“You should be a teacher.”
I heard that quite a bit from people in the ten years before I switched careers and became a teacher. Most of those people were rational, arguably sane individuals.
However, none of those people were teachers, so their advice and enthusiasm should have been suspect. When the time came, I took their suggestions at face value and plunged ahead anyway. And my years in the classroom were some of the most enjoyable in my professional career. But suggesting someone become a teacher is tricky business, especially when one has never been a teacher oneself.
Recently, the US Department of Education, in conjunction with the Ad Council and a host of sponsors, launched a new advertising campaign called “Teach.” The ad spots encourage young college graduates to pursue a teaching career, leaning on the appeal of teaching as a creative, meaningful, and impactful profession. The STEM disciplines are a particular focus. (You can learn more about this campaign here.)
If you’re reading this blog, it’s highly likely you are an active teacher (with great taste in blogs). So you might find yourself at some point encouraging someone to become a teacher. How do you do it? How would you sell a teaching career to a young person in college? Share your ideas in the comments.
I love being a toddler teacher. They are just full of joy
And you never know what they are going to do. I love
Watching then learn something new or get excited when
They do something on there own without help. So being
A teacher to me is exciting adventuresome.
. and such a joy. They may drive you crazy at times but
At the end of the day they go home knowing that you are
Teaching them to be independent and strong.
I love my profession as a Prek teacher. How to sell it to others is to tell them the truth. As teachers we touch kids in a way that no one else can. There is nothing like that aha moment in a kids eyes. Sure we are paid little and sure we all get the blame for the failures which really are caused by the system but there is nothing like teaching and touching childrens lifes.
Besides where else can you get hugs and smiles and hear laughter like teachers.
I agree that being a preschool teacher is such a joy! I have taught preschool up to 8th grade and really enjoy working with all ages of children. However, many preschool and infant toddler teachers do not get the respect and salary that they should. I think that one thing that would sell people on teaching, especially at this young and critical age, is to change these conditions.
Touch them? In Texas we have way too many teachers! I encourage young adults to get a degree in something else that they might have a potentially easier time finding a job in. Then if they still want to teach, get an alternative teacher certificate. That way they have two professions. It’s REALLY hard to get a job in Texas as a teacher right now and a lot of kids do it cause they don’t know what else to do and aren’t cut out for teaching.