The other day I was watching TV (which is a rarity these days) and this commercial came on: I Knew One Day. Watching it gives you a sense of pride, a sense of being part of something special and bigger than yourself. You can have your opinions about politics and the military, but at that moment I was a little let down that I didn’t make the choice to be part of the amazing Air Force team. Whoever’s job it was to make that pitch sold me. Well done.
A few days after watching that commercial I was having a conversation with a student and, being a high school teacher, the inevitable question “what’s your plan for after high school?” came up. She smiled and said, “Well, I was thinking about being a teacher, but my mom told me that it would be a bad idea”. Dagger – to – my – heart.
I can make the argument that the mom is right. Going into teaching is a bad idea.
- If you are someone who wants to teach the same way it has always been taught, teaching is not for you
- If you are someone who thinks teaching is a simple way to work with kids and get paid, teaching is not for you
- If you are someone who enjoys working 40 hour weeks, teaching is not for you
- If you are someone who thinks teaching would be great because you get summers off, teaching is not for you
- If you are someone who thinks working most jobs is too taxing and you were always good at school so why not, teaching is not for you.
I can also make the argument that mom is wrong. Going into teaching is an amazing idea.
- If you are creative, teaching is for you.
- If you are passionate about – quite literally – changing the world, teaching is for you.
- If you are someone that loves chasing dreams with endless potential, teaching is for you.
- If you are someone that embraces failure and the growth that comes from it, teaching is for you.
- If you are someone that loves to learn from others, be challenged by others, be stressed by others, all for the sake of becoming a better human being, teaching is for you.
- If you are someone who loves ever changing technology, teaching is for you.
- If you are a leader, teaching is for you.
Thinking about the Air Force commercial, I am upset that education doesn’t have an advertising department – no budget to spread the word. I can envision a similar commercial where we talk about education and all the different parts that make it up. Teaching is just a sliver of the slow moving mammoth that is education.
-Teaching – Psychology – Social Work – Technology – Architecture – Programming -Advertising – Business Management -Administration – Advocating -Policy Making
– Custodians – Cooks – Media – Coaching – Students -Innovators
My dream is for young people to be excited about joining education. If we turn off all the best and brightest we will only be left with those that have no where else to go. Let’s work together to get the top young minds to work in education or at least see it as the important building block to society that it is. The question that needs answering is, how do we communicate this message to others and shift the growing paradigm that going into teaching is a “bad idea” to one that is “an amazing idea”?
Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.