The Pros and Cons of Being a Teacher and Why I Quit

The Pros and Cons of Being a Teacher and Why I Quit!

Being a teacher is great! But depending on what you want out of life, it just may not be a career you might want for a lifetime. Then again, it just might be. If your plan is to get into teaching, then you can’t look at it as just a job. Try to see it as an opportunity to influence and shape the mindsets of individuals who can be future leaders etc.

Now you might be motivated to become a teacher by movies like Freedom Writers and Lean on Me or even The Ron Clark Story. If that’s the case, I hate to burst your bubble, but those are the exceptions. In real life, the movie “Clueless” can be a more apt description of the students you might encounter, even at college level.

This is not to scare you or anything like that. But it’s just to let you know that being a teacher is by no means a walk in the park.

What’s it like being a teacher

It can definitely be rewarding being a teacher. Witnessing the intellectual growth and development of the individuals you imparted knowledge to, gives you a good feeling. That feeling comes from knowing that you played some small part in getting the student to that point.

Even so, being a teacher can often be frustrating at times and you definitely don’t want to be that teacher or lecturer who might ‘cuss’ out a student or an entire class for that matter. Hey, it’s been known to happen. So you have to keep a level head at all times.

You definitely need to be patient to deal with the various challenges you might encounter. So if being patient is not your thing, then you may want to consider other options, as opposed to going into the classroom.

Becoming a Teacher: A more viable alternative

Challenges being a teacher

At times, it can be quite challenging being a teacher. However, the challenges vary depending on the level of education you’re involved in. For example, teaching kindergarten the challenges can range from dealing with sick children on a regular basis or not having enough resources to enhance your classroom creativity.

Whereas teaching high school or college, the challenge could also include a lack of resources but it can also include the students’ level of motivation, and the lack of expected skills for their level.

For example, the reading and writing skills of some high school and college students leave quite a bit to be desired and that in itself can be quite a challenge. Added to that, some students think it’s okay to use texting language in their various writing assignments.

What you may also encounter is the negative attitudes that some students have toward learning. Their sense of entitlement when it comes to grades can also present issues. As crazy as it sounds, some college students consider themselves subject matter experts even when the evidence blatantly suggests otherwise.

So having to deal with issues like those highlighted above, can present their own challenges. For more on that, look out for our upcoming article “Annoying Things about Teaching College.”

More: Work Home Freelance Writer: How to get started even if you have no experience

Students’ Social Media Obsession

Overall, the pros and cons of being a teacher varies depending on the level you are at. The challenges vary and could come from the students as well as other sources, including parents, lack of support from your administration and of course let’s not forget the students’ obsession with social media.

When it comes to social media, it seems like some students suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out).  So they are constantly engaged on social media, even while in the classroom.

Despite the fact that we live in an information age, it does not mean that people are smarter. You can try explaining to them the folly of their actions ten times over. But it goes in one ear and out the next! Or maybe it just bounces off their earlobe. Hey, who knows.

Is being a teacher worth it today?

So despite the inherent challenges, is being a teacher worth it today? Yes, I think it is. But even so, that’s a question you would have to answer for yourself.

For some people, the pay might not be so great in relation to what is expected. Added to that, you are not always going to have the best students in your class. Unless of course you are teaching gifted students. So you definitely need to find ways to be creative when it comes to imparting the course content to your students.

I know I taught this!

Despite your best efforts, you might feel as if you wasted your time trying to come up with strategies to make learning fun and engaging. While they may have had fun, the evidence might suggest that there was no transfer of knowledge.

Furthermore, the resources, rubrics and guidelines you make available for their benefit, seem as if they all go unused. Aside from that, some students have the idea that theoretical application means to share their own personal beliefs and opinion or simply copy and paste something from the internet.

Yes we are living in an information age, but it does not mean that some students want to think critically.

Other School activities

Apart from your student’s lack luster performance, being involved in certain school activities may be a requirement. For example, if you are teaching at college, there could be an expectation that you engage in certain college activities, like being on a committee or something.

There could also be an expectation of continuous professional development of some sort on your part. In some instances, having to engage in these activities can often seem like your life is revolving around your teaching job.

Let’s not forget that those um ‘extra’ activities (including professional development), are often tied to your performance appraisal. So if you’re not involved in any of these activities, then it’s hardly likely that you’ll get a perfect performance appraisal even though you might be doing a great job in the classroom and other related activities.

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The Pros and Cons of Being a Teacher and why I quit

While teaching can be worthwhile, it can be downright frustrating at times. Some people teach simply because it’s a job that helps to pay the bills. Despite their frustrations, they stick with it as they may not know what else to do. Even so, you just might get to that point in time when you do that cost benefit analysis and ask yourself if what you are doing is really worth it.

Let’s face it, someone has to do it and if you think you’ve got the aptitude for it, then you should definitely give teaching a try. But keep in mind that even though every single one of your students won’t always try to do their best, there will be a few that will stand out.

So why did I quit?

Well, encountering students who aren’t invested in learning, became very frustrating. I got to that point where enough was enough and I started looking online for a work at home alternative. I was not sure what I wanted to do but I was looking for something flexible that I would love doing and that would eventually evolve into something great.

Doing something that involved meeting deadlines and all that jazz, was not what I wanted. So getting into something like part-time data entry was out of the question. I wanted something that I could do in my spare time. Freelance writing and proofreading seemed like good ideas but I held off on both options for a while.

I kept searching and eventually bumped into affiliate marketing with Wealthy Affiliate. Got to tell yuh, it’s pretty great! It’s flexible, I can fit it into my schedule and I determine my level of income. Sweet! Can you imagine doing something like that?

Affiliate marketing is a great way for anyone to earn money working from home. As a teacher you can create your own free website with Wealthy Affiliate and use affiliate marketing to earn money with that same website. You can use your website to compliment what you do in the classroom or you can do something completely different.

So if you are a teacher looking for a viable alternative to earn an extra income from the comfort of your home then you definitely need to check out affiliate marketing. You can create your free teacher website in seconds.

If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing and create 2 (two) FREE websites, then simply click on the link below to see how to get started!

Learn More about Affiliate Marketing!