How hard is it to be a teacher?

It is one of the toughest jobs to do well, but one of the easiest jobs to keep if you are mediocre or worse.

Go Longer wrote:

It is one of the toughest jobs to do well, but one of the easiest jobs to keep if you are mediocre or worse.

This is 100% correct.

To be a great teacher is very difficult. To be awful it will be easy.

I teach science at a title 1 school. I get paid well (108k) but deal with a lot of gang, violence & drug issues. Every day someone come to school high. Fights on campus constantly. Kids are only here because of probation. Literally had one kid said they don’t give a F*** about graduating that she’s only here to not go to jail.

Some jobs are easy. Those jobs are usually in affluent neighborhoods.

I’ve worked in a lab & in industry. This job is comparable in difficulty.

To address some issues mentioned in this thread from an elementary perspective:

Lesson plans- In my five years, our state has changed standards three times. We've gone from our state standards to common core, to new state standards. This year they introduced new science standards, and next year there are new social studies standards.

But even without those changes, student needs and learning change so much that lessons have to be adapted and revamped anyway. New technology emerges (we got rid of science books and adapted an online techbook this year), content objectives and activities are implemented, etc., etc. Not much stays the same for more than a couple of years.

As for tenure, anyone can still be fired. Tenure just ensures you get the proper due process before being fired.

I'm only paid for ten months, so my vacations are unpaid. And even then, I had 12 professional development days and Masters coursework to do over last summer. More of the same planned for next summer.

If you are a bad teacher, then teaching is easy (because you probably don't care about your student's well-being). But being a well-respected teacher (by colleagues, students, and parents) is a very difficult task and is one that I believe most non-teachers overlook.

If you are one of the well-respected teachers, your summer break is not as leisurely as you might think because you are constantly revising your lessons, maybe even changing your entire curriculum to better suit your student's needs. The bad teachers are the ones who don't make changes (i.e. keeping the same lessons for 20+ years).

I am relatively new to teaching (this is my 2nd year teaching HS), but it's not the physical act of teaching that is the more demanding part, it is EVERYTHING else that coincides with teaching. For example: trying to motivate kids who don't care, dealing with kids basic needs like food and clothing, trying to make lesson that entices high-achieving students, but can also be broken down for a HS kid who has an elementary grade reading level, being a counselor for students because they communicate with their parents, drug and alcohol related issues, the list goes on a on.

Teaching is easy sometimes and very hard sometimes. Kind of like running. If you're good at it , and love it, it's easier most of the time. If you hate kids, and aren't good at it, it's a miserable hard job

Summers off is best though.... it's my 9th year and I have no regrets.

Teacher tells a student to pay attention, the student says "no... I don't have to". He disrupts the class, late for class, makes noises during lessons. Teacher sends student down to the dean, dean can not handle the student because the dean is frightened of the student. Student's parents threatens litigation if school suspends the student. Student (in parents eyes) is never wrong... parent thinks "must be the school 's fault. Student has poor hygiene and does not care how they smell or look. Teachers use some of their pay to get supplies for their classes. Students vaping in corners, using electronics while they should be learning, watching inappropriate material on their phones. Teacher get reprimanded for not knowing this is going on in the back of the class room. Students trying to physically hurt the teacher..

Now you tell me, How hard is it to be a teacher?

Teaching is an overpaid position. They deserve half a pay cut

So, I guess your parents (and they must be stupid to teach you to think that way) took the time from their work to teach you how to read and write... or did you teach yourself?

It’s kind of dumb to be a teacher nowadays, be something else that puts you in the school system. I have friends that are Occupational Therapists in the school system and it is a lot better than teaching. They get the same summers off, the same holidays, don’t work the in services and conferences (mostly) and make much much better money. Sure, you have to deal with the 8 year old that masturbates to everything and the changing of diapers but you work 8 months a year, make 80k, and if you live in the right state get a sweet pension after 20 years.

