decided to be a teacher.
I think it is worth noting that:
1) teaching is one of the most important jobs out there as it ‘invests’ in humankind’s future. That being said, I was home schooled (as in taught myself with slight overseeing from my mom, NOT “my mom was my teacher”.) and I now have an MS in engineering, so I would say that the public school system isn’t REQUIRED to make good productive citizens; although that is probably the case for the 99% of the population that isn’t self-motivated.
2) That being said, teachers are there for this 99% and should EXPECT to meet resistance (otherwise they wouldn’t be needed and everyone would jump on my home school boat, ya?). The degree of resistance will vary of course, which is part of what makes it so hard to classify ‘good’ teachers; better school system makes it easier to ‘appear’ to be a better teacher with less work.
3) It hasn’t been said enough: NOT everyone is cut out to be a teacher. It isn’t a cush job, it isn’t a ‘fallback’ job for when you find out your college degree is worthless, it isn’t a job if you hate children, or if you don’t respect children (surprise, they are humanbeings with feelings and independence and if you FORCE totalitarian control on them they will be unhappy), or if you are one of those people you just doesn’t like working and will hate their job regardless; there’s a lot of other jobs you can get by with hating it 9-5 and then be done with it when you come home and go about your days not ruining some kid’s chances of making something for themselves. SO, don’t think you’re going to be coming in as some white knight that’s going to be lauded for what may very well be the best teaching performance given in your hemisphere; come for the kids.
3) And lastly, it is worth noting that teaching at the lower age levels is considerably easier than say…high school and this is true for many reasons: parents are generally more involved in their childrens’ lives at earlier ages, younger children are more easily influenced, the amount of ‘negative over-head’ duty (drugs, sex, cars, etc) is essentially non-existent at the earlier ages. And as mentioned, these younger children are more readily influenced, as in they are more susceptible to teachers’ general message that ‘learning is cool and important to doing well in life’. Therefore, might i suggest that we focus the large part of our attention on children under the age of five? For I firmly believe that I child is developed to such a stage at this point that the amount of flexibility and probability that he will ‘change his path’ is severely limited from that point forward. I’m not saying to give up on the older kids that need ‘saving’, but perhaps we should consider the less heroic position of saving them before they are lost…?
I leave you with a few (more) words: to teach (well) is difficult (no sh*t, really?). It shouldn’t be attempted lightly, and you shouldn’t ‘stick with it’ past a certain point out of vain pride. A large portion of the population simply aren’t cut out for it.
Now without sounding too egotistical, I believe I would make a good teacher. I have a natural propensity to take the time to teach others things that I can obviously do better, and I like to think that I make a concerted effort to not be too arrogant while I do it (i’m really not, i swear). I often take it so far as to sacrifice my own ‘actual’ work to make sure they know how to fish, if you catch my drift. So we have a potential teacher, that is humble and self-sacrificing with an affinity for teaching; check, check and check.
Now with that being said I have chosen NOT to teach currently but plan to in the not-too-distant future for these reasons:
-I like having sufficient money to live COMFORTABLY, which I don’t believe teachers make. Hence why i’m doing the whole engineering thing FIRST, save up enough money so that I will have something to supplement the unfortunately-low income of teachers. Griping about low-pay: check.
-I do not consider myself mature enough nor nurturing enough (gee, really?) YET to take on the responsibilities of teaching; I want to live a little before I have one kid, let alone a whole classroom full.
So that’s that. Sorry for talking your eyes off but it was my first post ^^. Feel free to roast me as you see fit.
And in case you do not have enough material for said-roasting yet, my TRULY final remark is:
schools should promote math and sciences WAY more so that our children can compete in the global arena of the 21st century; put english, history, social sciences on the back-burner and teach them SPARINGLY just so the child is well-balanced. In some abnormal cases, a child may deem that they desire more of these ‘soft’ sciences when they reach a sufficient ‘age of choice’. If all conditions are met (probably some consent by the parents or some mumbo-jumbo), then the child’s curriculum should be altered to a more ‘enlightened’ path, but the DEFAULT should be math/science heavy. Oh, and fine arts should be treated like phys ed: it exists as a LIGHT requirement; it should be treated as a creative outlet (aka a ‘fun’ class, just like phys ed).
