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Illustration by Kathrin Honesta
It is true that I came upon teaching in an unorthodox way. I didn't have dreams of my own classroom as a child or even a teen, and the idea of being around children felt frightening. I tutored and babysat my mum's friend's children and for me that was as much of an experiment in teaching as it was a lesson in birth-control and realities of parenthood. However, teaching was relentless and pulled and pulled at my heart. Teaching called to me as a passion, as a challenge and as a gift. The more I gave into teaching the more it rewarded me in unexpected ways. I'm currently teaching 15 hours a week, give or take a few, and those are the hours when I feel most alive, most excited and most myself.
So, with that being said there is nothing more frustrating, demeaning and hurtful than hearing someone consider teaching as a 'back-up'. The 'back-up' that "wouldn't be so bad, because after all there's a great pension and summer's off". The 'back-up' that "takes practically everyone, and if you know another teacher they can get you into their school anyway". The 'back-up' because you can't "decide what you're really passionate about and 'those that cannot do, teach' -right?".
Growing up in a city just outside Toronto that is predominantly Italian and therefore largely rooted in traditional ivalues, it felt like everyone was becoming a teacher. It became the go-to career for women to maintain work that corresponded to their domestic duties. Afterall, teaching is still a highly gendered career because of the close and emotional work around children. Somewhere the difficulty in the actual work was erased from our conception of the profession and teaching, at least where I'm from, became highly stigmatized. You didn't have to excel in your undergrad to get into a teaching program, it was likened to 'women's work' (mentally and emotionally) so it is therefore both easy and natural and comes with all these "perks".
Now, becoming a teacher is starting to shift. It is no longer a 1 year Bachelor's program at most schools and is being offered as a 2 year Bachelor's or a Masters. Perhaps this is to filter out candidates that don't really want to go to school, but I think it is also meant to raise the standard of teacher candidates or those that consider applying. Although, Teacher's College is 2 years, Law School is 3, Dentistry School 4 years. If you are equally unpassionate and disinteresed about all three of these professions, opting for the 2 year professional degree in theory would offer you a quicker entrance to the work force. But, I don't think people are relying on that logic alone to guide them towards teaching.
What I have learned and am still learning is that I can't control or prevent everyone and their sister from applying to be a teacher. I also can't possibly teach every student (I wish!). I'm trying to resolve that at least I can commiserate with fellow teachers that are truly passionate about what they do. Comisserating with anyone in any profession that has worked hard to get there and knows what it's like for misconceptions to cloud the perception of their career, helps.
I also hope that I can bring awareness to those that don't know what they want out of life, to discourage them from idolizing teaching as the perfect saftey net or 'back-up'. Teaching is hard, it is exhausting and it is built on caring for others. The best teachers I've had were teachers that were really commited to my education, not the summers off and dental insurance. In all seriousness, those teacher's changed my life and I would not approach this profession with such honour and respect without them. The reality is that a lot of teachers and teacher-candidates who should be in classrooms or with students are diluted in this flooded profession.
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I will now step off my soapbox and wish you all a wonderful week ahead. Want to know what amazing teaching looks like ? Watch these videos :
