Why Teach? (they ask.)

This morning I tweeted an article from the Washington Post that has the Twitterverse all abuzz. The article comes from a young teacher, Sarah Fine, who had recently left the teaching profession. Sarah speaks candidly about the personal and public reasons for her decision hoping to raise awareness and conversation as to why good teachers quit.

Like many, Sarah entered the teaching profession with a sense of purpose and intention to change the lives of her students. Unfortunately coming to school everyday to "make a difference"  turned into coming to school to simply "make it".  My heart sunk as she shared the frustration of not being able to reach all her students in the way she had dreamed of doing:

The "burnout" Sarah describes is certainly one we can understand and relate to. It can take a toll on the best teachers, and lead them to a place where they finally say…no more!  Yet, the reason Sarah cites as the factor weighing most heavily on her decision to leave the profession, was the devastating lack of respect she encountered by others for the profession as a whole.  She goes on to explains it here:

I used to think I was being oversensitive. Not so. One of my former colleagues, now a program director for Teach for America, has to defend her goal of becoming a principal: "When I tell people I want to do it, they're like, 'Really? You really still want to do that?' " Another friend describes her struggle to make peace with the fact that a portion of the American public sees teaching as a second-rate profession. "I want to be able to do big things and be recognized for them," she says. "In the world we live in, teaching doesn't cut it."

This really hit home to me. I am so passionate about my work and the work that is being done with students across the world, that I often forget thtat teaching was not my chosen profession. Although, I often dreamed of  being a teacher, I studied for four years to become a doctor. Addicted to the learning, facinated by how the body works, and in love with science I was dedicated to the pursuit of medicine,  and if not for the council of a wonderful college professor, I may have very well continued down that path.

Teaching is my passion, and I am forever grateful that I was lucky enough to be doing work that I know I was meant to do. Yet, Sarah's discussion of how "other professions" react to the work of teachers reminded me of the reactions that I received when I announced after four years of pre-med, that I would be changing my major to elementary education. Like Sarah, I was challenged with conversations of “stepping down” or “falling short” of my potential. There was a universal reaction from family members, friends, and strangers that teaching was less prestigious, notable, and accomplished. If I had listened to the crowd and not my heart, I am quite sure that I would be in different job today.

This brings up an interesting discussion that we do not often address- How does the community (local, national, global, familial,…) position the work we do? And, does their opinion of “us” matter? Does it sway the decision of new members entering the field?

I think there is some interesting dialogue to be had here. What say you?

Photo on Flickr by raisinsawdust