Almost every aspiring teacher has this rose-colored view of what being a teacher will be like. The teachers will be a tremendous force for good/change in the world, fully supported by all parties. Creativity will be encouraged. The administration will do what's best for the school. Parents will do what's best for their child. Students will learn how to think for themselves. I could go on for ages.
If this is what education was really like, there would be no shortage of teachers. Instead, approximately 50% of all teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years. When I signed my contract, I was determined not to become one of those 50%. I guess 7 1/2 years is a bit better.
What I miss...
I love computer science. Introductory computer science should be learning how to think logically, not just learning programming. When I was able to teach computer science, my favorite activity as at the beginning of the year which I dubbed The Robot. The students would be responsible for giving me instructions for a simple task, such as drawing a square on the whiteboard. Without fail, one of the instructions would be turn around, after which I would end up spinning in circles until shouts of "Stop!!" filled the room. Then I'd get to walk forward until I ran into the whiteboard because they'd forget to tell me to stop again. Occasionally my response to their commands would be "does not compute" if they were too complicated, impossible, or just plain stupid. There would also be "hardware" failures, such as my arm being too short to draw the square. This lesson taught them that computers only do what people tell them to, they are limited by the known instructions, and by hardware. (I feel bad for students whose first activity was a "Hello World" program. Booooring.)
Most of my students had simply accepted that their computers and cell phones somehow just worked, but they never stopped to think about why or how they worked. Suddenly they were forced to think about the fact that people actually had to make it work. It was a paradigm shift for almost all of them. Sometimes it happened right after the robot activity, sometimes it took months. When it happened, it was incredibly evident on each of their faces. That same light of understanding shone when they grasped a concept previously foreign to them.
I had a great time with my students, joking around and talking. But it was those light bulb moments. That's what I miss. I know that very few of my students went on to major in computer science in university. I also know that by the end of the year, all of my students understood that it takes a lot of work to get those angry birds to fly across their phone's screen.
What I don't miss...
The constant emphasis on state-mandated tests (even though my subjects weren't tested)
Standing in front of a classroom of students taking said test, only allowed to stare at them
Politics
The constantly waffling administration, never willing to take real action or accept responsibility
Parents who had given up on their teenagers
Students who had given up on themselves
R-rated hallways
Grading
A constantly shrinking budget
Being told to act like a professional but not being treated like one
Social double standards for teachers in general
Going above and beyond and never being recognized
Students who were only in my class because their parent/counselor insisted
Grading
Five years in a room without windows
Not having nearly enough time during the work day to actually finish working
Being expected to work after hours and over breaks
How stupidly difficult it is to get a day off
Students who expect to bring their 25 average up to passing in 3 days
Grading
Being held responsible for things I had absolutely no control over
Stupid and outdated rules
Preparing detailed instructions for substitutes
The aftermath when the sub doesn't follow the instructions
The inevitable pessimism that permeates the faculty after years of all of this
Did I mention grading?
If only the teaching profession was actually about helping students learn.
What I miss...
I love computer science. Introductory computer science should be learning how to think logically, not just learning programming. When I was able to teach computer science, my favorite activity as at the beginning of the year which I dubbed The Robot. The students would be responsible for giving me instructions for a simple task, such as drawing a square on the whiteboard. Without fail, one of the instructions would be turn around, after which I would end up spinning in circles until shouts of "Stop!!" filled the room. Then I'd get to walk forward until I ran into the whiteboard because they'd forget to tell me to stop again. Occasionally my response to their commands would be "does not compute" if they were too complicated, impossible, or just plain stupid. There would also be "hardware" failures, such as my arm being too short to draw the square. This lesson taught them that computers only do what people tell them to, they are limited by the known instructions, and by hardware. (I feel bad for students whose first activity was a "Hello World" program. Booooring.)
Most of my students had simply accepted that their computers and cell phones somehow just worked, but they never stopped to think about why or how they worked. Suddenly they were forced to think about the fact that people actually had to make it work. It was a paradigm shift for almost all of them. Sometimes it happened right after the robot activity, sometimes it took months. When it happened, it was incredibly evident on each of their faces. That same light of understanding shone when they grasped a concept previously foreign to them.
I had a great time with my students, joking around and talking. But it was those light bulb moments. That's what I miss. I know that very few of my students went on to major in computer science in university. I also know that by the end of the year, all of my students understood that it takes a lot of work to get those angry birds to fly across their phone's screen.
What I don't miss...
The constant emphasis on state-mandated tests (even though my subjects weren't tested)
Standing in front of a classroom of students taking said test, only allowed to stare at them
Politics
The constantly waffling administration, never willing to take real action or accept responsibility
Parents who had given up on their teenagers
Students who had given up on themselves
R-rated hallways
Grading
A constantly shrinking budget
Being told to act like a professional but not being treated like one
Social double standards for teachers in general
Going above and beyond and never being recognized
Students who were only in my class because their parent/counselor insisted
Grading
Five years in a room without windows
Not having nearly enough time during the work day to actually finish working
Being expected to work after hours and over breaks
How stupidly difficult it is to get a day off
Students who expect to bring their 25 average up to passing in 3 days
Grading
Being held responsible for things I had absolutely no control over
Stupid and outdated rules
Preparing detailed instructions for substitutes
The aftermath when the sub doesn't follow the instructions
The inevitable pessimism that permeates the faculty after years of all of this
Did I mention grading?
If only the teaching profession was actually about helping students learn.
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