This reader explains why she became a teacher. She didn’t do it because she loves the children but because she loves to teach. What do you think?
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Would you please address this statement which I heard last night in Chris Christie’s speech. It is about the idea that people become and stay as teachers because they love children. I really disagree with this. Yes, teachers may love children but that is not really why they become teachers. I became a teacher when I went to college because I loved my subject matter and I loved learning. I thought that I would excel at the passing down knowledge and culture and making ties between history and literature. I loved doing research and I loved explaining things to people- children, adults, whoever would listen. I asked my husband this. He is a lawyer. He always said he went into law because he loved the law. He never said I am going into law because I love my clients. Yes, I love helping them but not because I love them. I doubt that doctors go into medicine because they love they patients. There needs to be more to a job than loving those you serve. This constant confusion that a teacher is somehow part of the child’s family is wrong. As you well know, the problem with education lies with the problems of families. I went into teaching when I was 21. I taught middle and high school in NYC and Sao Paulo. I am 44 and have witnessed the wholesale destruction of this profession. The powers above have taken the humanity out of this very human profession. I will still keep up the fight against the DEFORMERS but I have lost hope ever teaching again. Thank you Diane for giving voice to the teachers. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Honestly, I went into teaching because I realized the classroom was where I could do my best work, meaning I could make the biggest impact. I initally wanted to be a doctor because I saw it as a challenge. As I matured in my goals, I realized that very often a doctor’s work with an individual patient doesn’t develop past the bottom of the prescription bottle or the end of the recovery phase. As an educator, whatever foundation I create with my students, often things I never even plan for, grows to become something I never envisioned.
Yes, I love my content areas and I love the challenge that is teaching, but my drive as an educator comes from wanting to leave a legacy in the futures of the students I touch, directly in the classroom and indirectly working with other teachers.
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Excellent comment, I concur.
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I think that the love for one’s students is an effect of the love of teaching and learning. The love of teaching and learning comes first; it is the sine qua non. There are plenty of people in the world who sincerely love kids, but wouldnt necessarily be good teachers.
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I agree. My purpose too. And I think I wanted to be a high school teacher because I had a couple of excellent role models. Loving the young people I work with? Some are not so easy to love, but I do appreciate and respect them. A lot of my colleagues in elementary ed went into teaching because they do/did love children.
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“Yes, teachers may love children but that is not really why they become teachers.”
I certainly agree with this statement.
In 2011, I attended a local forum for candidates running for a position as school board member. Other than having their own children in school, most of these individuals had no clue as to what teaching entails.
So many boisterous comments were made including, “…scores for the MAP and ACT need to improve, or we need new teachers” and “…need to get back to basics”
(as an elementary art teacher, that statement always infuriates me while also scares the wits out of me). But the comment that was repeatedly mentioned by multiple candidates was that teachers were there because teachers “love kids.” I wanted to gag. For me, that was a distorted claim. The reality for me was, I love teaching art. Period. The candidates position on this “love” justified their reasoning that financial conditions mandated salaries be frozen. Because of this “love,” salary really didn’t matter to us, we’d stay whether or not a raise was in the offing.
I wonder if that attorney, that hospital employee, that local government employee, that health care employee—felt the same about their salaries?
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I agree that this line is tossed about so as to rationalize not paying teachers. I’d also point out Christie’s preposterous comment about how GOP supports teachers, but not teacher unions. Who does he think are in teacher unions? Magical elves and wood nymphs?
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Judging Christie’s comment last night in the context of his education policies, I’d say it’s an attempt to justify deprofessionalization: “Do you love kids? Great, you’re hired. But remember, we’ll foist whatever asinine policies we want on educators, and you’ll have to take it. You chose this work because you love kids; don’t betray that noble sentiment.”
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I became a teacher for several reasons. The day I entered First Grade, at the age of five, I knew I had found my second home. I loved school! I loved the smell of oil on the wood floors, the smells of chalk, crayons, and paste. I loved the wood desks with cubby holes. I loved the dresses my teacher wore. I loved the way she taught me to read. As time went on I loved each of my teachers. The ones who read aloud. The ones who smiled when I finally learned that new Math skill. In junior high, I loved the teachers who pushed me to try harder. In high school I loved the teachers who challenged me and prepared me for college. I admired the teachers who prepared other students for jobs when they graduated. When I was in school, teachers were respected, they were listened to, and they were what I wanted to be. I still love being a teacher after 28 years. I will not let anyone take that away from me, even though Bobby Jindal and John White are trying very hard!
