The Family & Friends Influence

You may find yourself thinking, “What does this really have to do with me?” My answer is: “A Lot”. The examples that are used concerning motivations behind teaching really do occur and with great frequency. In fact, I would like to tell you my story…

When I graduated from high school, I did not know what I wanted to do. I happened to be dating a young man though whose father was very involved in education. Therefore, after I took a semester off, he encouraged me to go to school. I said to him more than once that I was unsure of what to take because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. He listened patiently, asked me some questions such as whether I liked children and then suggested that I become an education major. He told me of the positive aspects of teaching such as summers off and the ability to be with family. (Of course, now that I have the ability to look back, I think he realized that if I was going to be his daughter-in-law, he wanted me to be with my children as much as possible… :))

Side note: Although I do have most of the summer off, one should not confuse this with a slack type of schedule; during the school year, teachers are running crazy to be sure they are prepared and that students are meeting the standards they have set.

Anyway, back to my story… I decided to become an education major but knew for sure that I did not want to teach in the area of special education. In fact, I believe that I told my mother I would NEVER teach special education—that I just wasn’t cut out for it. Well… never say never!!!

My husband and I moved to Moscow, Idaho, where he began law school and I decided to take a year off and work. I interviewed as a para-educator for the Moscow School District and got the job. I know my jaw must have dropped when they told me I would be working in a special education placement. Well, in one year, my whole focus changed–I went back to school as a special education major and am still very glad that I did.

You see, the point of my story is that I also fell into the categories listed as motivators for becoming a teacher; I was influenced by family and friends.

So why do you want to become a teacher? What are your motivators? What are your fears?  

Career Changer

Carol

I’m not going to sugar-coat it… I became a teacher for the holidays, vacations and summers off. There, I said it … it’s the truth. I had a corporate job for the first 10 years after college. I was tired of working for only two weeks of vacation a year. After I got married, my husband and I decided the pay cut would be hard but we’d manage. I took a teaching job at a small, rural high school instructing journalism and technology. This would be ideal for our future family, I’d be on the same schedule as my future children. Surely if I can prosper in the business world than teaching would be a cake walk.

Yes, I really believed this to be true. I grew up hearing my dad say, “Those who can, work. Those who can’t teach.” My gymnastic coach added the last phrase, “Those who can’t teach, teach gymnastics.” I thought that was funny. But alas, I had a lot to learn about the art and science of effective teaching.

More than a decade later, I love teaching now more than when I began. I taught at the rural high school for five years, until my first twin pregnancy. I took a year off, moved from California to Idaho and expected to return to the high school classroom. Life had other plans as a second twin pregnancy changed the course of my teaching career. With four boys under the age of three, I began teaching part-time at the local community colleges. That grew into a full-time gig teaching future teachers. I am so thankful that teaching actually is the perfect career for me. I can’t imagine doing any other job. Do I still love the time off? You bet. I think I appreciate it more than life-long teachers because I know the grind of working 12 months a year. But what keeps me coming back are my students. There is a lot of politics behind the scenes of teaching at any school, at any level. You can choose to become involved or simply focus on your intrinsic motivators. I elect to focus on my students and the subjects I teach. They give me far more than any other extrinsic motivator can provide.

To Teach or Not to Teach?