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The Teaching Profession Introduction: There is no doubt that the teaching profession is very important in molding the young minds to become the responsible citizens of the future. Many young people look forward to becoming successful teachers to educate the young generation. Pros of teaching: Teaching is a special calling. It is not a job well-suited to everyone. In fact, many new teachers leave within the first 3-5 years of teaching. However, there are many rewards that come with this often maligned career. Here are my top ten reasons why teaching can be a great profession. 1. Student Potential
Unfortunately, not every student will succeed in your class. However, this fact should not keep you from believing that every student has the potential for success. This potential is so exciting – each new year presents new challenges and new potential successes. 2. Student Successes Closely related to the previous pick, student success is what drives teachers to continue. Each student who didn’t understand a concept and then learned it through your help can be exhilarating. And when you actually reach that student that others have written off as being un-teachable, this can truly be worth all the headaches that do come with the job. . Teaching a Subject Helps You Learn a Subject You will never learn a topic better than when you start teaching it. I remember my first year teaching AP Government. I had taken Political Science courses in college and thought I knew what I was doing. However, the student questions just made me dig deeper and learn more. There is an old adage that it takes three years of teaching to truly master a subject and in my experience this is the truth. 4. Daily Humor If you have a positive attitude and a sense of humor, you will find things to laugh about each day.
Sometimes it will be silly jokes you will make up as you teach that might get a laugh from your students. Sometimes it will be jokes that kids share with you. And sometimes students will come out with the funniest statements without realizing what they’ve said. Find the fun and enjoy it! 5. Affecting the Future Yes it might be trite, but it is true. Teachers mold the future each day in class. In fact, it is a sad fact that you will see some of these students more consistently day-to-day than their parents will. 6. Staying Younger Being around young people everyday will help you remain knowledgeable about current trends and ideas.
It also helps break down barriers. 7. Autonomy in the Classroom Once a teacher closes that door each day and begins teaching, they really are the ones who decide what’s going to happen. Not many jobs provide an individual with so much room to be creative and autonomous each day. 8. Conducive to Family Life If you have children, the school calendar will typically allow you to have the same days off as your kids. Further, while you might bring work home with you to grade, you will probably be getting home close to the same time as your children. 9. Job Security In many communities, teachers are a scarce commodity.
It is fairly certain that you will be able to find a job as a teacher, though you might have to wait until the start of a new school year and be willing to travel within your county/school district. While requirements might be different from state to state, once you have proven yourself a successful teacher, it is relatively easy to move around and find a new job. 10. Summers Off Unless you work in a district that has a year-round-education system, you will have a couple of months off in the summer where you can choose to get another job, teach summer school, or just relax and vacation.
Further, you typically get two weeks off during Christmas/Winter Holidays and one week for Spring Break which can really be a huge benefit and provide much needed rest time. Cons of teaching: Teaching is truly a noble profession. It is also a very time consuming one, requiring a commitment on your part. Teaching can be very demanding but can also be extremely rewarding. Here are five things you should consider before taking up teaching as your chosen career. 1. Time Commitment In order to be an effective teacher, you need to realize that the time you are at work – those 7 1/2 to 8 hours – really must be spent with the kids.
This means that creating lesson plans and grading assignments will probably take place on “your own time. ” Further, to truly relate to your students you will probably be involved in their activities – attending sporting activities and school plays, sponsoring a club or a class, or going on trips with your students for various reasons. 2. Pay People often make a big deal about teacher pay. It is true that teachers do not make as much money as many other professionals, especially over time. However, each state and district can vary widely on teacher pay.
Further, when you look at how much you are being paid, make sure to think of it in terms of the number of months worked. For example, if you are starting out with a $25,000 salary but you are off for 8 weeks in the summer, then you should take this into account. Many teachers will teach summer school or get summer jobs to help increase their yearly salary. 3. Respect or Lack Thereof Teaching is an odd profession, both revered and pitied at the same time. You will probably find that when you tell others you are a teacher they will in fact offer you their condolences.
They might even say they couldn’t do your job. However, don’t be surprised if they then go on to tell you a horror story about their own teachers or their child’s education. It is an odd situation and you should face it with your eyes wide open. 4. Community Expectations Everyone has an opinion of what a teacher should be doing. As a teacher you will have a lot of people pulling you in different directions. The modern teacher wears many hats. They act as educator, coach, activity sponsor, nurse, career advisor, parent, friend, and innovator.
Realize that in any one class, you will have students of varying levels and abilities and you will be judged on how well you can reach each student by individualizing their education. This is the challenge of education but at the same time can make it a truly rewarding experience. 5. Emotional Commitment Teaching is not a desk job. It requires you to “put yourself out there” and be on each day. Great teachers emotionally commit to their subject matter and their students. Realize that students seem to feel a sense of “ownership” over their teachers. They assume that you are their for them.
They assume that your life revolves around them. It is not uncommon for a student to be surprised to see you behaving normally in everyday society. Further, depending on the size of the town where you will be teaching, you need to understand that you will be running into your students pretty much everywhere you go. Thus, expect somewhat of a lack of anonymity in the community. Keys to being a Successful Teacher The most successful teachers share some common characteristics. Here are the top six keys to being a successful teacher. Every teacher can benefit from focusing on these important qualities.
Success in teaching, as in most areas of life, depends almost entirely on your attitude and your approach. 1. Sense of Humor A sense of humor can help you become a successful teacher. Your sense of humor can relieve tense classroom situations before they become disruptions. A sense of humor will also make class more enjoyable for your students and possibly make students look forward to attending and paying attention. Most importantly, a sense of humor will allow you to see the joy in life and make you a happier person as you progress through this sometimes stressful career. 2. A Positive Attitude
A positive attitude is a great asset in life. You will be thrown many curve balls in life and especially in the teaching profession. A positive attitude will help you cope with these in the best way. For example, you may find out the first day of school that you are teaching Algebra 2 instead of Algebra 1. This would not be an ideal situation, but a teacher with the right attitude would try to focus on getting through the first day without negatively impacting the students. 3. High Expectations An effective teacher must have high expectations. You should strive to raise the bar for your students.
If you expect less effort you will receive less effort. You should work on an attitude that says that you know students can achieve to your level of expectations, thereby giving them a sense of confidence too. This is not to say that you should create unrealistic expectations. However, your expectations will be one of the key factors in helping students learn and achieve. 4. Consistency In order to create a positive learning environment your students should know what to expect from you each day. You need to be consistent. This will create a safe learning environment for the students and they will be more likely to succeed.
It is amazing that students can adapt to teachers throughout the day that range from strict to easy. However, they will dislike an environment in which the rules are constantly changing. 5. Fairness Many people confuse fairness and consistency. A consistent teacher is the same person from day to day. A fair teacher treats students equally in the same situation. For example, students complain of unfairness when teachers treat one gender or group of students differently. It would be terribly unfair to go easier on the football players in a class than on the cheerleaders.
Students pick up on this so quickly, so be careful of being labeled unfair. 6. Flexibility One of the tenets of teaching should be that everything is in a constant state of change. Interruptions and disruptions are the norm and very few days are ‘typical’. Therefore, a flexible attitude is important not only for your stress level but also for your students who expect you to be in charge and take control of any situation. Conclusion: There are many pros and cons for being a teacher but if you possess the above characteristics it can be a very rewarding job.