Teachers serve as guides and role models during students’ formative years. A great teacher can have a lasting impact on a student. Students remember these kinds of teachers for the rest of their lives. Going for a teaching degree can provide a prospective teacher with the skill set to succeed.
There are many reasons to choose teaching as a career. Teaching positions will continue to experience slow but steady growth in all areas of the country. Because of the continued availability of the jobs, professionals may think that a teaching degree is easy or right for them. However, teaching takes a certain kind of professional to succeed.
Professionals should be prepared to commit long hours while school is in session. Although some schools are moving to alternate week or year-round schedules, most teachers work from the end of August to the middle of June. This is roughly around 9 months of work. Teachers may “officially” only work for 8 hours per day. But they also must grade papers, meet with students, and handle many other tasks outside of school hours. Parents may try to contact teachers at all hours of the day.
Because of the public nature of the position, teachers should be prepared to hear many different opinions. They must be able to accept criticism without responding emotionally. This is especially true for criticism from parents. Teachers need a thick skin to be able to handle constructive criticism but also ignore baseless and emotional criticism.
Teachers should be prepared to not have much privacy. With the number of parents and students they come in contact with, teachers will often be recognized while in the community. This can make running an errand or shopping for groceries a public exercise. Teachers should expect to be stopped for a conversation constantly on some days. Some professionals may not be able to handle the lack of privacy.
Teachers generally have much lower base salaries than comparable positions in the private sector. Teachers typically have health insurance benefits to help compensate for their low salaries. But they face high co-pays and premiums. Most teachers work on a contract basis. Contract disputes can be common every 1 to 5 years, especially in districts with poor management or budgetary problems. Some professionals may find it difficult to work when their contract situation can be unstable every few years.
Expectations for teachers can be extremely high. Depending upon class size, teachers may have to individualize their teaching to 25 to 35 students of varying abilities. Each of the students may learn best in different ways. Teachers may have to do a lot with very limited resources and time. There is constant and intense pressure to help every student to succeed. It is a steep challenge, but it can be personally rewarding to help a student develop into a successful individual.
Teachers have a fair amount of autonomy inside the classroom. Although educational requirements make it necessary that students learn certain topics, how a teacher conveys the information to each student is left completely up to the teacher. Teachers can be as creative as they’d like in developing their lesson plans as long as the students learn the information. Successful teachers often incorporate images and sounds into imaginative presentations.
Teaching can be a difficult occupation to work in. The hours are very long and teachers are not paid for much of the work they do, especially outside of school hours. The job is not for everyone. But for professionals with patience and a willingness to work hard, a teaching degree can lead to a rewarding career.