Not too long ago, I found out that one of my students wants to be an English teacher when she "grows up."
At first, I simply didn't know what to say...but here's what finally ended up tumbling from my mouth that day, and what I think when reflecting back quite some time later (it's taken me that long to finish the diary).
Don't do it. Well, not phrased exactly that way, but if I could have used any more pathos to prove my point, I would have looked her - a student I've known since she was a sophomore - straight in the eyes and pleaded with her not to follow in my footsteps.
Instead, I made the point that those who attend college and study Literature sometimes go into other fields - such as the legal profession - because we are adept at analyzing (read: twisting words) pieces of literature to achieve our aims.
Also, I had to make the point that, given the current climate (she's not unaware of what's happening politically, her mother is an elementary teacher in our district) I wasn't sure what teaching would even be like in the four(ish) years it would take her to get through college.
I told her to make a "Pros" and "Cons" list - to ask herself if she thinks the trade-off is worth it. Summers off, yes, but summers off spent working a second job, the school year spent stressed - mentally and physically - just trying to get everything done. And that's just job responsibilities. Forget cleaning the house.
However, after "Sadie Hawkins Day" today at school, a day when kiddos shine their best and yet also emanate their worst, I had several moments where I remembered exactly why I became a teacher: I love literature, and despite their moments of teenage angst and complete lack of judgment, I love my students.
I have numerous students on probation, numerous students in "fathers groups" because they are fathers without really having had one themselves, and several female students who have come to me in the past three months to tell me they are pregnant.
What makes them wonderful? They still try. They still come to me because, despite their errors in judgment and everything else, and despite the days I would rather clean sewers than beg them yet again to not do something stupid, the kiddos (well, and Shakespeare, foremost among many other authors) are who and what I love. I have one particular student on probation, who is quite possibly the sweetest kid I've ever met, because he's got the biggest heart of any kid I've ever taught. Since he's been on probation (and doing quite well at it, mind you), he's joined the football team. He wrote in his college entrance essay (yes, you read that right) that he loves playing football because when his family comes to the football games, they're doing something other than getting drunk. I have another student who, despite the fact that her parents did not follow up with the school on services she was supposed to be receiving, came to me and asked for help with it.
There's my ray of sunshine for you...and next time I see the kiddo who asked me for advice, who is not only my student but also happens to be my student assistant (a job I also had in high school because this is where I wanted to end up), I will tell her the truth - because that's how I roll:
Some days it sucks, and some days it's awesome
some days you want to pull your hair out, and some days you put your hair in pigtails because you have to dress up for Sadie Hawkins day
some days you have to prop your eyes open with toothpicks because you were grading all night, and other days students open them for you with some bizarre statement like, "I had a dream that I was in this classroom and we were at war with zombies" (the irony in this statement is worth exploring but I'm tired)
some days your family gets frustrated with you because you're buried in a stack of papers, and some weeks they love you because you don't have to work at all
some days you hate your job, but then a student tells you they love you.
but every day? every day you make a difference in at least one kid's life, and that's what ends up making the difference in yours.