Career Essay: Elementary School Teacher

Lora Garcia
J. Murphy
English 51
13 May 2009

The Upcoming Elementary School Teacher

Ever since I was a little girl, my life-long dream was to become an elementary school teacher. I was always intrigued when I went to school, to see all of the things my teacher had in store for us. I especially liked all of the little supplies she had, like the stickers and treasure box she rewarded us with. I also remember all of the fun activities we got to do like finger painting, playing “heads up seven up” on rainy days, playing kick ball outside and going on field trips. As I was getting older, I did not realize how much really went in to becoming a teacher until I began going to college. In an interview with an Elementary School Teacher, Mrs. Bolanos, she stated, ”Going to college is good, no matter what you do in life.”

Training
Public school teachers in every state are required to have bachelor's degrees. One must also have completed an approved teacher training program that includes earning a specified number of subject and education credits, in addition to practical training, i.e. student teaching. Some states also require teachers to earn a master's degree within a certain amount of time. Requirements for preschool teachers vary by state. Some require a bachelor's degree in early childhood education while others require an associate's degree (McKay par.3).
As the time passes by, it seems that more and more requirements are added to achieve the goal of ultimately becoming an elementary school teacher. As stated by third grade elementary school teacher, Mr. Nunez, “the amount of training and sacrifice you must go through to become a- school teacher is challenging to say the least. You must be extremely committed and patient to reap it’s rewards. But in the end it is all worth it” (Nunez).
Many 4-year colleges require students to wait until their sophomore year before applying for admission to teacher education programs. To maintain their accreditation, teacher education programs are now required to include classes in the use of computers and other technologies. Most programs require students to perform a student-teaching internship. Teacher education programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council. Graduation from an accredited program is not necessary to become a teacher, but it may make fulfilling licensure requirements easier (Teachers-Preschool, Kindergarten, Middle and Secondary).
Duties
The duties depend on what grade level you are teaching, for instance, in Kindergarten, the standards are completely different than the ones for fifth grade. Teachers act as facilitators or coaches, using classroom presentations or individual instruction to help students learn and apply concepts in subjects such as science, mathematics, or English. They plan, evaluate, and assign lessons; prepare, administer, and grade tests; listen to oral presentations; and maintain classroom
discipline. Teachers observe and evaluate a student’s performance and potential and increasingly are asked to use new assessment methods (Teachers-Preschool, Kindergarten, Middle and Secondary).
In my current position as a reading fluency tutor, I now get to see firsthand what the teachers go through on a day-to-day basis. The amount of respect and discipline that goes into such a job is quite amazing. “Most people probably think that being a teacher is exciting and the students just sit there in the chairs and listen quietly. Not usually, being a teacher is actually very hard work and requires a huge amount of patience and organizational skills” (Bolanos). Also I notice that every teacher has a schedule either hanging up on their walls or posted on their blackboards. Without these things, I think the stress levels can be tremendously high for a teacher.

Salary

Median annual earnings of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers ranged from $43,580 to $48,690 in 2006 (McKay par.7). According to Mr. Nunez, the amount of money an elementary school teacher makes is about the same as what a janitor makes in the same school district. He also said in his face-face interview, that financially speaking, all of the student loans and money put into going to school to become a teacher does not pay back nearly enough to make it all worth it. But he then quotes “seeing the students learn and making a difference in their lives makes me feel a lot better” (Nunez). I do not think teachers get paid nearly as much as they should be making. It is ridiculous how there are some people with less qualifications that are making more than a teacher’s salary.




Job Outlook

In reviewing the different references I have collected, I have mixed opinions from people as to if the career of becoming a teacher will be in demand in the future. According to Dawn Rosenberg Mckay at About.com, employment of kindergarten through secondary school teachers
will grow as fast as the average for all occupations through 2016. Job opportunities will vary from good to excellent. This will depend on location, grade level and subject specialty (McKay par.6). However, as I interviewed Ms. Bolanos she felt that the field of education is falling more into technology and advised me that if I still want to become a teacher, to study about computers and technology, it will be around most definitely (Bolanos).
After researching this information and conducting the interviews I am not sure if a teacher position will be available for me in the future, especially since I just started going to college. It seems as though I have a long way to go to something that may not even be available to me. I have talked to many different school teachers from grades: kindergarten through sixth grade and every time I mention that I want to pursue a career as a school teacher; I get a weird look on their faces. As if with the way the economy has been going, that I must be crazy to want to jump into so much time and financial responsibilities for something that is not to secure even now.





Conclusion

With all of the information I have gathered, I am not sure I want to go into the field of primary teaching after all. I do not feel confident in the stability of that career nor the lack of the
budget for it. I am afraid that if I take on the financial responsibilities to fulfill the requirements I may not have a job to go to, than it would not have been worth it. Also, I am not sure how much of the technology world is going to take over education. As it is, the teachers that are currently employed are fighting to keep their jobs, it makes my decision only that much more difficult to make. I also see the rift this has caused between the staff at the school I work at and the tension is very high. In conclusion, I feel that I will keep going to college for the meantime, and then when the time comes I will make my ultimate decision on if I still want to be a teacher or not.