I don't care who you are or what teacher prep program you went through, undoubtedly you have made a statement like that at some point. If you were completely honest you would probably admit to having said that multiple times. The sad truth is that no teacher prep program can truly prepare you for what you will face when you have your own classroom.
In this state, as in many others, the education system has a tendency to receive some bad press. Often times publicized in the state newspapers, both in hard copy & digital versions. Many times when that happens, the digital version has an open comment section. Last year I made it a priority to read many of those extra comments, but this year I have chosen to ignore most of those. Why? One main reason, there is always someone that makes a comment similar to "Any idiot can teach." These comments deeply offended me, and any entry year teacher quickly figures out how inaccurate that statement is. Everytime I see statements like that, I resist the urge to lash out at that person, I find myself responding with an open invitation to come substitute at my school for a day or two. To be completely straightforward about it, the reason I quit reading those is my own emotional well being.
I would read those articles in the morning before leaving for school or in the evenings while trying to relax for the evening. Which means I either start the day mad or finish the day mad. Neither option is what I want.
My point in all of this is, no matter how great the program you still have to experience for yourself before you can truly begin to understand. Any idiot can't do it! If they could my stack of applications would be much higher than it is. I would never have to find ways to help teachers strengthen their skills. We would have no need for federally & state mandated testing because we would all have high quality instructors that didn't need a test to "prove" they were teaching what is required.
Every teacher/administrator has a list of things they have learned by experience. Many of these would have been great to know ahead of time, before entering the job. There is no way to fully prepare for any position in education. What do you wish you knew before entering the classroom or administrators office? Share them in the comments.
In this state, as in many others, the education system has a tendency to receive some bad press. Often times publicized in the state newspapers, both in hard copy & digital versions. Many times when that happens, the digital version has an open comment section. Last year I made it a priority to read many of those extra comments, but this year I have chosen to ignore most of those. Why? One main reason, there is always someone that makes a comment similar to "Any idiot can teach." These comments deeply offended me, and any entry year teacher quickly figures out how inaccurate that statement is. Everytime I see statements like that, I resist the urge to lash out at that person, I find myself responding with an open invitation to come substitute at my school for a day or two. To be completely straightforward about it, the reason I quit reading those is my own emotional well being.
I would read those articles in the morning before leaving for school or in the evenings while trying to relax for the evening. Which means I either start the day mad or finish the day mad. Neither option is what I want.
My point in all of this is, no matter how great the program you still have to experience for yourself before you can truly begin to understand. Any idiot can't do it! If they could my stack of applications would be much higher than it is. I would never have to find ways to help teachers strengthen their skills. We would have no need for federally & state mandated testing because we would all have high quality instructors that didn't need a test to "prove" they were teaching what is required.
Every teacher/administrator has a list of things they have learned by experience. Many of these would have been great to know ahead of time, before entering the job. There is no way to fully prepare for any position in education. What do you wish you knew before entering the classroom or administrators office? Share them in the comments.
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