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Some students delight me; others give me throbbing headaches. If loving kids were the impetus for my career choice, I wouldn’t be a teacher.
That’s not to say I don’t have a good rapport with my students (I do) or that in thirteen years of teaching I haven’t been a mentor to a few of them (I have). But my passion for literature and writing is what inspired me to teach and it’s what drives me now.
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I, too, teach because I love to teach my subject or subjects. But “love” and “enjoyment” do not always coincide. I’m not sur we’re always aware that we love people or things. Love may have somethng to do with constancy–being willing to stick with someone or something day after day, and to return after a break. It may not always feel wonderful. But there is a subtle happiness in it.
I wrote here about my reasons for continuing to teach:
(i recently moved my blog from Open Salon; the original post received many thoughtful comments.)
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I always said to those who asked, “why do you teach?”, that I teach because I like to teach others what I know……Whether it’s children or adults, I like the art of teaching…..never once have I answered that it’s because I love children……
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I became an English teacher because I am passionate about reading and writing, and I wanted to share this passion. Books made a huge difference in my life as a teenager. Working in NYC public schools I thought I could make a difference in the lives of children. After ten years, I can say I have encouraged a love of reading and writing in many of my students, though not as much as I dreamed of doing. I’ve learned that teaching is hard. Some days I have not liked my students very much, others I have been inspired by them. But to be honest, if I had to do it again, I would choose another career.
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Interestingly enough, I didn’t start out to become a teacher. I graduated from college with a degree in psychology and went to work in a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children. After four years, I looked at my options: get a masters in social work or get my teaching certificate. As I already had a minor in education, the requirement for my teaching certificate were fairly simple. After one quarter of classes and student teaching, I became certified to teach.
For the next six years, I taught junior high special education. But, conflict with my principal over his refusal to let me use my in-building budget, led me to transfer to regular classes, in this case 7th grade language arts/social studies. As I taught more and more social studies, I discovered I really liked learning new stuff in order to teach about it. My passion led to full time junior high social studies teaching, some of it in honors classes.
I retired in 2007, after 37 years in one district and two schools. I still love learning new stuff, but rarely get a chance to teach any more.
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I became a teacher because I enjoy doing something that the vast majority of people in this country can’t do – whether its because they literally do not have the skill (for whatever reason), or they will not do it because of the pay and working conditions. I have enjoyed the challenge. I like working with teenagers because it never gets boring, and I never once must look at the clock and wonder when I am going to “get off work”. I only look at the clock to see how much time I have left to fulfill my lesson plans.
Because of my present state of research (working on my Ed.D.), I can now say that I teach because I am driven to show that our public schools are the best. I am also driven to change the system by winning control away from the know-nothings (economists, billionaires, and politicians) and placing the control of education in the hands of people that really know about education. I am not sure what it’s going to take, but I’m ready and willing.
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I really think there is a wide range of reasons why people enter the teaching profession. For me, it was a part of a long journey. I considered education for a time, but ultimately my first degree was in the social services and I ended up going to seminary and working as a youth director in a church. As I began to have doctrinal questions and problems that caused me to leave the church as a profession, I began to once again decide what career I wanted to enter. As a church worker I had both experience in presenting content and sharing knowledge and working with young people. I also had a love for literature, so I decided to go back to school to be a teacher. So, it is true I entered teaching because I loved children, but I also had a passion for sharing knowledge and a passion for the content area in which I entered. To simplify it into one reason doesn’t do my decision justice.
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Simple. I liked school. I liked to learn. I liked my teachers. I played teacher all the time, with my dolls and with my friends. I had relatives that were teachers. Really never thought of doing anything else.
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After hearing that last night and skimming through these comments, I am starting to believe that the whole “you do it because you love kids” thing is going to be used against us. Just like the other side says that we always say “it’s for the kids” when we ask for more funding or whatever, they are going to say “don’t you love the kids?” when they want us to extend the school day for no pay, turn the 2 page Florida evaluation system into a 40 page one, cut supplements like Monroe County, FL (Key West area) wants to do, etc.
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Exactly, this makes sense, it’s called teaching for a reason. If the job was about loving children then it would be called, kidding/childrening.
People wouldn’t say, I want a job in teaching, they would say, I want a job in childrening, or they would have a job in taking care of children.
