The dichotomy of being a teacher

Have you ever wondered whether you should become a teacher?

Well, here are a few things to think about before taking the plunge.

Teaching can be an extremely rewarding and fulfilling profession, but only in the sense of personal fulfillment, not so much financial. Teachers don’t get paid a lot, at least not compared to the crap they have to go through day in and day out.

And before you think about the holidays we get. Just remember this, there is usually a lot of planning, marking, and recovery involved, far from being a break.

The main point of being a teacher, in the traditional sense is to impart knowledge onto those that seek it. Well, that would be the romantic way of putting it. The reality is teachers teach those that are put in front of them and oftentimes may not necessarily want to be there.

So, the job of a teacher is to impart as much information as plausible, in the most accessible way possible. Whatever their abilities are in understanding and remembering. In the same class there can be a group of geniuses and at the same time a group of students who can barely spell their own names, and everything in between.

And as a teacher, it is your job to find ways to get through to each student and guide or coach them to be the best version of themselves that can be.

Being a Teacher, what does it take?

As a teacher, you have to be strict as well as soft. Strict enough so that students want to be in the class yet not so strict that they want to revolt. A teacher needs to be soft enough that students find them approachable, yet not so soft that they can walk all over you and in turn lose respect for you.

A balancing act that doesn’t always balance.

Having a limitless passion for both the job and the subject helps a lot. Don’t ever hide it, let your passion for the subject or for the role or both, shine as bright as the sun and the students will follow, not all, but most.

A teacher needs to be a good presenter. Funny but not too much, you don’t want to be seen as a clown. You need to be informative yet not boring. You need to be a good communicator, need to be clear and to the point. No waffling!

Having or developing a larger-than-life personality is always useful. Trying to hide who you really are, creates distrust. Believe me, the students will see through any disguise you put on. They are like bloodhounds; they can smell bullshit from a mile away.

You need to be a mix of a sociologist and psychologist; you need to be able to understand the social dynamics within the class and school as a whole. Understand how your students think and interact.

Though that at times is impossible.

It’s often akin to watching a cheesy Spanish soap opera and other times like watching a Greek tragedy.

Each student is going through their own stuff. You need to be able to understand.

Not only do you have to teach students a subject but also the social norms, how to behave like upstanding members of society, most of your effort goes here. And a few of them will full through your net.

Remember, kids, love to rebel for no logical reason.

Be in tune with the way the world is developing and the going trends, and the issues that arise from them. They often result in a lot of stupid stuff, some funny some extremely dangerous.

Also, it’s worth paying attention to the weather, kids tend to act differently under different weather conditions. And also, during a full moon, it’s weird.

You need to be very creative, lots of issues arise when you are trying to engage a group of individuals with varying levels of abilities. Some students are geniuses and others can barely write their own names.

You will need to find ways in which you can pass along the knowledge in the most effective way. This could include rapping it; creating videos, apparently, videos are far more engaging than flesh and bone teacher, go figure Or even making a theatre play, or a game or whatever works.

Be willing to be flexible, whatever you plan, however much time you spend thinking about every possibility that could arise. You will be surprised! I have yet to see a lesson plan of mine go according to plan. Now, that doesn’t mean that the class didn’t go well, but just not according to the plan.

The classroom is highly unpredictable and to think that you can control every aspect of it, is a recipe for disaster. You need to be able to think on your feet, roll with the punches, and find quick solutions on the go.

Have the ability to read hieroglyphics, most students can’t write for shit, or coherently. There is a lot of guesswork when trying to figure out what the student is trying to say. There is a lot of, “it looks and sounds about right”.

There are, oh, so many more qualities teachers have to develop. But I don’t want to bore you with them all.

My final words, teaching is hard. Kids do a lot of stupid shit, a lot of the time, for no reason what-so-ever, other than, ‘why not’. At times, this stupid shit is really funny, and other times, incredibly tragic. Breaking your heart.

As a teacher, you need to be a role model, not only to your students but to their parents, as well as society as a whole.

And remember, teaching is the only profession that makes all others.

Thank you for taking the time and reading my article. Please share your thoughts, whether they are good or bad. Have a great day.