Why I Became a Teacher pt 3

 The third reason I and many other people went into teaching I thought was the most common reason. Turns out, especially in secondary education, it is not, it is the first two. The third reason is more common in primary grades. The reason is simple, we love being with our students. Teaching, guiding, helping, and supporting students is really what drew me first to youth ministry and later to teaching. Young people and students are incredible, and they are capable of great things. Even the ones who give you a hard time can be really amazing.

This really hit me when I became a dad. As a dad, I had my kids around all the time, and I loved how incredible they were. My kids are grown, and my youngest graduated high school in a few weeks. As a teacher, I don't have the same role with my students as I do as dad, obviously, but I get to play the role of guide in aspects of their lives. I am able to invest in their futures and help them become more successful.

Students and young people today are being abandoned. They are left to be raised by technology. Parents, guardians, and caregivers are not teaching kids at home like the once did. It seems that daily I see a post on social media about "things they should teach in school" which demonstrates that parents aren't teaching kids at home anymore. Kids need school and teachers who care now more than ever. Without teachers who care, students are more and more being raised by smartphones. They are learning life lessons from tictok and not a caring adult in their lives.

I care about students because I had teachers and adults who cared about me. I was invested in, and now as a result I am paying it forward. We need people who care about what happens to this generation, we have way too many people who are just concerned about themselves. We need to invest in the future, and that means investing in students.

The struggle I have is that I get frustrated when I care more about student success than students do. I get frustrated with parents, and I get frustrated with our society when they abandon our students. I get irritated when I see social media posts that continue to pass off the raising of students and kids to the schools and the outsourcing of parental responsibility. It can be difficult to remain a detached, uninvolved individual.