Beinga Teacher
Educationis one of the most critical necessities that all human beings shouldhave. Apparently, people now live in a fast moving environment wherealmost every aspect of our existence seems to keep changing everyother day. According to Priestley,surviving in such a world needs one to be conversant with at leastthe basic information regarding how different things work around us(Priestley5).Ideally, this makes the role of teachers to be very critical. I havealways admired to be a teacher. This is mainly because everyprofessional out there, whether it is a doctor, a scientist, anengineer or a lawyer goes through the hands of a teacher at somepoint in their lives. In fact, Brushnotes that much of what they acquire in line with their careers iscourtesy of different teachers and tutors who start working with themfrom a tender age all the way until they become what they become(Brush325).Ideally, teachers play a significant role in the society andundoubtedly they have a special influence in nearly all professions.
Teachingas a Career
Teachingis one of the most interesting careers in the world. According toErickson,the main responsibility of a teacher is to impart skills andknowledge into an individual (Erickson27).This is achieved through the use of various strategies andapproaches. Generally, nevertheless, most procedures entail workingclosely with the learner as well as giving instructions which arefollowed keenly to facilitate successful passage of knowledge.Despite only needing a degree in education, Ericksonnotes that teaching is a dynamic profession because not all learnersrespond to different teaching approaches in the same way (Erickson30).Ideally, this implies that teachers have the objective of studyingand understanding their learners so that they coin the most effectiveteaching strategies and approaches.
MyPersonality Strengths and Interests that Match this Profession
Priestleynotes that not everyone is born a teacher (Priestley17).Apparently, like many other careers, there are a set of qualities andvirtues that define a good teacher. Personally, I have come tobelieve that a good teacher needs to be patient, kind and outgoing.These personality strengths are very important because as notedearlier, students are usually very different. As such, getting tounderstand each one of them for the purposes of crafting the bestteaching practices might be very tedious and time consuming. Ateacher therefore needs to be patient and persevering.
Anothercritical personality strength that I possess is the desire to learn.Actually, being at per with what is happening around me and learningnew things has always been my passion. Contrary to what most peoplebelieve, teachers are lifelong learners. As noted earlier, peoplelive in a fast moving environment characterized by ever changingtechnologies and ideas. Ideally, this is a challenge to teacherssince they are expected to always be conversant with these changesfor the purposes of communicating them to their learners.
Advantagesand Disadvantages of Working in this Career
Thereare many rewards for being a teacher. Perhaps one of the mostrenowned one is the benefit of working with learners and positivelyinfluencing their lives. Personally, there is nothing more satisfyingthan helping one became a better person in life. Besides this, otheradvantages of this career include favorable working schedules andopportunities to further career. Brushnotes that most education systems around the world often have breakswithin their calendar years during which teachers can pursue otherintellectual interests (Brush326).
Despitethe above factors, there are a number of challenges that teachersface in line of duty. According Brusharticle, most of them at times are forced to operate with schoolbudget cuts that greatly compromise their service delivery (Brush321).More so, majority work with very large classroom sizes with verylittle teaching aids. There is also the case of increasinglydemanding curriculum requirements as well as little support andcooperation from parents.
JobOutlook and Compensation
Thejob outlook for teachers is greatly dependent on their position. Forinstance, an article by Brushnotes that positions for kindergarten and elementary school teachingare bound to increase between 2015 and 2020 (Brush329).This increase is projected at 17%. This is way more than theprojected 7% increase for high school teaching positions within thesame period. In terms of compensation, it has been on record onseveral times that teachers are among the poorly compensated workersin the world. This assumption is based on the fact that mostresearches have confirmed that what most teachers are paid does notmatch the amount of work they do. In the United States, for example,a kindergarten teacher earns close to $48,800 every year while hishigh school counterpart earns $53,230 (Brush331).Ideally, this is not enough especially when you consider the factthat teaching does not stop at the end of the school day (Erickson47).
Conclusion
Despitethe numerous challenges that teachers face in the currentenvironment, teaching still remains a noble profession that has a lotof input into the society. It is indeed unfortunate that many timesteachers are often looked down upon. However, what interests me isthat at the end of it all, they are these selfless and hardworkingmen and women that shape the world by shaping the skills andknowledge of our youngsters. As noted earlier, there is no moresatisfaction than helping one became a better person in life, thereis nothing more satisfying than helping one became bright and abetter person in life.
WorksCited
Brush,Tony. “Student perceptions of collaborative learning, socialpresence and satisfaction in a blended learning environment:Relationships and critical factors.” Computers& Education 51.1(2014): 318–336. Print.
Erickson,Meek. Generaland liberal education: Competing paradigms.New York: Simon Fraser Library, 2015. Print.
Priestley,Michael. “Schools, teachers, and curriculum change: A balancingact?” JEduc Change 12.1(2011): 1-23. Print.
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