any teachers who can share the ups and downs of the profession?

Question

I am thinking about becoming a teacher.
As of yet, I still am not sure which grade levels I would teach, but am leaning toward high school. I really like younger kids too, though, so elementary school is not out of the question.

Any teachers who can tell me some of the most rewarding / most challenging aspects of the career, I would appreciate this. thanks!

Answer 1

The most rewarding:

By far, the kids! Seeing them grow and learn from the beginning of the year to the end is priceless. When they get those "aha!" moments when they learn something they didn't think they could do is awesome.

The appreciation I get from most parents is very rewarding too. Those that understand the hard work and dedication make the job very worthwhile.

Most Challenging:

The long hours - 10+ hour days are the norm not the exception. I work six days a week as I go in on Saturdays too.

Unsupportive parents. In my opinion, there's nothing more frustrating and demoralizing to a teacher than unsupportive parents. What's sad is it's the child that ultimately suffers.

Politics of education is very frustrating. The general public has little clue what teachers truly do and how hard the majority work. The "Blame the teacher" crusade is tough to endure.

Overcrowding and underfunding of schools.


Whatever you choose to do, I would strongly suggest getting some real experience in classrooms before you commit to a credentialling program. Volunteer in classrooms. Get to know the teachers and ask questions. There's a lot more to teaching than the "teaching". There are endless meetings, grading, paperwork, conferencing with parents and students, etc. The actual "teaching" is really only about 50% of the job in my experience.

Answer 2

Teaching is my second career, and I got into it because I was bored at my first career. Well, I will say that teaching is not boring. It's not exactly exciting as it is frustrating and shocking.

I work at a low-income high school, and the majority of the students come in with extra emotional baggages, and poor social manners. My students don't perceive teachers as what we understand teachers to be. Teachers are not authority figures to them, and neither are parents for the most part.

The reality is that 50% of the teachers leave the profession within 5 years. That figure is published by the American Educators (see link below). I'm in my 3rd year teaching and I'm 50-50 about returning. The main reason is student behavior. The unruliness of US students is pretty unique, and not prevalent in other countries.

I did get a good advice from an experienced teacher that don't leave the profession until you have taught some middle- to upper-level students. There are different sets of challenges with those students, and maybe they will respond better to me.

The other reason that I got into teaching is because you do get more time off and you can pretty much work anywhere you want.

Answer 3

Hello, I teach French-English as a Second language at the high school level. I love the students, the activities and the rewards that high school has to offer. Elementary teachers are faced with so many challenges, requirements and duties that I cannot imagine the workload they face each day. I don't think I could manage everything that they do. I also enjoy my subject area. I specialize in one main area and I feel that I offer my students the best of my knowledge in the area that I was trained in. Elementary teachers must know a bit about everything!
My students are willing guinea pigs to my experiements in curriculum and innovations that I find. I do not think I could try half of my ideas if I were at the elementary level.
One of the downsides of teaching right now is the number of budget crisis that are hitting the districts. School closures, budget freezes, and downsizing of the arts (music, art, debate, theatre) puts stress on the teaching community. I would like students to have a well-rounded experience in schools, yet all I see is the concentration toward math and science. This makes me feel as though the liberal arts subject areas are no longer viable and important.
Good luck!

Answer 4

There is a lot that goes into teaching. You would have to experience it for yourself to fully understand of course. The rewarding part is seeing the progress of your students. It's nice to look back at the beginning of the school year and see how far your students have come. The challenging part-well there are many. Politics (no child left behind, the district you work in), those are just a few. The district I work in has a high percentage of new teachers changing careers after the first year, or after the first few years. Just know that it is going to be very challenging. The first year you might feel like quiting and some days you'll cry. But if your dedicated, it gets better. It's a job that you should be passionate about or it will be hard to put in all the extra effort and time that is needed. Also it's good to have a few teachers who you can talk to and ask for help. They will totally understand. Another thing is that many programs are scripted and you are not free to do totally as you like (depending on your school district, and test scores.) Schools that have low AYP (academic yearly progress) must follow ridgid rules. If schools continue to perform low they can be taken over by the state. I know this goes for California and maybe other states to because of no child left behind. schools and districts are pressured to get 'high scores' out of the kids, and much of the school year is focused on test prep. I don't like that. Instead of focusing more on getting students to really think critically we are focusing on trying to get them to do well on some test that supposedly tells us if we are a good school or not.

Answer 5

May I echo all the forgoing responses. The teaching profession is not like that of a wood carver, wood turner or that of a potter. In teaching you are dealing with people (personalities) that unlike wood or clay people can not be molded. You have to teach people and that's the difference. If you damage the piece of wood or clay you can discard it and start over, this is not so with teaching children.
I am a retired teacher-principal. My first teaching assignment was in 1964. How times have changed!
I can add little to what all those other teachers have told you, but I, never the less, agree with what they have said.