Bottom line: I loved my music and english classes (and maybe even history) and I’m glad I had them. HOWEVER I refuse to admit that they have helped shape me as an individual what-so-ever. Ok, that might be a bit extreme but I definitely didn’t need FULL saturation of them for essentially every semester; what I needed was more math/science to hone my skills in making/fixing/analyzing things. Engineering in college is hard when half your brain is filled with useless nonsense >.<
K, NOW i'm done (for real).
Cheers!
.
I feel like I’m feeding a troll, but here goes.
You know, I can *mostly* respect what you said…until the end about English (communication/writing and analytic skills), History(those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it), and Economics (household budgeting is dearly important, and NOT everyone can figure out how to do it intuitively, it’s a LEARNED skill).
Not everybody can be an engineer. Not everyone is suited for it. Aptitude plays a role in pursuing your career. Also, it’s important to stimulate BOTH sides of a child’s brain during their development.
I’m not a stupid person. I had an aptitude for most things. I excelled in all of my classes, and took college courses in HS. My calculus teacher wanted me to pursue math, my physics and chemistry teachers wanted me to pursue science, my computer teachers wanted me to pursue computer science.
But there was absolutely no love for those things. I understood majoring in English was going to limit my earning potential. Guess what? I didn’t care. I’m not materialistic. I don’t have a lot of stuff – even now my apartment is pretty spare, not because I can’t afford it, but because I like an open, zen, clean space. I just wanted to be able to afford life. And because I took an econ class in HS that taught me how to budget and how to invest, I can afford life. I have a pretty low income, but I love what I do.
I used to have a corporate job with a great income. I cried every day towards the end. Not because the job was hard, or the office politics pissed me off. Not because I wasn’t getting compensated fairly. But because I felt trapped. Something like 90% of people with office jobs are overall satisfied. I was not. Severe depression settled in after 10 months. I’m not a mentally unstable or unbalanced person, and yet I spent my free time in the dark, doing nothing or sleeping. That’s not life. That’s not living.
Now I work part time as an admin asst. Or a secretary. Whatever you want to call me. And the rest of my time is spent sewing, crafting, acting, singing, performing, dancing, designing. All ‘useless’ skills according to you, and yet I have been paid for, well, *all* of it. I’m not paid all the time, and I’m not paid well, but, you know what, 5 years ago, it was enough to live on WITHOUT the office job and with a 2-night job as a cocktail waitress. Now, it’s a stretch to make ends meet, and I recently had to up my hours to replace some of the savings I used for a new transmission. But I’m happy, and I do not regret my decision a single bit, and I can still afford life.
It just pisses me off when people assume that everyone who pursues a “soft” discipline or a “playtime” discipline isn’t a responsible human being and should have chosen a “better,” more “fiscally responsible” discipline to study.
Computers are increasing in power, and make the job that engineers do easier. We have machines that can do portions of your job. These machines were developed by engineers who tapped into their creative side and were able to use both sides of their brain to think outside of the box. Creativity is a purely human trait – AI interests me, so I read up on it regularly. Guess what? It’s difficult to the point of impossible to program true creativity. It is a great foundation for every great mind. I learned more problem solving skills and brainstorming skills in art and theatre than I did in upper level science courses, and music stimulates the mathematician in me because it’s so ordered and logical.
These things have helped me so much in my life. But when I need to balance my checkbook, well, honestly I use a spreadsheet that does it ALL for me.
Anyone who thinks a career in Fine and Dramatic Arts is PLAYTIME has never actually studied it as a discipline. And on top of that, we are even less respected than teachers.
So, Good for YOU, Mr/Ms Engineer! You used the problem solving and analytic skills you learned in “soft” disciplines to assess your future prospects. In doing so, you have chosen Science over Humanities in order satisfy your requirements of a good life, which includes making a lot of money. My requirements are different. My value system is different. The opportunity cost of becoming an engineer is too great a price tag for me. I’d rather be struggling financially and free to do that which I love.
Good luck teaching. If you cannot tap into a kids creativity, you will not inspire that child. If nothing else, remember that.
Ya, I agree with ‘Not an Engineer’ for the most part:
You don’t have to be stupid to take up a ‘soft’ job, and you also can be stupid and still get by doing an engineering job, which I consider myself in this ladder boat from time to time ^^.
Believe it or not, I don’t consider myself all that materialistic. I DO keep spreadsheets (best invention ever, btw) and try to manage my money, but I REFUSE to micro budget and ho-and-hum over every little thing I buy. And I like to go out to the movies every now and then and to have a nice dinner out with the gf to celebrate an accomplishment in our life, or maybe just another friday gone by. The point is we are talking about SEVERAL dinners out per month (though we try to limit it to no more than one per week). And I want to be able to do this without thinking (man, how am I going to be able to pay for this?).
