We all begin our Education Credential programs believing certain myths about teaching. Most of the professors don’t correct these misconceptions. They don’t want to scare prospective teachers away from the trenches. I, however, believe in going into things with open eyes. Here are some myths debunked.
Myth: Teachers are just wannabes and paper-pushers.
Truth: The majority of the teachers I work with have advanced degrees, masters degrees or higher. Many of the teachers have come from other careers. They reached a certain point in their lives and decided that they wanted to make a difference instead of just making money. Yes, I know that makes us all sound noble. However, it’s really a matter of self-satisfaction and finding meaning in your life. For instance, I came from a background in accounting. I still don’t make as much money as I did in accounting. But I’m so much more contented with my career now than I was previously. Would I go back to my old job, even thought it was a perfectly fine career? Not a chance. I love teaching.
Myth: Teachers finish work by 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. each day.
Truth: The reality is that you sit in meetings until 4 p.m. each day, and then you get to organize your room for the next day. If you’re an effective teacher, you won’t be leaving school at 3 p.m. You might be able to wing 5 p.m. if you’re ultra-organized. If you leave earlier than that, expect to spend about 1-2 hours a night working at home, depending on the time of the school year and the projects you have going on in your classroom. So, yes, teachers do put in a full workday.
Myth: Teachers never work evenings except for Back to School Night and Open House.
Truth: Evenings are the only time teachers can meet together for planning and learning. So guess what? You can expect to work at least one to two nights a month, especially if you are a new teacher in a mentoring program. For example, my schedule this week looks like this:
Monday: Meetings from 2 p.m till 6 p.m. Then I get to organize my room and maybe get home by 7 p.m. This is a mentoring meeting, since I’m a teacher mentor.
Tuesday: Meetings from 4 p.m till 8 p.m. Thankfully I have an hour in my classroom before I have to leave for the 4 o’clock meeting. I should be home by 9 p.m. This is a science meeting.
Wednesday: Meetings from 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. We have a minimum day so we can sit in more meetings. This is a training meeting, thoughtfully provided by the administration.
Thursday: No meetings! Yippee! I might get to do some work in my classroom.
Friday: Planning and copying for the next week. I typically work until 6 p.m. on Friday to prepare for the following week. With all the meetings we’re required to attend, there’s not time for those tasks during the week, unless I decide to do it on my lunch half hour.
Saturday: Grade all the homework and papers that I didn’t get to grade during the week. Typically, I spend about 2 hours on a weekend for these tasks.
In other words, don’t expect to have much free time if you’re a teacher. In fact, I’ve read things that say to call your friends and tell them you’re not available between August and June. That’s just wrong. I’m here to help you gain back your life.
Myth: Teachers get the whole summer off to do whatever they want.
Truth: Ah, yes, summer vacation is my favorite myth of all of them. Officially, you do get ten weeks off in the summer, but many of those weeks are spent at conferences, workshops, training, interviewing new teaching candidates for your school, planning for the next year, buying supplies, and a myriad of other tasks. You also need to come back to school early to prepare your classroom. You can actually expect to get about three weeks off in the summer.
Now, I don’t want to sound entirely negative. In spite of the heavy workload, I still love teaching. There’s no substitute for the remarkable satisfaction that you feel when you help a child and they look at you with excitement in their big eyes and say, “Oh, now I get it!” Life doesn’t get better than that.
Do you have any other myths and truths to share? Leave a comment so we can all be enlightened.