Chocolate cake wrote:

Teaching is an overpaid position. They deserve half a pay cut

"half a pay cut" means a pay cut should be cut in half. For instance, if a teacher was paid 100k, and had their pay cut 10%, then they would earn 90k. Half a pay cut would mean their new pay is 95k.

I'm sure that is not what you meant. You should have paid attention in school.

You know what youre starting here wrote:

I can’t imagine how hard it must be to work fairly hard for 10 months for a couple years, then kick back and live off the same lesson plan for the next 20-30 years not really caring about anything then retire and collect a pension

Pension is overrated, you could bank the extra money you'd make from any other job and live off the dividends way sooner than you'll qualify for a pension.

Philosophically speaking, it is impossible to live a happy life making a teacher's salary when you don't care about your job unless you have some sort of mental disability. People who do corporate law or other things that make society a shittier place can at least drown their sorrows in expensive food, drink and toys to show off to everyone around. Without that $$$ to occupy your time, you will be constantly wondering if you were put on this earth to make kid's lives a little worse every day.

To answer the question, the NUMBER ONE determining factor in how hard teaching will be for any single person is how thick their skin is. The teachers I see who have the easiest time don't take things personally. They don't get riled up if they make a mistake in class or if a kid makes fun of their appearance, does annoying things, or gets bad grades. You'll face criticism from students, parents, administration and yourself. It doesn't matter if you're a good or bad teacher, you will get it, so it's just a matter of how well you can handle it. Everything else is secondary.

THIS!

For the exact same lesson you will have one administrator say it was fabulous and you are amazing. A different one will say the same lesson had many problems. Some parents will think you are great others will think you are terrible. Same with students. You will never please everyone. Don’t try to. Do what you think is best for the most students and roll with the highs and lows. Try to do something kind and make a difference to one or two kids every day. In 15 years I have found you never know the students you are impacting in a positive way. It is usually not the ones you would think. Roll with the punches some days things will go great other days it will be horrible.

Teaching is the fallback career for the mediocre and the lazy. Generally those unwilling to try hard at life. And because of the sort of person they are, it’s also why the only people who think teaching is hard is teachers trying to convince people that they actually work hard. They could never do a real job.

If you lack ambition, talent and drive, teaching is a good choice.

If you figure out the “game” of teaching and adjust accordingly it’s the easiest job on the planet. All of my teaching jobs (elementary through high school) have been easy because I’ve figured out exactly how to fly under the radar. The school is a business— the product are students who start the year “dumb” with low GPAS, and end the year “improved” with high GPAS. If you plan and inflate your grades as such you will NEVER have a problem teaching. Admins only care if you are giving kids too bad of grades or too good, if you’re hurting students, or if you’re “slacking” off. The game is absurdly easy to play since there are thousands of teachers who cannot figure it out and are this the focus of the admins attention. With students, be nice to them, trust them, be fair, and you’ll have no problem “managing” a classroom. Comment if you want more information because I could go on for days about this.

And yes! I have taught Title 1 and the job is STILL easy.

Teachers are the garden hoses of society. Everything flows through them. But at the same time, they are so freaking overpaid that it is absolutely disgusting. They work like half days and have so much time off. Then after 20 they get a pension and get paid the same money for sitting at home or they can get another career and retire again.

Heck, may as well go into the army. Play gi joe for 20, get a fat pension, go teach for 20, get another fat pension and at 58 you're done for life.

That's like applesauce served on a ribeye.

You all are disgusting

GF is a third grade teacher during the day and college professor at night... I have never once heard her complain about it. Parents push to get their kids in her class, so she is not just slacking off.

Some how she stil has time to go out, keep the house up etc.

Go Longer wrote:

It is one of the toughest jobs to do well, but one of the easiest jobs to keep if you are mediocre or worse.

You beat me to it.

Teaching (middle or high school) is really easy to get into and coast. It is really hard to be a good teacher, Overall in the USA the standard is low because, in general, it attracts mediocre people. Those with the skill set to be good teacher can do much better in another field.