The Unseen Challenges of Teaching

Being a teacher is hard work. While I have never been a teacher myself, my Dad was a teacher, my Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law were both teachers (before becoming Principals), and my wife was a teacher (up until about a year ago when she switched careers). I can attest through their stories that it is one of the most challenging and under-appreciated professions around.

So when I found a CAREEREALISM article called Want To Be a Teacher? Better Read This First, it caught my eye. After reading it, I can only agree whole-heartedly with what was said.

The post details some of the hidden challenges that teachers face and helps to temper the expectations of many first time teachers. Based on what the author, Kristin Barrette, has to say, I can only commend her for attempting to show the next generation of teachers what the classroom is really like. If I can share one excerpt that sums up exactly what I have come to know about teaching (from the outside looking in) it’s this:

Regardless of what ignorant people tell you, teaching is not ‘just a job’ (and those same ignorant people will tell you that you have the easiest job on earth because you get summer vacation). If you want a nine to five job with weekends off, better start looking for a new career now. Sure, there are those teachers who come in each morning when the students do and are pulling out behind the buses in the afternoon, but those teachers really aren’t giving it their all. If you’re not in it to be the best teacher you can be, then you shouldn’t even be there. Yes, you will get paid far, far less than the amount you deserve. Yes, you will put in ten hour days and create lesson plans on Saturday afternoons. Yes, you will spend an exorbitant amount of your paycheck on items for your classroom. But you will do all these things because they are a part of doing what you love.

Interested? Find out about the Challenges of Teaching.