And I will have zero debt within a year of graduating because I took the financially responsible path and went to a state school AND I was intending on having a career after I graduated. Btw, I think credit cards are some of the most ‘creative’ things that our society has come up with; they may be necessary for education, cars, and homes, but weren’t the banks/government already taking care of this before these evil little pieces of plastic were invented?
But I digress. Lets just say, I consider advertisement industries and ‘luxury services’ some of the most creative and evil jobs out there. My apologies if any of you fall into this group >.<
Oh, and kudos my friend on utilizing the word 'zen' in an intellectual conversation, I must say I've never seen that before (yes, I must troll a liiittle bit). And btw, I do consider myself as having a lot of things, which disgusts me; my gf and I have made an oath not to make ANY big purchases for our new apt. until we go through our things, and our parents' things, and our grandparents' things…
And about computers making our jobs easier: eh, I can see how that'd be a common misconception because it is true that a GIVEN job from 1980 is now WAY easier thanks to computers HOWEVER what that really translates into is that we can work FASTER and get MORE done; projects that were taking 2 years now take 6 mo or less to turn around. Horrah for progress! But seriously, it has become a game of margins out there, and the corporations are just trying to get as much out of their workers as they can, which means they hire less and instead work us for 50, 60, 65 hours a week
. I'm not really complaining though; I knew that going in and that's the price I pay for my hefty salary.
What MY big fear is is that computers are increasing in PREVALENCE in all aspects of life; your fridge didn't use to have a computer in it, your over didn't use to, your CAR is a biggy, etc. Will the average human be able to get by in 20 years without knowing more than how to open Microsoft Word? Probably. Will they be severely out of the loop and always depending on their techie friends when they toothbrush/toilet/couch/bed/etc breaks? Almost certainly. I truly have the hypothetical childrens' best interests at heart when I say they NEED math and science in FAR greater portions to be able to be competitive in the future. And if their 'aptitude' isn't there for it, then they'll know early enough in development to switch them to a more creative and noble track. Note that I'm not saying they shouldn't have ANY exposure to creativity before this point, just…reduced. Honestly, it is the sort of thing after-school programs or parents at home can offer if my curriculum plan is insufficient. I am confident that you do not need full-fledged classes at a child's early ages to teach them how to paint. You DO need teachers at that age for math and science in order to inspire interest in the subject, as you yourself noted. You need them PARTICULARLY badly at that age as children tend to shy away from the subjects, not our of a lack of affinity but simply because children have a harder time grasping abstract concepts, which is sadly all most teachers tend to convey with math. And once the child shies away from math, they fall behind and are SEVERELY unprepared for it in high school/college when they start to see useful and FUN math, and this sense of being lost only serves to make the teacher's job harder and reaffirm the child's 'lack of affinity' for math.
And I sympathize with your depression issues involving Cubicle Jail; I've felt it myself with the short internships I've had already. And I consider myself having 'aptitude' towards engineering, for sure. But I'd be surprised if there's ANYone out there who can do 50 or 60 hours a week at a cubicle with no company but a computer screen and not be a little bit unhappy by the end. I'd dare to say they aren't human if they could.
Anyway, I DO intend to be super-creative, in my spare time (which will be quite slim and precious, I know). If i did 'creative' for a career, I think I'd go mad. I suppose it's not the creativity that's the big issue, although such doesn't come naturally to me, at least not in large quantities. What I could NOT do is the whole entrepreneur thing (nor can I spell it without help, +1 for computers and their spelling programs). I APPLAUD anyone who can make a living with said entrepreneurship; I for one need a location (a cubicle will do just fine), where I report to each and every day, and a set of tasks to accomplish. Now don't think me a drone; these tasks can have a good deal of flexibility in them and i'll utilize my impressive powers of 'creativity' to make progress, but I need SOMEone telling me SOMEthing to get started.
Bottom line is that the economy and society are sorely favoring my career choice over your career choice, and i feel bad for that, I really do. It is plain unfair and I am pretty positive that you work a good deal harder at you job(s) than I do at mine, which to me is a strong indication that you should be getting paid more. But at the end of the day try telling that to the whitehouse and see what they do. no matter whom is sitting on the throne.
