Do you have some reservations about teaching? We are here to debunk a few of the stereotypes and misconceptions you might hear on a regular basis.
"Those who can't, teach."
Oh boy. This one can throw any teacher for a loop. Teachers are foundational in the success of almost every person who walks the Earth. This not only requires a knowledge of people, emotions, and behavior, but a specialization in every field you teach. To present knowledge to someone means you must have had it in the first place
"You must be so patient to want to be a teacher!"
Not. True. If there's anything I know, it is that I want to be a teacher and I am far from patient.
Patience is a virtue, as we often hear, but virtues are not just bestowed. We work at them and develop them. Teaching is not a profession for the cookie cutter, kid lover. Teaching is for anybody who is willing to learn and change lives. Patience is a skill teachers develop at their own pace.
"Teaching is controlling children."
Teachers have a massive impact on the way a student learns and behaves. However, teaching is not about controlling those behaviors or thoughts. Teaching is providing the framework for opportunity and allowing each student to decide to take that chance.
"All the lessons are already prepared."
Many people argue that teachers have an easy career because all of the material they teach is already made into a lesson plan. But this isn't true. Teachers use their creativity and their skills on a second by second basis in the classroom. Lesson planning is an example of that creativity. With a class full of diverse learning needs, teachers must constantly plan new ways to introduce subjects.
"Good teachers create good grades."
Yikes. If this were true, I'd be on the Dean's list every single year. While our ability to instruct and modify instruction is essential to help each student and their learning needs, grades do not define a student OR the teacher. Successes of a student are measured in progress while successes of a teacher are measured in individual impacts. And those impacts are almost always immeasurable.