So You Decided to Teach...
..and found yourself here. Perhaps you are asking yourself a few questions and are trying to clarify information before making a final decision. Good for you.
First, trying to pick any profession isn’t easy. Some pick jobs for money, long-term growth, dreams of fame/fortune, or want to make a difference. Professions and careers shouldn’t be chosen lightly. It’s an expensive adjustment if you change your mind later on.
But you’re considering teaching, so we should talk.
Let’s talk about me real quick. I am a special education teacher working in the state of Arizona. I’ve been doing this since 2013, but my job before then was in the military.
You may ask, “Why did you pick teaching?”
I wish I could tell you it was because I wanted to make a difference or influence the youth of tomorrow. But the truth is I am disabled and my job options are limited. Before becoming a teacher, I went through the Veteran Vocational Rehab program to help me find a job and get the education needed for it. Special education teacher made it on the list because I have a parent who works with the disabled, so it wasn’t anything new to me. It’s a job I can do, but I don’t wake up going, “Fuck yeah~! I am going to teach today.” It’s more like, “I need coffee before that 7am parent meeting. Are they even going to show? Ugh, and there are papers I need to grade.”
Many teachers you encounter come from a family of teachers themselves and want to follow in their footsteps. Some watched Dead Poets Society a time too many. Several walked in thinking they’d get summers off. HA! In special education (SpED), I frequently meet people who went through SpED themselves or have a disabled family member. This is beneficial because of their background knowledge.
If/When you go through the education program at whatever school you’ve chosen to attend, you will meet some people who spin teaching as the best thing ever. They’ll talk about how it changes lives and show you YouTube videos of motivational speakers to light that spark up in you. You’ll watch documentaries about the importance of teachers in today’s society and how only you can save that one kid.
It’s total bullshit.
Remember when I said I was prior military? The benefit I have from that is I know when someone blows smoke up my ass. The reason I said it is bullshit is that it builds you up for a reality that doesn’t exist. You walk into your first classroom thinking things will be great and are crying in the bathroom by lunchtime.
So, before you make this choice, let’s cover the hard facts colleges and teacher associations don’t mention.
1. Unless someone is paying for your education, you will be in debt.
This isn’t new. You pay a lot to get a degree for a job that doesn’t pay much in return. It makes no sense to me as a math person, but talking finances in politics is like haggling with used cars salesman. They have their own facts and figures and they’re sticking to it.
2. You will need another source of income to get by.
Teaching isn’t about the fame or the money. The downside is that you have to find another source of income. It’s expected for the majority of teachers to work two to four other jobs. Most of them are bartending--let that sink in for a moment. The sad thing is teachers often profit off other teachers. Websites like Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher’s Notebook make a mint off us. But when the alternative are programs which cost thousands of dollars, dropping fifty on Teachers Pay Teachers doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
3. The teacher’s lounge is a snake pit.
In all the places I’ve worked, never have I walked into a more toxic environment than the teacher’s lounge. Gossip, spite, and mean things are said there. And not about the kids, it is about each other. This pisses me off because at the start of every year, they all happy and nice and “I am here if you need to talk.” A week into the school year and its teachers hissing and tearing each other apart. Departments go to war and Game of Thrones the teacher version is playing for students to watch. I spent a lot of time wondering what makes teachers do this and decided it is a manifestation of the stress and demand of the job. We can’t take our frustrations out on kids or parents, so we destroy each other. If you find yourself in this situation, act dumb and stay in your classroom.
4. Admin is not your friend. They are your boss.
But they will pretend they are friends! I am using this as a blanket statement. There are some people I have met in the administration who have treated me well, and others who abused me. Remember that your objective and the administration are different. You want to teach students and not have issues in your classroom. The administration doesn’t want the school to get sued. However, they aren’t the bad guys. A lot of time they are the middleman between you and the district. As long as you aren’t under the thumb of a micro-manager, you will be fine. If you are, switch schools as soon as you can.
5. Your co-workers will turn on you
Not all of them, but one will during the year. It tends to be the one you aren’t sure about. Maybe they ask you to cover their class a time too many so they can go to repeated doctors appointments or give you backhanded compliments. Often it's the person that says stuff that makes you pause and go “Wat?” Listen to your spider senses and stay the fuck away from the nutter. They have a knife and will stick it in you.
6. You will cry.
I cry for the kiddos, and folks often say I’m tough as nails. In my first year, I had a student who never spoke because of repeated sexual trauma from a family member. My second year, a student came to me hungry every morning because their family lived in a car and had no food. Durning my third, a non-verbal autistic student’s first words to me were “Everyone hates me.” You will encounter heartbreaking and horrific situations with your kids. It will make you cry and lose sleep. It frequently sucks balls and I hate society a little more everytime I see it.
These are the hard facts. If you can read all that and are still considering it, good for you. We honestly need more teachers our situation is getting worse and worse. However, you are granted a job.
I have more to say but will do it in another post(s). However, if you are a teacher, what are things you wish people told you before you took the plunge? I’d like to have an open dialogue here for people to read.
