Blog Post: Why do you stay?

I don’t make sweeping generalizations because they are always wrong, but if you are a teacher, people have wondered why you actually do that.

The curiosity about WHY on EARTH you would choose this profession is so deep-seated that we even ask it of each other in job interviews.

I mean think about that for a second.

Can you imagine at NASA:

“So Christina, why did you decide to become an astronaut?”

Sitting before the medical review board:

“What motivated you to become a neurosurgeon?”

I guess I don’t really know – perhaps they do ask that sort of question, but it just feels kind of unlikely.

My husband’s an electrical engineer who works on fighter planes, and I promise you he has never had to justify to anyone why he chose THAT particular career path.

Yet I have justified my career path to everyone from job interviews to grant applications to friends at cocktail parties, and every single time everyone’s left feeling unsatisfied. I can feel them wanting my beauty pageant moment, and I can feel myself failing spectacularly because who, in the history of the sport, has ever answered one of those questions well?

It can’t be done because it just isn’t INTERESTING. Why did you decide to become a teacher? Why did you make a totally uninformed decision to strike out on a career path all those years ago? What motivated you five, ten, fifteen years ago to make a choice to spend the rest of your life working with other people’s kids?

I mean – BORING.

Let’s be honest - what brought me here was ignorance and optimism. Let me make it perfectly clear. None of us had any idea what we were getting into.

I’ve been a teacher now for twelve years, and the one question I never get asked – the question I actually ask myself every single day – is why do I STAY in this profession?

What makes me stay? THAT’S where the story is.

So I went out and asked the interesting question.

I asked my friends, my coworkers, teachers who’ve worked for only a few years, to teachers who’ve worked for twenty plus.

And here is why we stay.

 “I can say things like ...... Because I believe every student is worth it, because I love math, because I get personal satisfactions on daily basis, because I have something valuable to contribute, because I enjoy learning, because I like to push people out of their comfort zone, because breaks allow me to be there for my own kids right? And even though each of these reasons is valid, the real reason is the fact that this job just MAKES ME HAPPY.”

 “I was in the military, and I loved that. But I realized that I have a talent for explaining things in a way that people can get. I’m good at it, and I get to come every day, do something that I’m good at, and it makes the world better. That makes me feel good. And I get to go home to my own kids.”

 “I stay because I belong with students. They hold me accountable, and I truly believe I am making society better.”

“On the best days of teaching, I wish the day would never end. On the most challenging days, I can’t wait to return to my classroom and take another opportunity to improve my craft. My students past and current, inspire me to continue the important work of education. The partnerships with parents and families give me an incredible amount of hope about the possibilities for our world.  I remain in the classroom because I know I am not alone.”

 “Teaching keeps me young. It is creative and challenging. Trust me. I was a systems analyst for a long time and that was nowhere as challenging and rewarding as this.”

Here’s the crazy little secret about teachers.

We all became teachers for lots of different reasons. Switching from careers, wanting more time with our families, a desire and passion to change the world … But what makes us stay, what keeps us here, in the classroom, with your kids, day after day, is one simple thing.

We absolutely love it.