• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

April 10, 2020 Opinion

Why Would Anyone Choose to Be a Teacher in 2022?

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Madison Woodward

Madison is a former alternative school teacher now working in the EdTech industry. She remains an advocate for marginalized students and equity in education.
  • One Team, Separate Experiences - July 5, 2022
  • What Recent SCOTUS Decisions Mean for Education - June 28, 2022
  • Which is More Important, Equity or Winning? - June 28, 2022
  • Suddenly Teammates After a Decade of Division - June 21, 2022
  • Can Sports Heal a Segregated School? - June 14, 2022
  • I Left Teaching for a New Career. Here's Why I'm Still Mourning. - March 31, 2022
  • You Don't Hate Teaching, You Hate the System - March 15, 2022
  • The Dismantling of Public Education Part 4: Regression - March 4, 2022
  • Teachers Who Teach in Schools in Lower-Income Communities Don't Get the Respect They Deserve - February 28, 2022
  • The Dismantling of Public Education Part 3: Privatization - February 25, 2022

Guest Writer: Madison Woodward

When I was a child, I used to play teacher and do lessons to my stuffed animals in my room, I even received an overhead projector for Christmas one year. But as I got older, I worried more about money and prestige than anything else; I did not want to be “just a teacher.” When I was in high school, I decided to graduate a year early which meant deciding what I wanted to do at age 16 so I could go to college immediately. My dad was and still is a sales executive and I hoped to have success like him, and I decided I would major in business. 

I was a business major for almost two years as an undergraduate and I joined every club, did every interview, got multiple internships, and received awards in the business school. I was going to triple major and get ahead by doing an expensive but prestigious study abroad program over the summer before my junior year. Four days before the nonrefundable deposit was due, I had this feeling of dread and I did not want to commit to the business program anymore. I was doing well but I hated the classes and it was hard work (and not the kind that makes you feel good at the end of the day). I considered switching to education at this time, but I knew it would put me behind on finishing my degree, and I wanted to finish early again. I switched to Law, which I loved but ultimately, I did not want to be a lawyer. I considered law enforcement – I saw it as a means of working with a certain population, a population that ultimately, I wanted to positively impact. I even did a law enforcement internship and was in the process of becoming a Border Patrol agent before declining to continue the process when I realized this was not the path to the positive impact I wanted to have.

I recall about fifteen separate times in college I contacted my junior history teacher and talked to him about what I wanted to do. This kind, patient, and wise man was there to talk me off the ledge every time I started wondering what the heck I was even doing with my life. I told him repeatedly I wanted to be a teacher and he always told me I could do that if I wanted to, but each time I found a reason not to pursue it. There were many times in my last year of undergrad that I wished I had switched to teaching. Unfortunately, I felt it was too late, and just wanted to get my degree finished at that point since I was going to finish a semester early. 

Before graduating, I applied to work at a charter school in my college town that would not require certification and I was excited because I would finally be able to see if I should really pursue certification. I was crushed when I was not offered the job, no doubt because ultimately, I was not qualified to teach at that point in my life. I had a connection to another charter school in the city I went to high school in, but the hiring director kept pushing me to become certified first, despite it not being a requirement for the job. But I was still not ready to make that commitment yet. 

I ended up taking a sales job back home because I was desperate and had no idea where to go now. No surprise, I hated that job so much! I craved work where I felt like we were doing something important, but I was not getting that in my sales job. 

I wanted to leave that job but, in an attempt to be a responsible adult, I did not want to leave without actually having a plan (even if I was living with my parents for the time being). Thus began the difficult reality of going to work miserable and coming home wracking my brain on what else I could do. After a conversation with a close friend, I decided I needed to really look back at my past experiences and think hard about the things I liked. I definitely knew what I did not want to do, but now it was time to pick out the things I did.

I loved interning for the non-profit, Make-A-Wish – but not the part where I sat at a desk all day. The thing I loved was meeting the kids, hearing their stories, and writing about them for the website. I had also been a mentor at an alternative high school in my college town that served teenage parents. I enjoyed working with a student in a difficult situation and trying to help them see their options. I had been a preceptor in college and looked forward to my 1-hour a week time slot to help other students. My favorite part was when everyone was confused about the same thing and I could go up to the whiteboard and explain it to all my peers at the same time. There were other similar experiences to these that I cherished, even if I knew the rest of the job was not for me. 