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This thread made my day! I changed careers and went into teaching because I enjoy science and learning and get great satisfaction from teaching and helping others learn! I wanted to teach where I could make a difference in peoples lives for the better and it is wonderful to find out I am not alone. Where I teach it is looked on as blasphemy if you dare say you are teaching for any reason other then because you love children. Day after day I hear ” We are here for the kids” or “No matter what happens we will be here for the kids!” or “I know how tired and frustrated you all are but remember, we are here because we love children!” or “I went into teaching because I just love kids!”
I love my own children. I don’t love my students. I care about them. I want them to succeed. I am concerned when they struggle and get attitudes. But I do not love them. I think that sentiment cheapens what educators really do and distorts the role of educators in the community. I can not imagine any other professional saying they love their_________! who ever their clients might be. The people at Wal-mart say they love me. We know they really don’t. The people at Domino’s Pizza say they love me. I know they really don’t. The people at the dry cleaners have a sign that says they love me. They really don’t. What message is being sent to students if their teachers only teach because they love them? What happens in the mind of a student when they know they have really really made you mad and it is obvious that you do not love them?
What if we teach because we love the subject and know how important knowledge of ____________ (whatever we teach is) in making peoples lives safer or giving them the ability to make better decisions or have more options in life choices? That we teach because people need a strong educational foundation to be able to go out into the world and be independent and secure. That way the material remains just as important, they see that we can teach and meet our responsibilities to our students even when they make us mad, and that we will put up with all the paperwork, changes, value added and other challenges of teaching because what we are teaching is that important!
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I returned to college at age 29 and became an elementary teacher at 34 because I believed I would make a really good elementary teacher. Communication and analytical skills were my strengths. Therefore I enjoyed describing and explaining an idea until it made sense to the student. Also when that student was struggling I could ask the right questions to determine where the problem was. I got a lot of good feedback from students, parents, other teachers and administration to make me feel I was on the right track. This year after 23 years of teaching I took early retirement. The main reason was the new evaluation system in Florida forces administration to focus on teacher weaknesses as opposed to the strengths. For the first time in 20 years I suddenly felt that I was less than “highly qualified.” Constant walkthoughs and 8 in depth evaluations in one year filled my year with anxiety and discouragement. I was not alone. I know the average teacher does not have the luxury of retiring early. I am going to my former school weekly as a volunteer. Also I am beginning my own blog to do what I can. By the way do I love children? Love is something that develops over time. By the time I had spent 7 hours a day, 5 days a week with a group of students through the school year by the end of the year I “loved” them all. Even the rascals.
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I became a teacher because I love to learn. Leonard Bernstein said, “When I learn, I teach. When I teach, I learn.” This statement has always held true for me. Teaching is my third career. I worked with non-profits for 7 years, practiced law for 10 years, then entered teaching in my 40’s. I have been teaching for 16 years in an urban public school. Do I love my students? As teacher1blog notes, this develops over time. I love exchanging ideas with them, and helping them learn to become better readers and writers. I think they deserve an excellent education. I wish all the “reformers” in suits would work on things that would help make that possible, such as adequate health care and decent housing.
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I never thought I would be a teacher as I grew. I wanted to be an actress or a marine biologist (then I realized how much math was involved with that). I should have known I would become one because I was always the teacher when we played school.
I was called to be a teacher. Even after I decided that was the path I was going to take, I was still scared that once I got there I would find that it just wasn’t the right choice for me. It was definitely an unfounded fear as people around me noticed the positive change in me when I started teaching. I always love my craft and I usually like it (sans the politics), kind of like family. I care deeply for my students, but they come and go. Students cycle in and they cycle out, but at the end of the day, the week, the month, the year, I’m still a teacher.
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I went into teaching because I love adults, and because I hate inequality. Although I am no longer a teacher, the thought that every child in my classroom would someday be an adult who needs skills to be successful in life motivated me throughout my short teaching career.
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As Augustine said, an unexamined life is not worth living. My single attribute was the ability to defend others. After nearly 16 years in special forces I found myself shot up one time too many. I had too many broken bones to keep jumping out of aircraft. Too many psychotic violent people had come too close to killing me. As I woke up in intensive care again I contemplated the meaning of life. I met a fine young lady that had volunteered to help a bunch of us soldiers with our therapy before returning to duty. By divine providence I returned to the area for training afterwards and was hurt once more. I found my soul mate and a new challenge for my intellect. I no longer wanted to match wits with violent people, my busted up hands were no longer agile enough to safely disarm bombs as I once had, I needed a new reason to live. Teaching gave me something important to do that used my mental talents, my wife gave me the courage to become a teacher, she said she could live with the lesser monetary status it would assure us. I have no regrets other than not doing this sooner.
