“Those who can, do, those who can’t, teach”.  This was once said to me shortly after I had announced my decision to become a teacher.  Thirteen years later and having just spent 3 days at a teachers conference I have had some time to reflect on what it means to be a teacher and why I became one in the first place.  I honestly can’t think of too many other jobs in the world that I would prefer to do. What follows is purely from a personal point of view.  There are hundreds of reasons people become teachers – these are mine.  Unlike what some may think I didn’t get into teaching because I failed at my other careers or just couldn’t think of anything else to do.  I got into it because the minute I stepped into the classroom (as a teacher rather than a student) I knew this was the place for me.  But, in more detail: why do I teach? And what really are the downsides? Firstly; what’s so good about teaching?

1) It’s rewarding.  It is cliche, but it truly is rewarding.  It’s hard to quantify those moments when a student doesn’t want to leave your class because they are having so much fun, or they have an ‘a-ha, I get it’ moment. Put it this way:  just one of those moments is enough to make my whole year.

2) I learn constantly.  It’s not only the students that are learning.  I am too.  Not just through researching and trying out new projects before classes, but every day in the classroom something new comes up and find myself with more knowledge and skills than I started the day with.  And an awesome fact of that is that a lot of my learning comes from my students.

3) I get to go places.  Sometimes they let us all out of the class room on Field Trips.  These are huge amounts of work but really so fun.  The teachers enjoy being out of the classroom as much as the kids do.  A bonus is that I’ve been to some great art exhibitions and even new places and countries that include Sri Lanka and Xian in China.  Oh and with expenses covered… nice!

On the old city wall in Xian, with fellow teacher, each sporting the ‘trip hat’

My grade 8 students at the Andy Warhol exhibition in Hong Kong, February 2013

with fellow teachers on a beach in Sri Lanka. We (and the students) survived!

4) It’s fun, keeps me young and keeps me a little crazy.  I have fun everyday, I laugh everyday. Sometimes with the students, sometimes at them. Kids really do say and do the funniest things. This then brushes off on us teachers!  I’m not totally out of the loop on the latest music and films, even if I don’t like it, at least I know (sort of) who Justin Bieber is. Hopefully, this knowledge might come in useful at a pub quiz one day…

Getting into the house spirit before an inter-house competition!

5) No two days are ever the same.  Even teaching the same unit or lesson, it’s never the same as each time it’s a different group of kids and they all react in different ways.  It doesn’t get boring or repetitive.

6) I get to do what I love everyday.  I have always loved art and now as an art teacher I get to be a part of art and art creation every day.

Students making prints

I get to see fantastic art all the time and I don’t have to pay an entry fee to a museum or gallery – it comes direct from my students.

Grade 6 work on “Season Pictures”

7) OK – I have to admit the holidays!  Who wouldn’t like to have 12 – 14 weeks of holiday a year? These fantastic holidays are not only a welcome and much needed break but also allow me to pursue my other great passion – travel.

8) Seeing young people become adults. Watching students try new things, develop their skills, grow and develop into self-confident young adults is truly a joy to behold.

9) I get energised! Who wouldn’t want to spend their day surrounded by people who are keen, enthusiastic, excited, creative and energetic.  Being with 25 bundles of energy all day is a terrific buzz!  And often feel like I’ve done a major workout after some classes – both exhausted but overall exhilarated.

My homeroom students – the very lively Grade 8 Dragons!

So those are the positives, there are of course challenges:

It’s tiring. Those ‘bundles of energy’ can be exhausting, there is little ‘quiet’ time to be had and all classroom time is a performance.  Trying to keep an eye on what each student is doing takes maximum ‘alert’ levels, especially if they are carving or cutting with sharp tools.

It isn’t cheap. Holidays are long (yay) but fixed to the busiest and most expensive times of the year (less yay).

It’s time consuming.  Teachers work well beyond the 8.00 – 3.00 school day.  Planning, preparing, marking and reporting all take huge amounts of time.  On top of that there are meetings, extra-curricular activities to run and classrooms to be tidied. Although school finishes at 3.00pm, a teacher’s working day extends well beyond that and we often work from home over the weekends.

Sometimes it’s overwhelming. The marking and reporting can get tedious and can feel like it’s getting in the way of the actual teaching. [OK, I have to say the marking is like a hangover – it feels rather self-inflicted.  Let’s face it: if I didn’t set it, I wouldn’t have to mark it.]  But, it is often required by schools and as a result when it is put on top of all the other assessment we do it feels full on.  Monitoring and keeping track of all my students needs, skills, personalities and even their names is more than a full time job when you see 200 kids a week.

So is it worth it…?

Yes, without hesitation, yes.  Those negatives are far outweighed by the reasons I enjoy it so much.  Not every day is a “Dead Poets Society” day, but neither are the days boring or tedious.  Teachers like to moan, a lot, it’s like a competition, but the bottom line is that if we hated it that much we would quit and become bankers.

Not everyone neither can nor wants to teach

People often say to me: “oh you teachers, you get such long holidays, you’re so lucky”.  Well, I say, there is nothing to stop you training for a year or two, then becoming a teacher and getting those holidays yourself.  This is the reply I get “What? Be in a room full of kids all day!? No Way!”  And that’s it.  Teachers do a job that others do not want to do or cannot to do.  And we don’t do it because we are forced, or for the recognition (rarely given) or for the money …(what money?), we do it because it’s rewarding, fun and it’s our passion.

Making a difference

I believe another driving force for some of us is this: many people would like to make an imprint on the world and to change things for the better.  Changing the world implies changing the present to improve the future. In which case who better than to guide in this than the next generations?  To quote Nelson Mandela “Education is the best weapon which we can use to change the world”.  By educating children we teachers can change the world.

Check out Taylor Mali’s poem “What Teachers Make” I think he says it all.

Are you a teacher?  Why do you teach?  Post up your reasons.