I guess I want to end with saying that I wish you well at living within your means and I pray that the system does not pinch people in your boat too much more; every human being deserves to live FULLY, provided they put in the time and effort to give back to the community.
@Ya ya:
Thank you for feeling bad that my career choice isn’t lucrative? I’m not really looking for sympathy. Don’t feel sorry for me, I’m doing what I love. Sometimes I have to sacrifice and work a little harder (I do own a jewelry business, and the harder I work, the more I make.) I understand that when the economy takes a hit, the arts take it really hard. I get it, I do. People just assume I don’t because financial wealth (and the symbols thereof – a fancy home, a nice car, even an iphone, which I do not have) is regarded in such high esteem in American society.
I’m not going to insult your intelligence, I’m sure you’ve seen basic human need pyramids before. Your point about giving back tells me that. The very first (and therefore most important) basic human need is survival. We need shelter and food. That’s it. We don’t need to understand the molecular make up of plants and animals – we just need to know which ones we can eat and which ones are poisonous and which ones are good for clothing and shelter. Our society has progressed with good creative human ingenuity to where we can produce food and shelter safely, efficiently, and effectively, which has led to specialization and higher quality of living standards. Creative fulfillment is one of the last human needs that need to be met, but it is STILL a human need. You said yourself, you plan to be creative in your free time. That tells me you understand it’s an important part of an enriched life, if not one that has earning potential.
You would think that living in what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world, our living standards would demand that we be able to afford these creative endeavors after taking care of the other needs. With a technologically advanced society where specialization reigns, it follows that certain people should choose a creative career path to fill that niche in the advanced society. Those people should be respected for their decision to trade a higher paycheck for improving the quality of life of those around them. Not derided and told, ‘You should have picked a better career.’ (Better being automatically equated with more lucrative)
What’s worse is I AM financially solvent, just not WEALTHY, and people still look down on me. “Don’t you want a better paycheck?” “I don’t NEED a better paycheck.” “Don’t you want a real job?” “I have a real job. Several, in fact. One is in a corporate company, some are based in my home office, and the others are in a variety of theatres and venues. I get paid real money, I pay my real bills, I purchase real food, how are those not real jobs?” “But you have a degree from a great university!” “So?”
They don’t Get It. So thank you for your support and not questioning my career choice.
I appreciate the spirit of your post, and I respect you for your career choice. I just ask that I be respected for mine. And that’s really the point of the original article – teaching is a career choice that is NOT respected and really should be, especially because it fulfills an even greater human need than creative fulfillment – Knowledge and Understanding.
I would just like to address some of your points in order to clarify my position.
“And I will have zero debt within a year of graduating because I took the financially responsible path and went to a state school AND I was intending on having a career after I graduated. “
First, I take it that you haven’t graduated yet, or you just did – best of luck – it’s brutal for new graduates right now. I truly hope you are successful in your field of choice. If I’m wrong in my assumption, I apologize.
Second, I have no student debt left – I paid for it with the job I hated. I stayed in that job much longer than I would have in order to be responsible, pay back my student loans, and put money into savings and investments. I was promoted and given a decent raise after 6 months. That helped. But it didn’t make the job any more satisfactory. I went to a private university, and while it wasn’t as expensive as ivy league, it was at least twice as much as a state school. I went to college with a career in mind as well. Just because my career choice isn’t as lucrative as yours doesn’t mean it’s invalid, irresponsible, or lacking of ambition. I hope there aren’t many people who go to college WITHOUT intending on having some sort of career. Just because my career choice isn’t lucrative doesn’t automatically mean I’m irresponsible or immature for choosing it. I also do not have *any* credit card debt. I pay with CASH. My parents didn’t raise a fool. I did, however, establish good credit while I was younger by putting every school expense not covered by loans on a credit card with my name on it while an undergrad, and paying off my student loans, and paying off a car note.
“What MY big fear is is that computers are increasing in PREVALENCE in all aspects of life…Will the average human be able to get by in 20 years without knowing more than how to open Microsoft Word? Probably. Will they be severely out of the loop and always depending on their techie friends when they toothbrush/toilet/couch/bed/etc breaks? Almost certainly.”
I rely on a mechanic when my car breaks down. I could learn how to change sparkplugs myself, but I choose to pay someone else to do it.
