Then, all of a sudden, I have an opportunity to teach in a middle school. Now why the hell would I be crazy enough to do that? To deal with the hormone-crazed boys and the bitchiness of the boy-crazed girls. Why would I immerse myself in that culture all over again? Why not go for a high school where the kids might respect me? Why not work with the same age of students that I was when my teacher turned my life around?
Well, for starters, it meant I would have a job. And a way to begin paying off my student loans. And it would get me those two to three years of experience that any favorable school will require. Basically, it gets my foot in the door.
After a little while, the question is if you want to keep your foot in that door. If you want to put up with all the bullshit that everyone throws at you just because you're the young one or the new one or the stupid one or (my personal favorite) the crying one. Whatever they decide you are (and it will be something unfavorable - trust me on that). If you can hold up through the shit that they put you through then you have a potential in this career. At this point, I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. The drama from the other teachers and the administration. The loopholes you have to go through just to give a student something other than an "A." The extra hours you have to commit to without getting paid just because, if you don't put those hours in, you get fired for not being prepared enough.
So, again, let's visit the question: Why the hell did I become a teacher?
The answer to this has been made clear to me (and my original, monetary, reasons fell to the wayside) over the past year and a smidgeon. There is a certain sense of satisfaction when you find out that what you did actually made a difference. When a student invites you to her quinceanera because you made such an impact on her. Or when a student tells you that because of your class, high school seems easy. Those are the things that motivate me to keep teaching. Those little moments are the things that make me want to be a teacher. Now, they are definitely few and far between... but that does not make those times any less special or important. In fact, it makes them more important than all the rest of the crap because they are not as common as getting cussed out or told that you are hated.
Well, for starters, it meant I would have a job. And a way to begin paying off my student loans. And it would get me those two to three years of experience that any favorable school will require. Basically, it gets my foot in the door.
After a little while, the question is if you want to keep your foot in that door. If you want to put up with all the bullshit that everyone throws at you just because you're the young one or the new one or the stupid one or (my personal favorite) the crying one. Whatever they decide you are (and it will be something unfavorable - trust me on that). If you can hold up through the shit that they put you through then you have a potential in this career. At this point, I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. The drama from the other teachers and the administration. The loopholes you have to go through just to give a student something other than an "A." The extra hours you have to commit to without getting paid just because, if you don't put those hours in, you get fired for not being prepared enough.
So, again, let's visit the question: Why the hell did I become a teacher?
The answer to this has been made clear to me (and my original, monetary, reasons fell to the wayside) over the past year and a smidgeon. There is a certain sense of satisfaction when you find out that what you did actually made a difference. When a student invites you to her quinceanera because you made such an impact on her. Or when a student tells you that because of your class, high school seems easy. Those are the things that motivate me to keep teaching. Those little moments are the things that make me want to be a teacher. Now, they are definitely few and far between... but that does not make those times any less special or important. In fact, it makes them more important than all the rest of the crap because they are not as common as getting cussed out or told that you are hated.
