5 Myths About the Teaching Profession Busted

When I hear anyone say "Teacher's have it so easy because they have their summers off," I literally want to choke the person who said it. I really don't know where the misconception or idea that teachers have an easy job came from, but I do wish to set the record straight. Here are 5 myths that are widely believed to be true and why they simply are not.

1) Teachers start work at 8am and end work at 3pm (or whatever school hours are)
This is the one that makes me laugh - and then it makes me cry. Are you kidding me? Teachers are the hardest working people I know. They usually show up anywhere from an hour to 30 minutes before school so that they can prepare for the day and most teachers don't leave the building until at least an hour after school has let out. Staff meetings, conferences, and after school duties are all unpaid extra hours that teachers participate in. Even when they get home, they are still writing lesson plans, grading papers, or analyzing and processing their day or thinking about the next day. Teachers spend weekends creating teaching aids for the next week or at the library getting books for their classroom because the library in their own school is not well equipped. Teachers don't get paid for 30% of the hours they work - but most of them do it because they love it.

2) Teachers get their entire summer to do whatever they want to
Some teachers have the ability to leave school at school and walk away for the summer, but for most of us, that does NOT happen. If it isn't an inservice or a college course that we are taking for our teaching license, we are in the building getting things ready for a new year. Not to mention if teachers have to switch classrooms or grade levels over the summer - do you think the custodian moves our stuff from room to room? Well, get over that idea, they have enough on their plate - it is all on the teacher to move. Preparing lessons, curriculum guides, setting goals, and reading up on new teaching techniques are all part of our summers. Don't get me wrong, we get to enjoy ourselves too, but we should get to - we don't have the option of taking off during the school year.

3) State testing and standards are helpful to the teacher
Give me a break! State standards do nothing other than stifle the creativity in the teaching process. No Child Left Behind mandates that 100% of children will be passing in time - that is downright impossible - and I'm a positive person. You cannot force a child to learn and you cannot force parents to care. Teaching a test throughout a school year with a curriculum map so jam packed that you can only scratch the surface of each subject you touch is not doing any good for any one. Students are not gaining a true education when all we do is expect them to memorize facts and never really use their higher level thinking skills. State testing and standards are detrimental to our children's education - end of story.

4) Teaching is glorified babysitting
Let's put someone who isn't trained to be a teacher in front of 29 students and have them teach a math lesson. How many students would be paying attention after 10 minutes? How many would have gained the concept after the lesson? Exactly. I did not go to school for 5 years to become a babysitter and I can guarantee you that someone who does not know what they are doing will be "eaten alive" in a classroom setting. First of all, many of the people who say teaching is simply babysitting probably couldn't do the math themselves, much less teach it. Then let's factor in the fact that teachers not only have behavior problems, special needs children, and learners all on different levels to deal with, but they also have to make sure that 100% of their students master the skill no matter what the situation. Sounds like babysitting to me - how many babysitters do you know of that have to differentiate their babysitting style to accommodate the needs of the 2 or 3 kids they are watching? Um, zero. Now, think about how many teachers you know. Well, all of them have to differentiate their teaching style to accommodate the needs of the 25-30 students they are teaching. Point made.

5) Teachers aren't underpaid
Well, teachers are the foundation of education. Without teachers there would be no doctors, dentists, computer specialists, authors, scientists, or accountants. Teachers are where it begins. Teachers may not save lives, but they start lives and to me, that is worth more than $24,000 a year. In some cases, teachers do save lives - they inspire and they encourage - they step in and act as family when a child has none. These are things that are priceless and you could never pay enough for what some teachers do. Real teachers don't do it for the money - they do it for the love of teaching and the love of children - real teachers teach to make a difference.

So next time you find yourself thinking how easy your child's teacher has it, remember this article, thank them for what they do and give that teacher a hug.