Why I Teach

Growing up I wanted to be a lot of things. When I was very young I wanted to be a monkey that worked in a doughnut shop. By high school I was convinced that I should be a artist. In between it was a teacher, a botanist and a physicist. Even after I graduated college with a teaching license in math, I wasn't convinced that teaching was my route. I even tried my hand at bike mechanics for a bit.

At first I tried to avoid teaching and was given sound advice not to go into the profession by teachers and mentors who I looked up to. There are a few reasons why I questioned the profession:

• The first reason is based on how teachers are viewed and treated by society. They are not viewed as a professional and they are not treated as one. For example, there is an expectation that they volunteer their time. Summers are described as vacations instead of unpaid time. They are described and treated as babysitters. They sit through hours of professional development determined by some outside body. The saying "those that can do, those who can't teach" encapsulates society's view of this profession.
  
• Their professional degree is also not valued equally. The average teacher makes roughly $54,000. Whereas, the average professional with a masters degree is making about $90,000. People will say that's because teachers get summers off. So here's the math: $54,000/190 is $284/day, on average teachers are working 50hr/week so that makes $28.4/hr.  If teachers were not salary but instead worked 40 hours per week at that pay rate for 261 days (number of workdays in a year) they should make $59,300. Which is still far less than what their professional peers. 

This view and treatment of teachers has the effect of pushing effective, professional, intelligent, loving teachers away from a field that desperately needs them.

Why do I teach? I teach because I can't help myself. Many of my aunts, uncles, grandparents have shared the same affliction. Teaching is fun. Working with a student who wants to learn is fulfilling. Working with a student who doesn't want to learn is a challenge, and without that challenge I might get bored or complacent.