The inner workings of a college senior student teacher's mind:
Ugh. Is that my alarm? Already? Okay..... (untangles sheets from self, fumbles out of bed)
I'll just make myself some coffee and check Facebook. (puts last K-cup in the Keurig, mutters silently to self about how I'll have to buy more)
....checks Facebook....
Scrolling...scrolling...An article about teaching? Sounds interesting (Opens article)
Oh..."Why I'm Not a Teacher for the Pay" (Reads half of article, sighs, closes article)
This process occurs several times almost every day for me, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. When you're almost a licensed teacher or on your merry way to being one in a few years, it's all you can do to get through a social media check without coming upon yet another article about one of the following topics:
Why Teaching is A Fulfilling Career
Why Teachers Don't Become Teachers Because of the Pay
Why Teachers Are in Fact Worth Something to Society
I'm done with it. Frankly, I'm tired of seeing and reading these articles. They aren't okay for 2 reasons.
One: We as teachers should not have to justify ourselves and our career to anyone. I'm not sure who exactly these articles are addressing; it could be a fellow college student who made a degrading comment, another article on Facebook, or even a friend or family member. No matter who it is, it doesn't really matter. The worst thing we as teachers could do is fire back violently because it only proves that there was a reason for the comment to be said in the first place. Instead, let's disregard all comments that make us feel less fulfilled, less appreciated, or unworthy because they have no merit anyway. Anyone who has taught or had a teacher should know the tremendous amount of work it takes every day to ensure the growth of our students. If for some reason they don't know, then let's prove it to them through our unwavering hard work and compassion for our students instead of wasting time advertising how wounded we are.
Two: Teaching is not more important or more noble or more difficult than all other careers. Yes, it is a huge undertaking; trust me I know, but all careers in this world contribute to society in some shape or form and are therefore valuable. It was the superior mindset that one career is somehow above another that got us into this mess in the first place. Let's not reverse the pattern and hurt someone else.
Overall, I'm certainly not blameless when it comes to perpetuating this grossly inaccurate perception of educators. I've shared a fair amount of these articles and felt hurt by how others around me perceived the work of teachers. All I want is for us to see that we as teachers are valuable, intelligent, hard-working members of this world we live in. We shouldn't give a passing thought to anyone who insists otherwise.
