The Education of a Teacher - an excerpt

The following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote for a class while trying to earn a master's degree.  It's about being a teacher and why it's worth it to be one.

And so I continue being a teacher.  It’s not easy, but I’ve learned to love it despite its many frustrating moments.  The salary is never enough – no one ever did get rich being a teacher, not unless you were teaching abroad, earning dollars or some such other first world currency. The paperwork is burdensome, and bringing your work home with you is an unavoidable occupational hazard.  A teacher cannot bring her personal life into the classroom with her – one must always try to face the class with a positive attitude or else ruin everyone’s day.  Dealing with people (especially colleagues) you don’t necessarily like or respect is a daily challenge, but this is something one confronts no matter what career she finds herself in.  And the list goes on.  So why keep at it?

Because it’s worth it.  The students make it so.  It has always been said that teaching is a thankless job – it’s not true.  The students thank you in more ways than just by saying the words.  When you see them enjoying themselves, making new discoveries, learning new skills, and becoming better at what they try to do, you feel rewarded.  When they smile at you, greet you, wave at you from a distance, and let you know that they like having you as part of their day, you feel completed.  When they tell you that they understand your lessons, start asking you smart questions, and share stories about their own lives, you feel gratified.  They let you know that you are doing a good job.  For any professional, what better reward could there be?

Many events have led me to this point, but I appreciate them all – the good experiences and the bad.  I have learned much from being a teacher.  I believe I’m doing something worth doing and that I am especially equipped for.  I feel that I have found my place.  I can only hope that in much the same way that I remember the great teachers I’ve had in my life, my students will also remember me in a pleasant light.  My education as a teacher will not end here, for the irony of being a teacher is “The more you teach, the more you learn.” The lessons that I’ve yet to learn in the classrooms of my future await me, and I eagerly look forward to them all.