ALT-1 The Benefits of Teaching as a Profession and a Vocation
A profession is a job which needs specialized training, and teaching is certainly that. A vocation is more all-encompassing; it is a calling, a way of life, and teaching is especially that. You are involved with your students not just during working hours but they become a part of your life for the ten months they are in your classroom. There are always a special few will remain in your memory and your heart for the rest of your life.
Teaching has many benefits and, like all professions, some disadvantages. This article is about the benefits, so the few detriments will be dealt with another time.
The salary is good. In the province of Ontario, where I taught, your pay rate increased as you gained years of experience. It also increased as you passed more courses, either professional courses or university credits. I often found that trying to juggle working, raising my own children, doing Homework for university, and trying to keep my house from looking like a disaster area, resulted in not being able to give my best to any of these tasks. I would strongly urge anyone thinking of entering the profession to get as much education as possible before you actually start teaching.
The holidays are good. There are about 180 actual teaching days each year. Single teachers find summer holidays are often useful for taking courses without distraction. Mothers of young children may opt to spend that time with their family for a few years. The choice is yours. For those with school-aged children, it is helpful to have weekends and holidays off with the family.
However, it must be remembered that teachers do a lot of work outside of school hours. Every evening, there is marking to be done. The children soon learn whether or not you check their work carefully. If you don't do so consistently, there will be a quick drop in the quality of assignments they hand in. Also, there are lessons and seat work activities to be prepared for the next day. I often spent two hours or more at the dining room table each evening. The advantage here, I guess, is that if you don't have an active social life, you won't miss it.
If it's near report card time, you might also be writing comments for one group each evening. I found that trying to do more than several at once, when I was tired to begin with, resulted in some that sounded as if they were composed in Loopyland, and I'd end up doing them over later.
Another advantage of being a teacher is that the job is so engrossing, you have to forget your personal problems while you're interacting with the children. That job eased me through a divorce, the deaths of both my parents, a second marriage and the adjustments thereof, menopause, and hundreds of other little ups and downs that we all face as we proceed through life.
For 5 1/2 hours a day, you are completely with the children, in the classroom. Human minds are not equipped to focus with two topics at the same time. The mornings and evenings may be hellish, but when that school bell rings, you're a teacher, composed and in command of the class. It's expected of you, and somehow, you always manage to measure up.
These then, are some of advantages of being a teacher. There are many others: the smiles and hugs, the friends you make, both on staff and among the parents, the school trips, Halloween parades around the neighborhood, and Christmas concerts when you're so proud of the little monkeys, you could cry.
You always remember the children themselves, especially those who were very good, and those who were especially difficult, either to teach or to deal with. They will always hold a special place in your heart, as you hope for the best for them in life.
In later years, when one of your students becomes a doctor, a scientist, a leader in industry or distinguishes himself in some other way, you can smile with pride and say, "I taught him in Grade Three".
Is there any other profession or vocation which offers the potential for such satisfaction, or personal fulfillment?
