Teachers. Maybe you despised one throughout high school, maybe one changed your life or maybe you’re in school to become one yourself. Whether you’re in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education or Secondary Education, I’m sure you’ve heard at least one of these comments about your future profession. No matter how hard teachers try to get the general population to understand how important we are, how hard we work or that we’re not just in it for the money, some people just don’t get it. Here’s a list of nine comments all Education majors hear way too often.
“You’re not going to make any money.”
Yes, because teachers go into this profession solely for the money, not because they love children or anything. As future teachers, we’re well aware that our career is underpaid, underfunded and underappreciated. Does this stop us from doing what we love? No, it doesn’t.
“I hate kids.”
That’s cool. Did I ask you if you liked kids? I’m pretty sure I didn’t. It’s a good thing that I do, though. That’s kind of an important part of working with kids all day.
“That’s an easy major/job.”
If you honestly believe this, you haven’t spent enough time with children. As an Education major, I have to balance my own schoolwork with volunteer hours at elementary schools, practicums and student teaching. This means that while I’m student teaching full-time, I’m also a University of Minnesota student full-time. Basically if I’m not doing my own schoolwork, I’m doing more schoolwork for my students. After graduation, teachers leave their schools exhausted everyday just to go home to more grading, lesson planning and emailing. For eight hours a day teachers put on a performance for their students and by the end of the day are completely worn out. If you know a teacher, you probably notice that they’re not the same person in their classroom as they are outside of school. This is because they put on their “teacher act” in their classrooms during the day only to be exhausted by the end of the day. Then what do they do the next day? The same thing all over again. But then it’s Friday, so that means they have a break for the weekend, right? Wrong again. Many teachers are also involved in their communities by attending events that their students are in like soccer games, plays, and everything inbetween. The life of a teacher doesn’t start on Monday at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. that same day.
“I hope you’re patient enough to work with kids all day.”
Am I patient enough to work with kids? Yes. Patient enough to deal with you right now? Hell to the no. As someone who’s going into the teaching field, I’ve already spent an immense amount of time around children and have learned how to cope with the stresses that come along with this job. But thanks, I guess, for doubting my ability to enter the career I was made for.
“You’d better marry rich.”
Is this a joke? I’m not sure which I’m most appalled by: the fact that you think this is acceptable to say to me or that you don’t think I’m able to support myself. It’s 2016, people. Please refer back to the first comment about not making any money.
“You get paid to play with kids all day / You’re just a glorified babysitter.”
Did you even go to school? Clearly you didn’t or else you’d realize how inaccurate this statement is. I’m a teacher, NOT a babysitter. I’m shaping the minds of the children in this country every single day in my classroom. What life changing thing did you do today? You’re also demeaning the career choice people all the around the world make about being babysitters, nannies, daycare providers, etc. Working with children all day isn’t an easy job, no matter what kind of childcare profession you’re in. I’ll just put you down on the long list of people who don’t appreciate teachers and all we do for the world.
“That’s smart because you get summers off.”
Do you really think people become teachers just so they can have summers off? Not because teachers love working with children, seeing their students learn or literally shaping the next generation? Nope, you’re right, teachers only teach because we’re all lazy and want three months off of work. Not to mention that many teachers find summer jobs just to make ends meet.
“Good luck finding a job.”
I could say the same thing to you, my friend. As college students, we’re all a little worried about finding a job after we graduate. It doesn’t matter if you’re entering a growing field or one that’s dying out, everyone has that little fear in the back of their mind about leaving the U unemployed. How about instead of worrying about my job offerings so much, you start worrying about your own.
“I could never do it.”
Okay? So don’t!
Maybe you’re lucky and have only heard one of these comments aimed towards future educators, or you have a personal story for each one. Either way, teachers deal with these misconceptions about our field on an almost daily basis, and it’s time these ideas about teaching come to an end. We, as teachers, know that we’re entering a field that involves a lot of work for a tiny paycheck, and we really don’t need you to keep reminding us. Instead, try thanking a future teacher for wanting to change the world one student at a time despite the hurdles we face; we would much rather hear that from you.