A Reflection on the Teaching Profession...

As I am about to finish my final week of teaching, I would like to reflect on my teaching career, which is being cut painfully short.

Back in 1984, after graduating high school, I had fully intended to go to college in order to become a teacher -- granted the plan was to be a music teacher and not the English teacher I am today, but a teacher all the same...until I derailed my teaching career. You see, 2 years into my college education, I decided that I wanted to take a chance and pursue a performing career. I was going to "take Broadway by storm". Well, we know what that outcome was. It was less of a storm and more of a breeze. After years of being an unsuccessful performer, I finally decided to complete my education (changing my major from music to English) in order to go back to the original plan of being a teacher.

Over two years ago, I embarked on my career change into education and even though it was grueling, exhausting, and occasionally soul sucking, I'm glad I at least got a chance to experience the teaching profession. For anyone who has never taught, you'll never really fully appreciate how hard teachers work and what a roller coaster ride it is to teach.

Here are the good points and bad points of teaching:

Good points:

• The students: I have mentioned this before but it bears repeating - my students are awesome. They are funny, witty, and intelligent youngsters. The thing I will miss the most about teaching are my students. 
• Grading: Believe it or not, I actually really love grading student work. There's something zen about sitting at my desk with a stack of papers that need to be graded. 
• Lesson planning: Yes, lesson planning is difficult and time consuming, but there's also something fun about putting together a lesson that will (hopefully) engage my students. It's like doing a really complicated jigsaw puzzle.
• Every day is different: I have 140 students on my roster and I see each student anywhere from 3-4 times a week due to the rotating schedule that my school has. Depending on what day it is and when during the day I see them, the students can be as different as night and day. Therefore, my days are totally unpredictable. Some people hate that aspect, but I love it. Corporate is boring by comparison.
• My colleagues: I'm very lucky where I work in that my school has a pretty amazing set of teachers. They are funny, collaborative, and tireless workers whose only goals and wishes are to improve the minds of our kiddos.

Bad points:

• Crazy long hours: No, teachers do not just work from 8-3. I get to school at 7am and consider myself lucky if I leave before 4pm. Plus, I often take work home with me and at least one day on the weekend is given to lesson planning. Conservatively, I work 50-55 hours a week and even in the summer, I have to begin lesson planning and take classes. Only bad teachers work from 8-3.
• Insane amounts of paperwork: Between lesson plans, handouts for students, and all the other tasks that goes into teaching, there is a crazy amount of paper that gets consumed in a day. I have killed many a tree over the past 2 years.
• Severe underpayment: Considering what teachers have to do to be effective at their jobs, we do not get paid nearly enough. Now I didn't go into teaching for money - no teacher does, but that doesn't mean that I'm not somewhat annoyed at the teeny tiny paycheck that I get every two weeks. Plumbers make more money than I do.
• Exhaustion: I know I've been going through a lot of medical stuff during my 2+ years of teaching, but the exhaustion that every teacher feels is real. It is the most grueling work ever because you literally have to be on for the entire time that you teach. Because there is a certain level of performance in being a teacher, it's definitely the hardest acting job that I've ever done. 
• Dealing with behavioral problems: Yeah, classroom management is a nightmare. I hate to do it, I'm really bad at it, and it wears me down every day. One of the biggest reasons for my exhaustion is trying to keep my very rambunctious students on task, off their phones, and engaged in the material. Basically, there are days where I could light my hair on fire, juggle live chainsaws, and sing a song and my students wouldn't care in the least. I won't miss those days.

While there are equal amounts of bad points to teaching as there are good points, all in all there is not a more rewarding career than teaching. Sadly, I only taught 2 years out of the 20-25 that I had planned when I started out, which makes me sad. Yet another thing that can be added to my list of regrets.

On Friday, I will say goodbye to my students knowing that I did the best I could for them and hope with all my might that I was an effective and inspiring teacher. I will miss my little cherubs immensely and will carry them in my heart forever.