Teacher: Teaching Trials and Tributes

Introduction
Be ready to work very hard and keep a good attitude no matter what. Consider teaching only if you really have strong desire and commitment. Get good training in behavior management, for if you cannot manage student behavior effectively, all of you knowledge and your 'teaching skills' will be worthless. Training never ends, expectations are high, and the frustrations are many.

Job Function
Best aspect is that it can be very personally rewarding when you know you've made a difference in lives. Also it is nice to have some time off in the summer. Worst aspect is that the school year workload NEVER ends...you bring loads of work home every night, and there's committees and training and meetings and meetings and endless paperwork. Advertisement
Lifestyle
No flexible hours, a school day is a school day. Best personality for teaching is very caring, organized, flexible, dedicated, and a team player. There are high stress periods during any school year that allow very little time for any social life. The work load does get easier if you are able to stay in the same position for several years, but the first few years can be a real challenge.

Additional Information
There's often a HUGE amount of politics involved in school systems of all kinds that can be quite frustrating. Requirements for testing have become outrageous. If you teach for several years and then quit for some reason, it may be VERY difficult to get back into the profession since nowadays the schools generally only consider hiring the new college grads.