Dedicated and qualified teachers are the foundation of a strong school system.  However, too often teachers choose the profession for the wrong reason – getting the summers off; being able to coach a high school sport; or having the vacation time as one’s children. Sometimes teachers underestimate the needs and diversity of students. After a few years, more than 50% of them leave the profession.  Others may feel trapped in a profession – feeling it is too late in their lives to change careers.

Consider the case of Sarah and Judy. Sarah and Judy are both teachers, who graduated from college together. They were hired in the same school district upon graduating – a large district that was the single largest employer and best paying in the region. It was a time when teaching positions were in short supply, and both were excited to get their new jobs.

Fifteen years later Judy was an angry fifth grade teacher, yelling at her students in the classroom when they didn’t do their homework or failed to pay attention.   She depended on the teacher’s manual for correct answers in most subjects. She had been moved from her initial first grade teaching position to fifth grade, when the school she was initially assigned to closed due to low enrollment. Since her certification was kindergarten through sixth grades (K-6), she was prepared to teach students in each of those grades.  However, Judy felt unprepared to teach intermediate subjects.  Her internship experiences in college were always at the primary level, where she wanted to teach. She felt especially weak teaching fractions and language arts.

Judy was suffering from the burnout that so many teachers face. She felt trapped by her need to keep her salary and a fear of being able to find another job. And in a large district, she could be moved to any school where she was needed – and assigned to any grade within her certification license.

Judy thought having a student teacher would help, feeling that a second person in the classroom would relieve some of the stress that she felt.  However, she was completely surprised when the student’s college supervisor walked into the classroom.  It was her old classmate, Sarah. Sarah was a college professor – no longer working at the district.  Instead, she was teaching those students who, like her and Judy, wanted to become teachers and make a difference in the lives of students.

Judy was a disillusioned teacher afraid to make a change in her life, while Sarah was an assistant college professor, preparing new teachers for the profession.

What made the difference in their lives?

“You care too much about students to be a teacher.”  Those words were spoken to Sarah by the first principal she worked for – when she asked to make a change for a special needs student in her class.  She was shocked.  This thinking went against everything she believed in when she chose to be a teacher. Sarah’s discouragement with the principal caused her to begin looking for a new job.  She knew there were not many teaching jobs available in the region and she may not make as much money, but she needed to make a move.  She could not work in a school where she believed the best interests of the students were not being met. When Sarah began interviewing for a new teaching position the district human resource manager said if she left the district, she would never be able to return.  But Sarah knew that it was not a district she could work for.

Sarah wanted students to love school and learning the way she did.  Sarah wanted to inspire them to read, ask questions, think about problems, and have fun.  Most of all she wanted to help students create a vision for their futures, even if that vision might change several times during their lives.  Sarah wanted the student that she once was to be proud of the teacher she had become.

Sarah taught at two different schools within the next eight years. After a few years of teaching, she got a master’s degree in School Counseling. One year Sarah found herself teaching in a school district that had to make drastic cuts. After losing her job, she was hired at a community college working with adult literacy and GED students.  She earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership and, upon completion, began teaching in the education department at the college where she and Judy had earned their degrees.

There are many opportunities in the field of education. In addition to the range of ages and subjects that one can teach, there are several graduate fields to consider.  Principals, educational psychologists, school counselors, social workers, and superintendents are all part of school systems.  There are academic support centers, as well as positions in teacher preparation programs –  and professors in the same fields.

So, you are wondering if you should stay in teaching!  Teachers, as well as all other members of the educational community, have a profound impact on students’ lives, shaping them into responsible, knowledgeable, and compassionate individuals who can contribute meaningfully to society. Teacher influence extends far beyond the classroom, making them indispensable pillars of our democratic community.

Let the student you once were be proud of the teacher you have become.