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Why I became a teacher is so complex that I’m not sure English, with 500,00 words available, has the right ones. Why I chose to teach elementary is even more complicated. If I didn’t like children, I wouldn’t be doing this job, – that is certainly true, – but I no more ‘love’ my students than I ‘love’ all my colleagues. I do, however, respect the individuality of my students, and respect the varied talents of my colleagues. I teach because I enjoy explaining things, helping others see the connections between things, exploring new concepts, and learning more about myself and the world around me. How better to do that than learning those things through the eyes and mind of a child, for whom all things are new?
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Someone once told me that those who teach secondary ed. seem to enter the profession for the love of a particular subject and those who enter elementary ed. do so because they like working with children. I come from a large family with an alcoholic father who left our home-thankfully- when I was a teenager. As the eldest, I was in charge of my younger siblings a lot of the time. I have been a teacher my whole life, I guess. My teachers also showed me a world outside the dysfunction of my home life. They opened my mind and challenged me in ways that my family could not. I wanted to be a part of that world. I keep this in the back of my mind to this day. I do not know what goes on in the homes of my students. I try to show them that they can accomplish big things if they try.
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I didn’t BECOME a teacher until after I taught for two years, left to become a stay-at-home mom, and then returned. I was one of those statistics, leaving the classroom at the beginning of my career.
But the five years I spent, watching my son grow, getting a masters degree, learning and growing myself, propelled me back with a passion to do whatever I could to help students feel confident about their own learning. Now, I’m ready to retire after a 38-year career that spanned grades K-12, from special ed and remedial levels to gifted. Three states, 7 schools, 10 principals. Thousands of students.
I became a teacher because I can’t not learn, and can’t not share what I’ve learned.
I believe our critics who tell us it’s a calling, that we’re there because we love our students (and I do) are ‘keeping us in our place’ and demeaning us with their praise. They don’t understand either concept — being called or loving the people we work with.They do understand if they were forced to acknowledge the fact we’re trained professionals with a skill set others don’t possess, they’d have to pay us what we’re worth.
Maybe the real question is not ‘why did you become a teacher’ but ‘why have you continued to be a teacher?’ That one might decide the fate of our profession as more older teachers like me are leaving, more younger ones leave and don’t return, and fewer young people consider teaching as a profession.
This year, at least three of my former students are teachers in their first year. I hope they’re prepared for the challenges, not only inside their classrooms, but also outside, from forces that don’t respect what we do because they don’t understand what we do.
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I become a teacher for several reaons, and one of them is because I love children, I love students, and love the people in general. And I love help them to improve and teach them how to learn new things. There are diferent kind of love and diferent ways to love.We love people, we love animals, we love things, we love a job. We can love students too. We should love them.
All of you who have said that you teach because you love the subject, because you love to explain things…sorry but a teacher is more than that. I love English but teach a lot of subjects, Science, Arts, English, Spanish… If I were a teacher only because I like a particular subject I wouldn’t have been a teacher. What would happend when I couldn’t teach my favourite subject anymore and I would have to teach other? I wouldn’t want to go on being a teacher?
From my point of view the people who say that things are putting the focus on their own, and the most important thing in education aren’t we, the teacher, but the students. We are an instrument and the students are center of everything. And yes, when I want more money for my school, I’m thinking in my students, when I work hard I’m thinking about my students, when I am on strike because a wrong educational law has been aproved in my country, I’m not thinking about me, I’m thinking about kids.
I think that nobody could be a good teacher if they don’t love their students. Because only when you love someone you try to give them the best. When you love your students, you want to be better everyday, you try to learn and try hard to do your job as best as you can. Because of them. Because a teacher without students has non sense. Because you do your job for someone. You share with them your knowledge and at the same time they teach you new things too. Teacher and students are a team.
We work with persons, not with boxes. Children spends a lot of time with us, sometimes more than with their own parents. When children feel that they are important for the teacher, that the teacher loves them , that the teacher take care of them , they willin better position to learn. I recommend you the documentary “Children full of life”. A teacher who loves job and loves children too. And from this love he teach them something very imporatnt, more tan the subjects: how to be happy and make others feel happy.
Maybe a lot of doctors become doctors because they love medicine. But I’m sure that the best ones love their patients too. The same for the lawyers I can’t think that a vet can’t loves animals. . And if the politicians love us , their will be better in their job tan they are now.
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