In my reflection of those experiences, it became clear to me that I wanted to be a teacher. Click To Tweet

I finally realized that it was the only thing I could do every day and be happy. I contacted my old teacher once again and he set up a day for me to shadow teachers at my old high school, where I would later complete my student teaching. That day solidified everything for me, I felt so at home in the classrooms I visited and desperately craved the atmosphere of a school. 

I applied to only one teacher certification program, which was a master’s degree at the local university. It also happens to consistently be ranked in the top 15 for education degrees. I was genuinely afraid I was not going to get in, and even if I did, I was worried about paying for the degree. I was scared to tell my parents that this is what I wanted to do because I did not know if they would be supportive of it – it would mean spending my life’s savings, living at home for another two years at minimum, for a job that I could still end up not liking. I decided that if I were to be admitted to the program, then that would be my sign from the universe that I should pursue teaching. 

Every class I attended, the discussions we had, and the assignments we did all reminded me how much I wanted to work with kids and teach my content. It was something I had wanted to do since I was a kid but was too afraid to try. I was still scared then too; I had been saving to buy a house for years and now I was going to spend all that money on another degree! But I have memories of driving home late after my evening classes and crying. I did not cry because I was scared or unhappy, I cried because I was so excited to be doing something I cared about. After my first semester, I got lucky and my state governor created a program to financially support people wanting to become teachers, so the tuition for the rest of my degree was paid for. 

All throughout college and post-grad, I was so frustrated because despite all the hard work in the internships I did and my good grades, I felt like I was not good at actually working. Teaching is the only thing I have ever done that other people not only recognize my passion for but tell me I do well. Finally! 

***

I could not have anticipated everything that I would learn and experience in just the first two years of teaching. I was hired as a student teacher and thrown into a situation where I had to sink or swim. I swam. Now I teach at an alternative school where the majority of students have been kicked out of their high school, some have been to juvie or have probation officers, and they run the gamut for behavioral challenges. Ironically, I feel like I finally get to work with the population I was thinking of back when I looked into law enforcement, and this time I know I make a positive impact on them. 

I shared this story at length with my College and Career Readiness students a couple weeks before schools were shut down for COVID-19. Many of my students do not consider college an option or even realize what their options are so I like to teach this class as a way of opening those doors for them. I wanted to show them that it is okay to try a lot of things, make mistakes along the way, and the importance of pursuing what you are truly passionate about. When I finished telling them my story, they erupted in applause, and it took everything in me not to cry right there in my portable. I finally did it. 

So, why choose to be a teacher in 2020? Because you cannot imagine yourself anywhere else. 

Teacher

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailGive Them A Hero- Advocating for Students Default ThumbnailThe Power Of A Teacher Default ThumbnailLetting Go of Perfectionism in the Classroom What a Teacher Wants: One Teacher's View
« Teaching from Home Part 2: Using Google Classroom to Stay Semi Connected
Education is Political and Governor DeSantis Is Playing a Dangerous Game »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David Woodward says

    April 10, 2020 at 4:36 pm

    absolutely LOVE this story. it's such an inspiration to hear the story of someone who loves making a diffrence!

    Reply
  2. Chris says

    April 19, 2020 at 4:51 pm

    A great reflection on your path to becoming a teacher. Your efforts will be recognized and I am glad you are teaching the kids you teach.

    Reply
  3. Mei says

    January 03, 2021 at 4:14 pm

    I resonate with this so much. I've had a crippling fear of being obsolete if I pursue teaching, mainly just stupid expectations. I went to college as a Communication major, but realized I hated it and became an English major instead because even though I was a Comm major, I kept signing up for English classes. I couldn't ignore what I loved. And now I've been struggling to start my career because I really don't want to do anything other than my non-profit work and teach. But I've been fighting it because everyone always has said after finding out my major, "What are you gonna do? ...teach?" As if it isn't one of the most important professions out there. So thank you for sharing your story. It brought me to tears because it was what I needed.

    Reply
  4. Asisa Llamas says

    April 14, 2021 at 5:25 pm

    I too went to school for business and I hate every moment of my job as an accountant. I have wanted to teach for so long. You inspire me to follow my heart ❤️. Thank you for this.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • Ask The Educator's Room: I'm dating a student's dad. Should we tell the school?
  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.