The more immersed in the technology as a child, the better they are able to deal with the technology. This is why the younger generation adapts to new computers faster and easier than the older generation. Fresh out of college, I had to teach the department where I worked how to go paperless. A responsibility I got no extra pay for. I never took a class in the paperless software that was written for the company. But my experience with computers growing up made learning it on my own pretty intuitive. The people in my age bracket didn’t need me to teach them. But the older my coworkers were, the more difficult it was for them to adapt and I spent countless hours going over and over the same (simple) steps.
My boss now just turned 83. I pay all the invoices by typing checks on a *typewriter.* He types a memo on his computer, prints it out, makes changes in red pen, hands it to me and asks me to retype the whole thing because he cannot figure out how to attach documents to an email and send it to me on the computer I use at work, which is 10 years old and gives me the blue screen of death once a month. He doesn’t see the need to replace it. He doesn’t care to learn any computing skills. In a generation, that’s going to be unheard of. Everyone living will know how to attach documents to an email.
So…it sounds like I’m agreeing – there needs to be a bigger focus on math and science at a younger age. But honestly, there needs to be a *balance* – children learn best when both sides of their brains are stimulated. They are more interested in math and science when they can see *creative* applications of those disciplines. I loved science when we got to go out into the world and take nature samples back to school, and look at them through the microscope and *draw* what we saw there. Children who play musical instruments younger have a greater understanding of and love of math. Have you studied child development and psychology? Have you studied education? I know people who have. I defer to them when it comes to what children need to learn. Apparently, greater development and intellectual achievement is fostered with imagination and creativity.
And who knows these things about child development? Teachers and educational administrators. And if we paid them better and gave them the respect the position deserves, we’d get better teachers who have better understanding of how to foster a well balanced mind in a child.
“But I’d be surprised if there’s ANYone out there who can do 50 or 60 hours a week at a cubicle with no company but a computer screen and not be a little bit unhappy by the end. I’d dare to say they aren’t human if they could.“
There’s a significant difference between “a little bit unhappy” and depressed, overeating, oversleeping, and not participating in normal social activities on the weekends and in my spare time. I’m an extrovert. I need people to fuel myself. Also, I was only working 40 hours a week. This was before the economic recession. The truth remains, whatever frustration, boredom, stress people might feel in a “cubicle dungeon,” the majority of those workers still rate themselves as having high satisfaction with their job. I forget the article I first read that in, I’ve seen a few different statistics, but can you see the difference between a little unhappiness and true depression? Plus, incredibly introverted people are perfectly happy to sit at a computer and never socialize. To dehumanize the introvert is to dehumanize my fiancé, who is perfectly happy with a computer screen for a companion most of the time. Opposites do attract. (Before you think it, right now we do NOT have combined finances. I am financially independent, and intend to remain so. We are roommates and split the living expenses, but I’d probably have a roommate anyway. I hate living alone.)
“If i did ‘creative’ for a career, I think I’d go mad.”
If I didn’t have my creative career, I KNOW I’d go mad. It takes all kinds to make a world. Which goes back to my original point, not everyone can be an engineer.
I also applaud entrepreneurship. That is what makes this country so great. I also needed the computer’s spellcheck to spell it. But you know the programmers who created that spell check? They needed someone proficient in linguistics to create the database of correctly spelled words for that spellcheck. Or maybe they just used a dictionary. But someone, somewhere, wrote that dictionary, defined those words, and settled on a universal spelling of that word. Yay Lexicography!!
They needed someone proficient in grammar to collaborate with them on the grammar check software as well. Or, a grammar guide. That was written. By a grammarian. Who was taught by an English teacher at some point in their life. (See what I did there? I used fragments as a rhetorical device to make my point, which I learned in English.)
(I keep trying to bring the conversation back around to Teaching because that WAS the original blog’s subject matter. No downvotes here, but still…)
I guess my point is – don’t look down or discredit creative fields or fields with worse pay. When this country is prosperous again, we’ll return to an appreciation of those things. And if you do have children, and one is looking at a non-science/math career – please do not stifle that child’s hopes and dreams. Foster creativity, curiosity, imagination, and consult with their teachers about their development. Not everyone can be an engineer. Thank God.
Ya NaE, some good points:
-Knowledge/learning is WAY more important than both technology and creativity combined, and thus teachers as purveyors of knowledge have important jobs. Do they deserve respect? Depends if they do their job well of course. So no, I’m NOT going to blanket ALL teachers and say that they deserve respect as a profession. Just like I don’t expect engineers to get respect; I intend to EARN my respect by being a good engineer.
