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What is the hardest part of being a teacher?
#teaching #teacher #elementary-education
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4 answers
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Amrita’s Answer
Sometimes, it is hard to make students study. But to make them learn is even harder. It requires immense dedication to think of new ways to make the same old syllabus interesting to learn for every student.
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Gloria’s Answer
Hi Dulce,
I have not been a teacher in the K through 12 age group, however, from my friends, I understand that teaching has challenges that go across all age groups. My greatest challenge in teaching a group of any size is the fact that all people begin in a different spot. Through life experiences and knowledge, your students will always have gaps and different gaps. The greatest challenge is finding a way to teach in the middle of the knowledge of your students. So you have to avoid teaching just to the most knowledgeable in the room or the least knowledgeable. While people want training to be fun, you need to recognize that learning comes through work, which is sometimes not fun. In my case, I think of Math, but it is a variety of subjects depending on a person. So what do you do? The gift of being a school teacher is that you teach the same basic groups of people over a long period of time. You will grow and adjust to the people that you teach the way that you do with the people in your personal life. A second layer here is figuring out what the gaps are. For student 1, it's Math. For Student 2, it may be the ability to write. For Student 3, it may be knowledge of the English language. For Student 4, there might be problems at home that make it difficult to concentrate. And you may end up in a class with 30.
These are challenges that can be overcome. As you grow and become confident in your knowledge and experience, you will easily manage larger and larger groups. You just need to know that the challenge is there. The loudest student in your classroom is not necessarily representative of your entire class. You need to constantly be checking in to make sure that you are reaching all of the students. Sometimes that comes in the form of seeing trends in their grades. It also comes from listening to how the students ask questions or when they become frustrated or distracted.
I am glad that you are considering teaching. It is one of the most rewarding things that I do in my life. When I can help someone learn something that they didn't know before, I have given them a tool that they can apply to their lives or their jobs. I have changed them for the positive even if they never remember me. It's an amazing feeling to help someone through giving them knowledge.
Gloria
I have not been a teacher in the K through 12 age group, however, from my friends, I understand that teaching has challenges that go across all age groups. My greatest challenge in teaching a group of any size is the fact that all people begin in a different spot. Through life experiences and knowledge, your students will always have gaps and different gaps. The greatest challenge is finding a way to teach in the middle of the knowledge of your students. So you have to avoid teaching just to the most knowledgeable in the room or the least knowledgeable. While people want training to be fun, you need to recognize that learning comes through work, which is sometimes not fun. In my case, I think of Math, but it is a variety of subjects depending on a person. So what do you do? The gift of being a school teacher is that you teach the same basic groups of people over a long period of time. You will grow and adjust to the people that you teach the way that you do with the people in your personal life. A second layer here is figuring out what the gaps are. For student 1, it's Math. For Student 2, it may be the ability to write. For Student 3, it may be knowledge of the English language. For Student 4, there might be problems at home that make it difficult to concentrate. And you may end up in a class with 30.
These are challenges that can be overcome. As you grow and become confident in your knowledge and experience, you will easily manage larger and larger groups. You just need to know that the challenge is there. The loudest student in your classroom is not necessarily representative of your entire class. You need to constantly be checking in to make sure that you are reaching all of the students. Sometimes that comes in the form of seeing trends in their grades. It also comes from listening to how the students ask questions or when they become frustrated or distracted.
I am glad that you are considering teaching. It is one of the most rewarding things that I do in my life. When I can help someone learn something that they didn't know before, I have given them a tool that they can apply to their lives or their jobs. I have changed them for the positive even if they never remember me. It's an amazing feeling to help someone through giving them knowledge.
Gloria
Updated
Ali’s Answer
I think the hardest part is the required patience and tolerance from the teacher. Teachers generally get the least wages and deal with students from differing backgrounds with various problems, added to their own problems.
Updated
Jerry’s Answer
Developing classroom cohesion (we're all in this together), and with a new class, if you can't get it in the first few weeks you'll never get it.