So many little kids play school with dreams of being a teacher.
Enriching young minds, positively influencing children, running your own class, those sweet hours and summers off, teaching sounds like a dream job.
But what about the battles with administration and parents, teaching to the tests, long after school hours of work and lesson planning, low pay, hard to reach students - is it really a dream?
The big question as the following article shows may be, "Are you suited for a career as a teacher?
If you're in it for those "sweet hours," it may not be the career for you.
Those short hours often turn into long ones, whether from staying at school being in charge of a club or tutoring or taking work home to plan or grade papers, your short hours really aren't short. But if you are in for the love of children and education, it may be for you.
A big part of teaching is where you go.
Not only what level you teach, from pre-school to college with elementary, middle and high all options in between, but also where you teach.
Are you looking for an influent area or maybe one where there may be more struggles and less money to provide the optimum learning experience?
Both areas need great, motivated teaching professionals; the pretty choice isn't always the most gratifying one.
What are schools doing to get the good teachers?
Since you've decided to teach, you may wonder what the schools are doing to get you and keep you.
Among the ways schools are marketing their opportunities include:
• Many school systems, especially those with teacher shortages in certain subject areas, offer signing bonuses and incentives.
• Some systems offer financial incentives for teaching in high need subject areas and offer bonuses for your students showing improvement in test scores.
• Professional development - No matter the level of teaching, professional development offered through the system can be incentive for top teachers to stay.
• Administrative support - Again, no matter the level, the more support from within, the more apt top teachers will come and stay when there is proven administrative support. Not only does administration need to be supportive, but those showing visionary and innovative qualities seem to attract more teachers.
It takes more than marketing at a job fair or a blurb on a website to attract good teachers.
The schools with the high performing students, parent involvement and the big PTA budgets are usually not the ones struggling to find good teachers. It's the ones in the lower socio-economic areas, with the behavior problems and low test scores that struggle, and those are the ones that need it, too.
The same holds true for higher level education, the higher performing the students in general, the easier it is to attract top educators - think Ivy League compared to community college.
Schools are working on new ways - bonuses, incentives, teacher training, and support - to attract top notch teachers.
If you're thinking of going into teaching, consider all the possibilities of places you might teach; the students you effect may take your influence with them for their lifetimes.
You can make a positive impact on someone who really needs it.