-Ya, I get the difference between little vs lot unhappy. I consider myself an extrovert as well. Yes, I can spend many hours a day on a computer doing work. 8 a day? That might be a little much. That’s why I intend to INTERFACE with others, and SHARE my ideas, and go ask others questions so that I may LEARN and someday become that guy OTHERS can come ask others questions to. Plus I intend to join the company soccer team (or start one, if one doesn’t exist) so then I’ll have something to look forward to and can stomach the worst-case scenario of 8 hrs straight on the computer.
And introverts are fine as well, although once again I feel for them as many jobs today demand large amounts of networking, public speaking, understanding other disciplines, etc to be successful. That is a common misconception about engineers; that we are all nerds that are sucked into our computers but in reality the things we do require HUGE amounts of collaboration and any consumer products you see today will have utilized at LEAST 50 different individuals. Please do not mistake my ‘feelings’ towards introverts for pity; merely concern. Although I’m sure your wife is a very successful individual.
And to answer your question, I have a job “lined up” as in they made me an offer, I accepted, and my start date is two months from now (I graduated two weeks ago with my MS). I got this job waaay back several months ago, and though I consider myself well qualified for it, I don’t attribute that to the main reason for getting the job. I attribute it to being an EXTROVERT and NETWORKING by going to my career office, going to career fairs, going to information sessions, etc. And ALL the time I was talking casually yet professionally with various reps, so that I could land this job. That effort I put in last semester for networking was far harder than I had to work in any of my classes, but well worth it.
So once again I just mention briefly that I hope all the introverts out there get the picture and find some way to get noticed out there; I feel that this was the main impediment for my gf’s father who lost his job several decades ago and was never able to get back on the horse. He is a brilliant engineer and the only thing I can see ‘wrong’ with him is that he is an introvert. It is unfortunate but I’ve been around corporate networking long enough now to know that you CAN’T get noticed on a resume alone.
And before anyone bashes the corporate world, I can only assume that it is even more important for entrepreneurs to be extroverts as my intuition is that you need to interface with the public, and vendors, and figure out advertising and all sorts of other things. I could be off the mark there; someone please confirm/deny.
Oh, and I don’t want to get into personal arguments too deeply, but as mentioned I’ve done out a spreadsheet for my finances; the loans (totaling more than 15k but less than 20k) WILL be paid off within a year from my start date.
And speaking of student loans, to get back to commenting on your good points:
-I 100% agree that you should have a CAREER in mind when going to college. I can’t help but laugh at the people that tell me “oh, college isn’t for a career, it’s for the ‘experience’. The fact that colleges are trying to make their programs about career prep is what’s WRONG with this country.” 0.o
.
It sounds like you were with the intelligent people, that you went into your private college KNOWING what you were aiming for (the same sort of thing you are doing currently?) and KNOWING it’d cost a boatload but going through with it because that is what you wanted. I don’t mind that one bit, it’s the kids that just go for the ‘prestige’ and assume the whole job thing will work itself out at the end (btw, I worked at engineering internships EVERY summer andm ost winters between school years; that probably helped me get the job a bit…). So on this note I say to you, if my kid came up to me and said he wanted to go to college to be a writer/artist/actor/etc I’d first make sure he was aware that he wouldn’t have much money on this path and then i would ask “are you SURE that’s what you want?”. Just like if he wanted to be an engineer i’d inform him that the classes are hard and sometimes boring and you’d probably be stuck at a cubicle when you got out, and then I’d ask “are you SURE that’s what you want?”. Btw, not much of that is true about engineers (hard/boring/cubicle); we just like to have the masses believe it is so we get some pity and scare the competition away from our prof
But seriously, my hypothesis on the hard/soft science gap is just that; competition. Without diverging too much from the post’s topic (again) I just state briefly that it is my belief that engineers scale better with larger populations that musicians/painters/writers etc. Just hear me out: I tend to think that there’s a certain ceiling to just how many writers/musicians/painters you can have per capita as they have diminishing returns. Ya one musician in a town is awesome and really lives it up. So is one newspaper and one painter, etc. When you start to see multiple newspapers/magazines it just gets to be information-overload. When you just saw musician A yesterday, you’ll be less inclined to go see musician B the next night. In short, they each provide their own INDIVIDUAL service. Yes, there’s some collaboration i’m sure (many writers to a newspaper, orchestras etc), but only so far. And yes, DIVERSITY is good but can you have too much diversity? Yes; it becomes information overload. The newspaper never gets seen because there is 20 other ones right around it. This is not so true for engineers. Firstly, as mentioned you need MANY engineers to work on ONE project. As technology increases and the projects get more complex, you’re going to need more engineers. Also, engineers are a RESOURCE fueled by corporate greed and affluence. Take the Ipad and it’s competitors. The competitors 1-up Apple, so now Apple is forced to make the new Ipad (3? 