Is teaching really as rewarding as the official website suggests?

Question

I can't make my mind up whether it'd be a fulfilling career or too much like banging my head against a brick wall...

Answer 1

The work is rewarding - the children and their parents/carers are fantastic at my school, and it is a great pleasure and privelege to work there - but the workload is really intense and never lets up, and you find yourself spending half the holidays unwinding and catching up on your paperwork and laundry, etc and then preparing for the next term, with just a few days or weeks having a normal life of your own. It is incredibly hard work, you often find you are working 60 hours a week, and you need supportive and understanding friends and family, as it's sometimes difficult to have time and energy to have a life - but you do need a life outside teaching as you would otherwise burn out or become isolated. However, the kids are fantastic!

Answer 2

I didn't know we had an official website! Anyway, when it's good it's extremely fulfilling and when it's bad it's like banging your head against the brick wall. I think the latter is true of most jobs, so the trick is to find a match where it's good more of the time than not. You have to decide, too, whether you are willing to risk extreme lows to get the extreme highs. It's not for everyone, but when it's right, there's nothing better.

Answer 3

A few schools are good and you'll have a rewarding and reasonable time but many schools are a mixed bag with some serious problems in discipline and resources. There is a lot of form filing, marking, assessments, lesson planning and general admin involved. Secondary school teaching is one of the toughest jobs going and the sad truth is that the rewards rarely match up to the difficulties.
In my experiance (4 years teaching in mainly inner city schools)teaching is nothing at all like the adverts shown on the TV and it is not a career for the faint-hearted. I really respect those who make a sucess of teaching as I know how tough it is and how undervalued they are by the very people who should be valuing them most and supporting them to the hilt (pupils and their parents).

Answer 4

Teaching is a very demanding profession. It is extremely hard work and requires a thick skin, a lot of energy, commitment, and, most of all, enthusiasm.
If you think you have all these, as well as a passion for your subject and for sharing it, try it!!
What is more rewarding than seeing young people enjoy your subject and wanting to know more?
Eventhough sometimes, you WILL feel like banging your head against a brick wall, when little Johnny stays at the end of the lesson to thank you and tell you how much he enjoyed the lesson, you will forget the bad days and all your efforts will seem worthwhile.

Answer 5

Unless you are very lucky you will spend most of your time "banging your head against a brick wall".
You will receive little appreciation from the children, and their parents, for the effort that you make to help them.
Politicians - who have the easiest job imaginable - will blame you for Society's ills.
You will be working at the evenings & weekends when others are relaxing.
And Inspectors, many of whom could not do the job as well as you, will come along and criticise.

DON'T TEACH - be happy!

Answer 6

Depends... I'm a 6th grade special education teacher and I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. I adore my students and enjoy every single day as a teacher. Some days are better than others and yes, some days I DO feel like banging my head against a wall (and I'm poor, ha ha)... What makes it all worth it is when a student comes back to see you and thank you or a student tells you "how cool" you are or that they think you are "the best ever!" To see students (especially those that live hard lives) smile.. it's all worth it.

Answer 7

I agree with the previous answer. As a veteran teacher, I sometimes wonder why did I get into this profession. And yet I have days that I see students achieving and having fun while learning.
Teenagers can be a real handful, and you feel exhausted at the end of the day. But if you are looking for the fulfilling reasons, here are a few:
1. a former student has gone to college and comes back and tells you thanks for preparing them and not letting them slack through high school
2. a community member comes up to you and tells you that a student just did an interview with him, and the student chose YOU as the most influential teacher in their life
3. a child confides in you saying he has nowhere to turn about a personal problem, but feels comfortable getting help from you
4. the students that actually laugh at my corny jokes!!!!

I could go on and on, every job has its ups and downs. I try to focus on the positive!

Answer 8

i think teaching is a very rewarding career as long as you go to a school that has a successful way in dealing with the behaviour of there pupils. i was at my secondary school for 7 years, and i couldn't believe the abuse that the new students were giving the teachers, even us at sixth form got abuse. the way that the pupils behave now a days has a huge impact into whether you are likely to enjoy your career. i am sure that if you make sure that the school you choose is one that has a firm policy on behaviour you will have a great career

Answer 9

Definitely the latter - it's one of those jobs where the reward is in itself... basically, if you don't know for a fact that teaching a bunch of asbo chasers to not kick lumps out of eachother, turn round and face the front of the room, stop snogging in the corner and turn to page 4 is going to make you feel all warm and tingly the day one of them actually notices you're saying something and doesn't reply by threatening to beat you up or grass you up for sexually assaulting them, then it most definitely is not the job for you!

Answer 10

My personal opinion:

It is, it can be and sometimes it isn't, but...

if you're doubtful, don't do it. You need to be confident that you want to work with kids and that you can put up with the ups and downs. It's not fair on the kids if you're not prepared to give your all in the quest for "making a difference" while you're at work. If it's the right choice for you, I wish you every success.