Be a Teacher

Teaching is a career choice that offers both professional and personal satisfaction. A degree in education lends itself to choices depending upon which age is most enjoyable to the individual.  A degree in elementary education covers the lowest grades, a degree in junior high school covers grades 6 through 8 or 9 depending upon the district, and a degree in secondary education provides the license to teach high school.

A BA in education is necessary for a teaching position no matter what level is taught.  Both years of service and additional education allow for movement up on the salary scale and movement into other areas of interest.  After some years in the classroom and additional credits or degrees, teachers can interview for  school counseling positions, school administrator positions, mentors or  specialists in different subject areas. 

I chose a career in teaching for several reasons. First, English grammar and literature came easy to me and was the subject that I loved the most.  When I was in 8th grade at Our Lady of Mount Virgin School,  I received the gold medal in English at graduation.  As I look back, I think this incident was really what set things in motion for me.  It’s hard to tell sometimes what seemingly small event(s) result in  major life decisions.

When in high school, I enjoyed the subject even more and I earned A’s in English all the way through. I also developed a love for writing.  By the time I was a senior, I was convinced that teaching English would give me both enjoyment and provide me with an interesting and fulfilling career choice. 

As things go sometimes, it was my good fortune to live only 45 minutes from a state teachers' college.  And best of all, it was affordable.  I applied for and received a state scholarship that, do you believe, paid for all of my books so that was a great financial advantage for me at the time.  It seemed that everything was just falling into place.

I attended Patterson State Teachers College in Wayne, New Jersey, and majored in English.  My first teaching experience was at age 21 when I was in the process of satisfying requirements for student teaching.  My students were juniors in high school so most of them were 17 years old.  Since I am small framed, some of my students looked older than I did.

I never regretted my decision to teach.  The classroom fit me like a glove and allowed me to perform at my best every day.  I taught for 20 years during which time I was working on an M.A. in counseling.  I spent the next 13 years as a secondary school counselor.  I enjoyed interacting with, teaching, and helping my students as a teacher and as a counselor immensely.  In what other career could I have earned a good salary and been provided the opportunity to do what I loved to do most? 

Without intention I soon realized that teaching offered many fringe benefits.  It provided me time, as I raised my daughter, to be out of school when she was out of school.  It was not necessary for her to have a baby sitter or for her to be home alone.  It provided summers off with my family for rest, relaxation, and sometimes vacations. It also offered a comfortable salary for 185 days of work, holidays,  good health benefits and now a good retirement.

Being an English teacher at the secondary level meant that I did have to spend time reading, planning and grading papers at home and during the summer.  But it was all worth it and I would not hesitate for one minute to do it all again.