4?), which will be more complex. Equals more engineers. And also totally NEW competitors might spring up, which need THEIR whole contingent of engineers. So essentially why can the engineering population grow without bound? Because the CUSTOMERS will always buy the ‘best’ product, so corporations will wage war over top dog by throwing more an more resources (engineers) on the front lines. I don’t like it myself, but it’s a fact of capitalism. What happens with the artists and such? They are still needed, for sure, but there is an odd sort of competition about it. In short, it is subjective. Now obviously there are indisputably ‘good’ artists and are therefore more successful and can beat out the competition. I know for a fact I couldn’t just walk out there and start selling paintings (though I have thought about trying…). So ya, it is all subjective, within reason, whom you buy these ‘soft’ services from, and if you end up sticking 30 art vendors on a corner together you’re just decreasing EVERYone’s chances of making a profit. What are they going to do, paint ‘better’ than the other guys?
Um, I didn’t really understand what point you were trying to make with your whole spell-checking argument other than some fancy rhetoric device…but I’ll just say that language is impressive and I’ll never truly understand how it was formed to begin with. Now that it IS formed (yes, there’s various mutations still taking place but it is relatively stable now), we have well-documented standards (you mentioned the dictionary) to utilize for other tasks. All the magic of programming is is pulling information from these ‘primitive’ sources and digitizing it in a way that makes the information flexible, intuitive, and thus easy to read and make conclusions about. 90% of programming COULD be done the ‘old fashion’ way, as in I could’ve whipped out a dictionary and found ‘entrepreneur’ there but guarantee it woud’ve taken longer (especially if I thought it started with an ‘a’ instead of ‘e’), AND i would’ve needed to have someplace to store the thing (trust me, I have enough possessions as it is). So bottom line: programming makes things WAY faster, takes up WAY less space than the respective ‘old fashion’ version of anything, and thus in MY opinion it is better, all around.
From a previous post of yours: your comment that children need economic learning in their curriculum is spot on as well. This would obviously be taken care of as a subset within mathematics in my hypothetical master plan. If people (such as the government) knew how to spend money better (as in, you have to HAVE the money to spend it), a lot of this country’s issues would be cleared up.
Anyway, I’ll just wrap up quickly by saying I am quite pleased you are able to live comfortably with housing and food and such (Maslow’s pyramid ftw). I guess this means I am in error by feeling bad about my economic good fortune compared to others? But in all seriousness, I know more than a few people whom are NOT faring as well as you and it makes me feel bad about the state of this country. And there is always the fear that the problem (relatively steady wages, increased cost of living) will get worse before it gets better…
1. Teachers need to earn respect.
2. I did not choose a career in education, but I taught every day on my job. I taught my children good table manners and I taught my fellow nurses “Neonatal Resusitation”, and I thought my patients good health practices and how to take care of a newborn.
3 Teachers today need to focus on teaching our young how to think, not what to think.
4 Stop griping about your job and be thankful you have one.
So do you not need to “EARN” respect? Good for you for “teaching” others manners. You just know it all don’t you? Good luck with that.
thought = taught
I just want to emphasize again this point: TEACHERS DO NOT GET PAID DURING SUMMER MONTHS (at least in Florida where I work) so your point is basically moot if you are saying teachers get paid and still get 6 weeks off. It’s not enough money and we end up working anyway doing various other jobs during that time. Also, if teachers didn’t get the breaks they do, I honestly believe NO ONE would do this job. Do you want to deal with someone else’s bratty kids all day for almost a year? I doubt it. Be thankful. I hear so many stories (plus observe it on fb, etc) where people in these “high stakes”, “serious,” “stressful” jobs are literally on the internet all day messing around and laughing that they aren’t actually doing ANY work. Teachers are literally moving around, talking, dealing with children almost their entire day of work. We can’t afford to or get away with just hanging out, sitting around, messing on the internet, etc. Also, we barely get a lunch break (30 min if that). We aren’t allowed to leave campus for lunch and sometimes (like on early release days or field trip days) we have to let children eat with us in the classroom. Enjoy your HOUR long lunch out at the restaurant of your choice plus your free time spent on the internet for hours at a time where children, etc aren’t begging for your attention every second of the day! Among other things, I just don’t want to hear it. Like many others have said, I respect most other jobs, so do the same and respect mine. Appreciate it!
