You guessed it. I’m a teacher. I teach high school math at my alma mater. But at one point, I wasn’t. I, like many others, thought teaching was a cake job. I’ve heard what people say. “They don’t work an 8 hour day.” “It must be nice to get summers off.” “They get a PREP period and a LUNCH period.” Hmmm… a teacher, 18 year-old me thought, must be the ideal profession.
Fast forward 11 years. I am now in my seventh year of teaching full-time. I chose this job, not because of what I had heard, but rather, what I had experienced as a student. I had a really wonderful math teacher, and she instilled in me a love of mathematics and a desire to help others learn it.
Having been on both sides of the fence, it’s been on my heart to get the right information out there. I just haven’t had time to do it, as it is the beginning of the school year…
There are a lot of hard jobs out there. Teaching is 100% one of the most difficult ones, but gets this horrible reputation of being “easy.” I’m here to set the record straight. Before you judge our profession, take some time to educate yourself from someone who has done it firsthand.
facts about teachers
1. You’re right. Teachers don’t work an 8-hour day.They end up working well beyond that. I don’t remember the last time I worked only an 8 hour day. Yes, they might technically be on the clock for around 7.5 hours, but most of us stay late and work at home. Most of my days, as well as many of my colleagues’, are around 9-10 hours long, not including additional time spent at home.
2. We do get a lunch and a prep. And do you know when we eat? Sometimes, we don’t. We often give up our lunch and/or prep to help our students. We sometimes spend both periods in the copy room or checking papers or creating lessons. And if we’re lucky, we can quickly stuff our faces in between all of it.
3. Every time we get a new class to teach, we have to start all over. Something I hear quite frequently is, “You have been there a while now. You probably don’t have much prep work.” LOL. I’ve only ever had one year where I taught the same exact thing and could re-use a good bit of my resources. Our schedules are often changing, which mean we’re creating notes, fun activities, and doing homework, assignments, and tests right along with the kids. Even if our schedules don’t change, we’re constantly updating, revamping, and making our classes more engaging.
4. The average teacher spends around $500 on their classroom/classes per year. That’s an AVERAGE. So, yes, many of us spend more. We want our classrooms to be welcoming, engaging, and a place where we can make learning relevant and sometimes, even fun! We buy supplies, items for fun activities, and classroom resources as needed.
5. Papers and tests don’t check themselves. Most of us try to have tests and quizzes back to our students the following day (or in a timely manner). I know, personally, I always have mine back the following day. My assessments are not multiple choice, so I’m going through student work, looking for errors, and making corrections. It takes hours. In fact, this morning, my husband woke me up on the couch, where I had fallen asleep–tests still on my lap. During prep period, we are preparing lessons and copies for the following day, so checking over 100 assessments in under an hour with other things to do simply isn’t possible. Most of my test days end with 1:00AM bedtimes. Shout out to my English teacher friends too; that’s a LOT of reading and correcting they do! They sometimes have to give up their own personal days just to get all of their students’ papers read and checked. Moral of the story– we do a lot of work at home.
6. We always have to be on our toes. We never have a day of just “sitting in our office.” Our “offices” have an open door policy. There are multiple students in and out of our room all day, expecting us (and rightfully so) to give our best– as mentioned previously– even on our lunch and prep periods. Being a teacher has no downtime.
7. We must know the needs, learning styles, and medical information for 150 kids at a time. It is our responsibility and legal obligation to know our students and what they require to succeed academically. No exceptions.
8. We act as parents, nurses, and therapists– in addition to educators. When our kids are hurting (physically or emotionally), they come to us– and we hurt with them. They depend on us to provide a shoulder to cry on, advice when needed, and support they can rely on. We carry emotional baggage with and for our students. Often, it’s enough to keep you up at night.
9. We must constantly attend classes and training in the ever-changing educational world. Like many other jobs, we must keep our certificates updated. But in addition to that, we must gain new certificates and participate in programs mandated by the State or our district.
10. Taking a day off requires an enormous amount of work and planning. Taking a day off means a ton of preparation to make sure the day goes as planned in our absences. We make lesson videos, write lengthy notes, create guided assignments, and correspond with our substitute often. It is sometimes more stressful to NOT be at school.
11. Our worth as teachers is often determined by tests we don’t take. One of the most frustrating parts of being a teacher is standardized testing. Our evaluations depend on it. We are living in an educational world where lawmakers and governing boards determine best practices of education, but quite often have little to no experience in the field.
12. Sometimes, parents yell at us. It happens. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
13. We are constantly on call. We get e-mails from students 24/7. And, of course, we respond in a timely manner. We want them to do well, so we give up our time to make sure they succeed.
14. We have 1000 papers and things to keep track of and organized. From student information, IEPs, turned in assignments and assessments, forms, letter of recommendation requests, to make-up work… we have a ton to keep track of. If you have a child, imagine 150 of him/her to know and organize.
15. Yes, we do get summers off. And if you’d spend just one day in the shoes of a teacher, I’m 100% certain you’d understand why. We need that time to decompress, have 60 days of evenings that don’t require checking or responding to e-mails, and spend time with OUR families. Because in 60 days, we have to do it all over again and be ready to give our best. And we do.
I didn’t write this blog post to complain. I didn’t write this post to vent. I didn’t write it because I hate my job. Most days, I love my job. It is one of the most difficult, but rewarding professions on the planet. In all of the madness, I get to make a difference in the lives of my students.
It’s hard though. It’s not easy. And you may know a bad teacher. I’m sure you do because, obviously, they exist. There are bad employees at every job. But in my 9 years spent in the field of education, I can promise you there are more good than bad. There are more teachers who give their all and genuinely care about their students. It is hurtful when people say the things that 18-year-old me once heard and believed to be true. So, keep an open mind. Everything you hear isn’t true. And when you get a chance, thank a teacher. They deserve it.
xo,
Ashley
If you’d like to read more, here are some other blog posts I’ve written on teaching:
–The Perfect Teacher Planner
–Daily Inspirational Quote Board
–Classroom Organization Hacks
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