ALT-2 The Benefits of Teaching as a Profession and a Vocation
The benefits that are associated with a career are more than just those magical benefits packages that are often tacked on as way to improve curb appeal of a job. They are more than the vacation time and the insurance and the other perks that may come with the job. That is not to say that these types of benefits are not great, because they are. And when one is talking about the field of teaching, those benefits are usually very nice.
Of course, it varies widely from state to state what the benefits are, and usually starting salaries are enough to make you want to pull your hair out and cry sometimes. Then why become a teacher? Why pursue this noble path when there is opposition throwing obstacles your way at every turn?
For the REAL benefits. There is no greater benefit that one can get from a profession than the satisfaction they get from a job well done, when they know that they have made a difference in the world. For teachers, they get this opportunity a lot more often than most other professions, and also more frequently than they or people outside the field realize. Many teachers have up to 180 students per year. Multiply that by 30 years and that is 5400 students that a single teacher has had a direct impact on over the course of their career. Those 5400 students go on to be citizens of this world, and impact still other people, and so on. This is powerful, and goes way beyond the monetary benefits of a profession.
Teachers get to make a difference in kid's lives. They get to be a mentor on the journey of life, and help to shape children into young adults, and finally into productive citizens of the world. There is nothing more gratifying than having a student learn the knowledge that you are trying to impart on them and then use that to become a better person that is going out into the world to impact others.
Teachers catch flack from a lot of people. Teaching is not an easy profession, and there are a lot of challenges to overcome on a daily basis. But at the end of the day, when you go home dragging along your plan book, grade book, and pile of papers to grade, you can still feel good about yourself and what you're doing, despite the workload, and despite the frustration that being around so many kids can sometimes cause. And that is because of the benefit of making a difference in kid's lives. At the end of the day, satisfaction for a job well done is all you can ask for.