So glad my sons won’t ever be in Mr./Ms. Anonymous’s class. But thanks for the inspiration to appreciate my chosen career even more.
This year is the half-century mark of my teaching career. It is a rewarding challenge to have shared the “life-long love of learning” with literally hundreds of students throughout the past 50 the years. As a teacher I am a surrogate, mom, friend, confidant, mentor, counselor, coach, protector and most importantly a teacher of much more than subject matter knowledge. My respect comes from adult former students, who remember our best times together and still keep in contact. I’ll continue in the profession, not only to reap the benefits of the successes of my former students, but to create new challenges for those children I’ll see come September.
Let’s just say…
I’m a teacher.
It’s 9:30.
And I’m exhausted.
I’m making my final exam right now (and have been for the past 4 hours… but decided to take a random break and go blogging). Anyway, why don’t I just use the final from last year, you ask? Answer: I modify what I teach and how I teach it every year. So I modify my tests every year. Does that make me a great teacher? Probably not. Does it prove that I’m working my butt off to improve the quality of education for my students. Maybe not to you. But, I research, and read, and rewrite, and modify, and learn as much as I can whenever I can. Because It’s my job to be the best teacher I can be. And it’s not easy. And it’s exhausting, but definitely worth it.
So well said! Thank you, Dennis.
[...] The Hardest Job Everybody Thinks They Can Do [...]
I don’t know why all of you haters have to bash teachers about the summer vacations and certain days off. I would think, without being told, common sense says they probably need to find a secondary income on the vacation times they take. In addition, to Anon and Anon, this issue isn’t even about teachers wanting sympathy about not making enough money – if you read the article, you should have known this. Different jobs require different responsibilities. That’s all. Teachers still need to work in order to pay their bills. I, for one, am grateful towards the good teachers in my life, who had instilled in me, the thirst for knowledge. I think people should quit being so narrow-minded to throw out judgments on other working professionals. We are living in a society that needs all sorts of professions in order to function properly. So before you run your mouth about how easy someone else’s profession is, think. Don’t talk, just think.
It’s not about egos or wanting sympathy. It’s about wanting people to respect our profession, something every good teacher deserves, And they ARE the majority. Don’t let a few bad apples ruin the barrel.
*It’s not about egos or wanting sympathy. It’s about wanting people to respect our profession, something every good teacher deserves. And they ARE the majority. Don’t let a few bad apples ruin the barrel.
Teachers need two months off because they are completely drained of energy by the end of the school year. They deal with at least 30 students for at least 180 days of the year who come to school hungry for more than knowledge. They come hungry for love, attention, validation, challenge, discipline, security, safety.
If you are a parent you know how drained you are after a day of dealing with your own children – imagine it multiplied by 30 or 150 daily. You have all been influenced by a teacher to achieve what you have today. How dare you act as if teaching is like any other job. Teaching is a calling- a mission- a sacred trust- that not everyone can do. Teachers must have time to recharge their batteries and release the stress of parenting your children for a year. Instead of appreciaiting the tremendous sacrifice and commitment that teachers make for your children, you try to make them out to be slackers and cry babies. You should be ashamed. If you are successful in your career and your job – after you thank your parents ( another group of people who should be respected and thanked) you should thank the teacher who saw the promise and potential in you and helped to develop and encourage you.Without teachers, this country and all countries would be wastelands of unrealized potential. Knowledge is power – teachers are the powercords!
The fact that the pay is poor does not make the job harder.
Wow, you have so missed the point.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave that previous comment anonymously.
I think it’s funny that everyone here is all down on teachers for their summers off.
A simple solution to this problem:
Petition your government to make the school year 12 months.
Teachers don’t CHOOSE to have summers off. That is the way the system was created long before any of us arrived on the scene. If you don’t like it, YOU should make it your business to change it.
LJD: I hope you can find some time to spend with a teacher who is willing to assist you with your punctuation, spelling, grammar, and attitude toward fellow human beings.