• O’Neil, John. “Who Are We, Why We Teach.” NEAToday. September 2003. pp.27-32.
The reason I chose the article was because I ask myself these two questions on a weekly basis. I thought it would be interesting to find out where I fit in the national average. I found that I am the exception in many ways, but my belief is the same as the majority. I teach to make a difference.
This article gave statistics, such as 27 percent of teachers report having 25 or more students in their classes. They talked about how at this rate the students become just nameless faces. I have been in a classroom with 29 students and I agree that it can be challenging to give the students one on one time. I now teach 25 students and find it much easier to work with them and help each individual with his or her strengths. I hope I never get to the point where I regard my students as nameless faces, but I can see how having so many students could be a problem.
Another statistic was than on average teachers spend 50 hour
s a week on teaching duties. I agree with this, but I spend more than 70 hours per week so I am not the average teacher. I don’t feel like this time is a burden. I feel that the more time I spend working to better myself and researching for lessons, the better prepared my students will be.
The article said that only three percent of the teachers interviewed were first or second year teachers. I wondered if this was because of the group that they interviewed as a whole or whether this had anything to do with the fact that 50 percent of teachers leave within the first five years. The article did not explain any possible reasons why the number was so low. Again, I was in the minority because it is my second year teaching.
I left a bigger paycheck but have found a place where I can teach and where the students are allowed to learn. This year I am in a school that allows me the freedom to be the teacher I want to be. The school cares about tests, but also about the lives of its students the rest of the year.
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