1. There are times that will be rewarding for you.

2. There will be many times when you will be frustrated.

3. Many parents whose kids are not performing in school, will not support your efforts.

4. There will be many times when the administration will not support you. They tend to stay behind the scenes and allow you to "brave the storms" alone.

5. You will work long hours for low pay.

Do I sound like an optimist? I ended my career at the earliest time possible that I could receive a pension. I was stressed out to the max.

Answer 6

I teach ESL to students K-5. I LOVE MY JOB!

+ The kids! Getting to know them, seeing them grow...
+ The time off (breaks, vacation, holidays)
+ The professional atmosphere
+ The creativity and freedom
+ The collaboration with staff members... problem-solving together, brainstorming, etc.
+ Good benefits (insurance, retirement)
+ Professional development - you never stop learning and improving

- Lots of extra hours than what you're paid for
- Salaray is not great until you've been doing it a long time and have your master's plus
- Doing a lesson that totally flops... that can take the wind right out of your sails, especially if you envisioned it as being incredibly effective (at least you can go back and re-teach!)
- Dealing with difficult parents or, in my case most of the time, trying hard to get parents involved in school


The positives FAR outweigh any of the negatives. Teaching is such a rewarding profession.

Answer 7

I taught middle school for 10 years. The most rewarding part of the profession for me is the relationship you forge with the kids. We had a lot of fun in my classroom, as well as a lot of hard work. I also enjoyed seeing their progress, but then there is the flip side to that, when you don't see progress and what are you going to do about it? It demands creativity and problem solving skills and loads of determination. You also have to accept that you might not be able to help every child succeed academically for a variety of reasons, and sometimes the parents are no help.
Once you accept some of these things, it makes the job less frustrating and more manageable. I am not teaching now, but am taking classes to go back, so apparently the good outweighs the bad.

Just remember, every job has good and bad parts to it.
If you feel teaching in your blood, go for it.

Answer 8

I'm a 30 year teacher, recently retired.
Pros:
Summers off and winter and spring breaks-- time with family

Lifetime learning/ continuing education

Free technology training

Spending days with young people keeps you young

Satisfaction with success of students

Cons:

Disrespect from students, parents, and even school administration.

Being stuck on campus from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and not being able to go out at lunch to run errands, grab lunch, or see the outside world.

Having to get up sick, write lesson plans, and even deliver them to school at 7a.m when you have to take a sick day.

Having to cover for inconsiderate teachers who are only sick on Mondays and Fridays.

Being used as guinea pigs for some young, ambitious administrators who use their teachers as subjects for some ridiculous theories in their doctoral dissertations.

Knowing that every bad educational theory will eventually come back around and that there will some boss who thinks that the idea is both original and brilliant.

Answer 9

I'm not seeing one of the biggest ups - summers "off" - sure you take classes and work other jobs, but it's a great chance to spend time with your family.
Other ups - when kids want you as their teacher, when you get compliments, when someone else notices the great job you are doing, seeing a kid "get it"
Downs - Learning to deal with parents, especially the psycho parents, I can deal with the kids, but the parents are a pain in the butt when they refuse to believe that anyone else could possibly know more than they do. I'm dealing with a psycho parent right now, and the only reason I'm involved is because I passed a message on to the child...I'm the bad guy...that can be frustrating. The late night classes after a days work can be rough too.

Answer 10

Rewarding:

*When the students "get it" ("gestalt").

*Students who succeed.

*Creativity (I rarely get to see my supervising administrator, but they keep tabs on what's up through parent/student input).

Challenging:

*Psycho parents (described above). Not a problem, if you run your class hard, fast, to-the-point, and with lots of documentation (i.e., course outlines signed by psycho mom/dad/guardian with a copy given to the administration, grades/scores readily available at all times, etc.).

*Moronic, lazy, deadwood teachers (they're okay if they stay out of your way, but if you fall into a dept. of them, then there's a corporate culture of "slackers" you've got to deal with ...)

*The hours:

**Tutoring before/after school, during lunch.

**Correcting and -most importantly- ASSESSING student work (flow charts for homework/quizzes/exams).

*Pay:

**For highly educated professionals with state-mandated continuing education requirements, teachers really don't earn anywhere near enough money (I was once a military officer, and worked as a legal intern/student lawyer).

**With a Master's degree and a J.D., I was still purchasing groceries with credit cards for my family at the end of each month until after about 18 yrs. into this profession.

After 20+ years in this profession (the first seven with adult/ youthful offenders). I still can't wait to get to work in the morning.

Teaching is still -for me- a total blast.

Good luck, I hope this helps!