Are Teachers Really Happy With Their Jobs?

I am a substitute teacher, so I have witnessed how stressful being a teacher can be at times. I find it stressful being a substitute teacher at times, even though it has it's perks. Not being prepared with lesson plans and behavioral techniques are the hardest things about being a substitute teacher. Fortunately, I always had a helping hand.
Today, I read stories and statistics about teachers quitting their jobs. Many do so between 1-5 years after starting out. The Education field is very hard today, especially if you're a teacher. Teachers are not only teachers. They are like parents, babysitters, nurses, and mentors. They take on huge loads today. Lesson plans, tests, quizzes, Standardized Tests, behavioral problems drive teachers to the point where they just don't want to deal with it anymore.
When I started college, my major was Education. After my second semester of junior year, I dropped out of it because the classes and the lesson plan styles did not make sense. Plus, I did not want to deal with taking the praxis. I was also failing, even though I worked very hard. I chose Fine Arts as my co-major because I wanted to look into becoming an art teacher. Then, I realized that it wasn't for me. So, I switched to my co-major, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Do you think teachers are really happy with their jobs? Or do they just keep their jobs for job security and summers off?

 

To be honest, it depends on the person/teacher. Some of them stay as a teacher because it offers a high salary compared to others. On the other hand, some of them loved teaching not because of the salary they receive every month but because they want the next generation to become a successful and competitive one and about 1% of the total number of teachers would walk a 3 to 5-kilometers away from the city proper just to teach their students. The latter makes me think that there is still someone out there that thinks money is not everything. God may always bless them.

 

Yes they are very happy with their jobs.We must give our knowledge to our children.So teachers like to do it.

 

Asa teacher I can say every single one of us is happy to be a teacher for the sake of the kids. However, there are not many of us who are happy working in the public school system with corrupt administration, lack of funding, and serious misuse of available funding.

 

You know the look on a kids eye that sparkles when they get it a new concept or the imaginary light bulb that finally goes on and you here them say ohh. That's what makes teachers happy. Being a teacher is not necessarily about money. All teachers should know that before they seek out the profession. Being a teacher is being there for the kids. Yes you get students who challenge you in ways you have never been challenged. That doesn't make teachers unhappy. What makes teachers unhappy is the fact that they are the most underappreciated professionals. They are the ones that mold young minds into being doctors and lawyers. they are the ones who challenge the kids to be the best they can be and they do it on an income set by politicians. Politicians who say they are not doing their jobs so we need to put a large emphasis on state testing. Imagine if hospitals got paid based on the number of patients they saved. Would doctors be happy?

 

Your story is strangely similar to my own experiences as an Educator. While still in this field, I know for a fact there were many unhappy teachers who were literally dragging themselves to work. Something seems to happen around that third year of teaching. You seem to slowly start to lose that passion for why you wanted to work with children in the first place. Preparation for tests and testing has taken the organic beauty away from teaching and learning. The profession now comes with so much pressure from very rigid policies and procedures that take the joy away from the students and actually hinders their ability to learn.

 

I have been a teacher for many years. I teach English as a second language in Thailand. Am I happy? Yes, if I don't look at my pay. My pay is adequate but it's nothing to write home about. What makes me happy is to see my students learning a skill which can help them to get further ahead in their lives. That's worth more than what I am paid.

 

I am sure there are teachers who are really happy with their jobs because that is their passion. Others, I am not quite sure why they become teachers. Here in Kenya, We have heard of incidences where the teachers mistreat children by beating them, or really doing very nasty things to them. I wonder if such teachers are happy with their job or they are just doing it for the money.

 

There are teachers that are genuinely happy with their jobs. Then there are teachers that are stressed and burnt out and don't enjoy their jobs as much as they used to. I'm a substitute right now as well. Every class I've been in so far, the teacher always let's me know who to keep an eye on and what techniques they use for what student. That has been helpful because teachers know their students as they are with them daily. I am hoping to get back into my own classroom and utilize this degree and license. I know it can be stressful but I feel that the rewards will be worth it. Rewards being students learning and growing, building relationships, myself learning and growing and my summers off to be with my own children.

 

I have been a teacher for 16 years and I really enjoy it, I would not change my profession for anything in the world.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know all kinds of students and also people from several countries and I still keep in touch with some of my former students.
It is very rewarding to know you have made a lasting impression on them!.

 

I am also a teacher of English as a foreign language, I am in Argentina. I agree with your opinion; it also mkes me happy to help students learn and improve a new skill that will be valuable in their future jobs/education.

 

Around more than half of teachers may be happy teaching. It can be true that at times they can face some challenges, more specifically related to teaching. Education is an important thing to be obtained. Any teacher of it can viewed as an honorable example form of their status.

 

I have been in the education line for 29 years. You need to have passion for teaching if you want to be an educator because it is hard work, does not pay a lot, and you also have to deal with difficult students and snowplow parents.

But what gets me going is that I am shaping minds and moulding the future.

Also, I have control over how I teach and this excites me. I get to try out different teaching methods.

And one of the joys of teaching is seeing your students graduate. It is really possible to make a silk purse of a sow's ear!