Teaching is like trying to hold 35 corks underwater at once. And I wouldn’t do anything else.
A teacher’s work doesn’t begin when the bell rings and certainly doesn’t end when the holidays start. Teachers learn to become experts at timing their toilet breaks and inhaling their lunch. They spend their free time planning engaging activities, scouring the internet to find useful resources, differentiating for each ability level, creating and marking assessments, setting homework, keeping up with countless emails and paperwork, meeting with parents and making displays. Not to mention running clubs at lunch time or after school, chasing students who missed assessments, attending meetings and writing reports … and that’s barely scratching the surface.
Teaching is an innate desire. It isn’t ‘just a job’ like many other professions and you definitely don’t become a teacher for the money. Teaching is a calling and it demands commitment and dedication. A teacher has the opportunity to impact on students’ lives in a positive way which is a huge privilege that shouldn’t be taken lightly. There is learning, healing, laughter, magic and love in classrooms all over the world. As a teacher, I aim to create an atmosphere that encourages curiosity and sheer determination. My classroom is a place where students feel important, respected, valued, cared for and believed in.
I have always liked the idea of becoming a teacher. I was the little girl who read stories to her teddies and I even wrote tests for my poor little brother to complete. I don’t think I chose teaching, I think it chose me.
“Teaching is a calling and it demands commitment and dedication.”
As soon as you step into a classroom, you begin to realise how much you don’t know. This is why practical experiences or ‘prac’ are the most valuable part of a teaching degree. This is where you will sink or swim and realise if this is the right place for you.
Prac should therefore be taken very seriously. Learn everything you can from your supervising teachers and don’t be afraid to ask any and all questions. Take notes, reflect on your lessons and set goals for yourself to achieve in your next lesson. Good teachers never stop doing this. In fact, most teachers are perfectionists and are too hard on themselves (If you’re one of them, don’t beat yourself up, you will make many mistakes and that’s okay). That being said, it isn’t okay to stop learning or to stop growing as a teacher if this is what you have decided to do.
I’ll never forget what one of my prac supervisors wisely told me, “The day you think you know it all as a teacher is the day you should retire.”
My classroom is a place where students feel important, respected, valued, cared for and believed in.
In my first two years I taught Year 5 but I’ve since moved on to teach Year 2. Every class you teach will be completely unique, filled with challenges as well as interesting, troubled, happy and remarkable children. If teaching is meant for you, I can guarantee you’ll never have a dull day. There is nothing like a child finally getting a concept. That light bulb moment is what it’s all about and often brings tears to my eyes.
Teaching can be incredibly stressful and draining at times but it’s also incredibly rewarding. I can always count on the children to make me smile and I can only hope that I have as big of an impact on them as they have on me.