Teachers Who Care Don’t Do It for the Money

Good Teachers Care

Why do we blame the teachers for the failures in our educational system? The simple reason is that teachers are the most visible component. Teachers are what we see the most. They interact with our children, they interact with the parents, they interact with the public. It is understandable why we blame the teachers. But they should only share their part of the blame.

The educational system has failed them, too. It goes all the way back to the time they made the decision to become teachers. What I am talking about encompasses more than just teachers, though. It applies to almost every profession or occupation in which we engage.

That’s Not  a Good Reason to be a Teacher

You see, in America we enter career fields for the wrong reasons. That statement could just as easily apply to attorneys, doctor or professional speakers. I am only using teachers as an example. In America career choices are predominantly made on the basis of earning capacity. “What can I do to make a living?” “What is the up and coming skill set or profession?” Those are the questions most often pondered by a person when they reach that age where they have to make a decision about their future.

Follow Your Passion

Too few of those people are asking, “What do I want to do with my life?” or “What would make me feel fulfilled?” And so, we get back to teachers.

Teaching, at any level requires commitment. And that commitment requires much more time than standing in a classroom and delivering facts or theories. This is especially true at the elementary school level. Teachers must have a genuine and sincere interest in their students. And this interest has to extend beyond the classroom. It takes a lot more work than those of us who are not teachers think it does. And therein lies the problem. Unless you are devoted to the teaching profession and do it because it is your passion, you are not going to be the teacher that out children need.

It takes more than just classroom work. And that is where the system falls short. We are turning people out as teachers who want to do it for a living. The truth is, it is a hard way to make a rather meager living. Human nature being what it is, those without the requisite commitment will do as little as possible in order to meet the minimum standards and nothing more. They will do the minimum of what is required of them and go home. The are in it for the money and they soon find the money is not enough. They burn out. They start to resent their jobs. It is perfectly understandable because the profession has, in their minds, let them down.

Those aren’t the good teachers. The good teachers are out there showing concern for the education and welfare of their students. They watch for signs of trouble at home. They intervene where necessary. But the one thing they don’t do is, they don’t do it for the money.