Over the past couple of weeks, I have finally figured out what the worst thing about being a teacher is.
The worst thing about being a teacher is that every single word that comes out of your mouth matters.
Not only that, but in a class of 20-25 kids, something you say might be the exact right thing for one child, but the absolutely most awful thing to say to another child.
Students come from all different backgrounds. They have their own strengths and weaknesses. They have their own traumas.
I want to say the right thing all the time. I know that is impossible, and that's what sucks. I will never, ever be a perfect teacher, no matter how hard I work at it, because it's simply impossible.
It's really freaking hard.
What's the worst thing about your job?
Teachers, can you relate to this thought?
Teachers, can you relate to this thought?
I would say this easily translates to my job too. I can say one thing that will really resonate with one client and it could be the wrong thing for another client even if both of them work for the same company. That's not the worst part of my job though. The worst part of my job is dealing with clients that don't know what they want. For example, recently a client said he did not like an ad and made us create several different variations of the ad for his company. In the end we presented him with five different options and he choose the first one we created (without realizing it was the one he initially declined). It's hard to hold my tongue in those situations!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds VERY frustrating. I would hate doing all of that work for nothing. :(
DeleteThat makes a lot of sense! You are in a position of power, and you are an authority to the kids, so they will take and accept your words, because you are a leader.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of stories of teachers who have abused their power in classrooms, to scare immigrant children and students of color. and that is really scary!
I think one of the hardest aspects of my job, is that we can't do a lot of help our participants and that the program is designed only to push them to work and out of welfare. I hate when people attack the Welfare system, and try to take their funding, but there is no thought of the education in the community, the resources, the job opportunities, the crime, the drug abuse, the discrimination, the criminalization of being in poverty. All they want to see is that people are getting cash assistance, and the make it out to be an "entitlement" when it's not!!
It is VERY scary! I hate that there are teachers that would do that. But obviously there are hateful people in every profession.
DeleteI don't like it when people look down on the welfare system either. Obviously no system is perfect, but I think people need to remember that they are the lucky ones if they don't need help from the government.
When I worked summer camps, they always said during orientation that kids listen to everything, and we need to be careful. Especially language. We may not think a kid hears what colorful things we say, then they repeat it to their parents.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's another aspect of it as well. I was referring more to things I purposefully say in my day to day teaching rather than like accidentally saying something "colorful" hehe. Although one time Paul accidentally left the F-bomb fly when I was with a piano student!
DeleteYep, this! Kids definitely repeat lots of stuff. Sometimes I hear the weirdest stories too! The worst thing about my job is just the frustration of hardware/software doing the wrong things! I feel like I get along really well with people I work with - I have a lot of empathy and humor for their situation when things go wrong. People often tell me they would go crazy if they had my job!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine you have to be sooooo patient.
Delete