Teaching is probably the most undervalued profession around. So often teachers are at the bottom of the totem pole and too many people look down on us. It's also no secret that teaching is not a job that pays well. If you want to drive that Range Rover and spend weekends at your beach house or lake shore cabin, you're in the wrong field!
But that's sort of our whole niche right. You don't go into teaching for the huge paycheck. You don't pursue this career for the accolades or the awards. There's also no big bonus upon hitting your goal or closing that deals. Teaching is a humble profession where our victories are almost never celebrated or acknowledged by others and quite sadly, our challenges and difficulties are dismissed as "unnecessary complaining".
So why do we do it then? Why do we put ourselves through never-ending struggles and often times give more of ourselves than we should or even have to give, especially just to be underappreciated? Because we love it. It's that simple. At the end of the day we don't teach for those materialistic things, we teach for our kids. We teach because we want to give them the best future possible. We want to help them grow into the best versions of themselves and show them that it's not about the awards or the big paychecks, it's about doing something you love with everything you've got.
I'll admit those awards would be great but ultimately, hearing a child say "You're the best teacher ever!" or "You're my favourite teacher of all" is the greatest recognition I need. It means I made a difference in their life and that they appreciate me which means so much!
You always hear what challenges and difficulties teachers go through but we also need to talk more about how big our hearts are and how much we love what we do. No that doesn't mean we should be taken advantage of or that it's acceptable that most teachers work additional side jobs just to get by, but it's important to recognise how selfless teachers are and how much love they have to give.
Few people have the hearts we have and can do what we do. To love 20 plus students equally everyday. To draw from our emotional damn that never seems to empty. It's really not an easy task but I know most will agree that love being teachers. It's a calling, not a job, only for those with the biggest hearts.
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