Job Discussion Forums

[john henry]

I'm going to leave this pretty open ended, cuz I'd like to get a wide variety of responses.

Do you feel that teaching is a calling for you?

[moonraven]

It's one of the professions that's a "calling" for me.

[Guy Courchesne]

I like to think of some elements of teaching more as a 'need', some kind of internal desire to share.

[dyak]

I think it depends on your motive for getting into teaching. If you felt a spiritual need or desire to teach then it could be a calling. If you use it as means to travel then i guess it isn't. I think i'm a bit of both.

[Twisting in the Wind]

I have known many long term teachers who have said just that: that teaching is a calling--not just for them, but in general, much in the same way that the priesthood is a calling. One person goes as far as to say that she feels teachers should not be married because good teachers will give loads of time to their students, neglecting family life.

I've found in my own life that i've given up family time to grade papers, cousel ss over the phone, etc...but that I've found time for both. I think to be an average teacher, it may not be a calling, but if one wants to be a great teacher, and not just "wants"--it has to be something more--something that you don't have that much of a say in. In my family, most of the people have been preachers, teachers and farmers. I ran from teaching (both of my parents were teachers)until I could run no more and I realized that was what I was meant to be in some form or other. If you were "meant" to be a teacher, it will find you.

[sincfam]

'vocation' is a nice word - used in admonition against a straying practitioner in "Boston Public" ( not just a job) - it resonates. - my 2c

" You're here to do three things - teach, teach and teach. That's all. Don't mess with the ecology" - Micky Rourke as Father Frank Larkin in "Thicker than blood"

[denise]

Before I started teaching, I remember thinking that I was way too shy to ever stand up in front of a classroom and be any sort of guiding figure. Now, though, hmmmm... I was going to say that I can't imagine doing anything else, but that's not true. I guess I should say that from the moment I started, I loved it, so "calling" or not, I'm glad I got over my shyness enough to give it a try.

d

[shmooj]

Yep...





... thought I'd leave that open ended.

[ShapeSphere]

I'm not sure if it's a 'calling' for me. That might be another career that I am contemplating & dabbling in. But I respect people who feel that way. In fact I'm impressed that you still love it and can keep motivating yourself. However, it's definitely a vocation and more than just a job.

My 3.5 years in this profession have been interesting, and the first two years in Germany gave me a feeling that teaching was worthwhile, rewarding and that we were given respect. But in China that all disappeared very quickly - teaching became just a job, due to the disgusting treatment by students & management. Enough said - I don't want to rant too much. Possibly a change to another country will reawaken feelings that it is a 'calling' - but I don't think so.

However, teaching is certainly more enthralling than my 13 years in the dispassionate world of I.T. (If you're familiar with the BBC comedy "The Office" then you will have some idea).

[distiller]

I think teaching is what you make of it. It can be a calling or a joke among many other things, depending on your attitude. Personally, I do find it gratifying and more meaningful and fulfilling than most other jobs. However, it is a means to lifestyle as well and if it ceased to be a means then I'd have to really have a think about whether or not to stick around.

[Lynn]

Great post, John Henry! This is the question that has boggled my mind for years.

I first got into teaching because I wanted to live in Japan, and it was the only way. When I left Japan in 2000, I thought I'd never do it again, but then I became an ESL teacher in New York City. It was not by choice. It was the only work I could find.

I often struggled with self confidence when it came to teaching. I compared myself to people like Denise. (sorry to single you out, D) I once complained that I could never "turn off" my teaching. Meaning that when I went home or on weekends I was constantly thinking about students, lessons etc. She said because of this she loves teaching.

I am much more content with my job now because I can relax and don't have to deal with stage fright anymore. BUT...the other day I went to a Japanese language club and ended up spending two hours with another American teaching him Japanese. I realized how good I am at teaching, and it made me rethink my choices.

I'm 30 years old. I don't know what my calling is. It is frustrating and discouraging.

[Roger]

If you can divorce your own prejudices of what teaching is all about and accept that you have to do a well-defined job with objectives set by competent professionals then it is a calling.
This does not always apply to TEFLing, of course. It certainly doesn't apply to people who ask questions such as "can I repay my student loans?" or "do I earn enough to enjoy my spare time with the beautiful senoritas over there?"
Clearly, TEFLing - i.e. the practising of some English teaching by amateur teachers on the prowl or on the road until they hit home again - is not a calling.

[denise]

Roger,

As long as teachers take themselves and their jobs seriously, why is it wrong to want a certain salary or a love life? I am a dedicated teacher (this is a career for me, not an adventure), but I worry about repaying my student loans. For me, it's not a question of how seriously I take my job. It's a simple fact of life, one that affects people in many different professions. (In fact, perhaps those of us with major debts are actually MORE dedicated--I could easily take an office job somewhere back in the United States that would pay a heck of a lot more than most countries' TEFL salaries, but I have consciously chosen this path instead.) I also would like to have a nice senor, because a fulfilling career is, in my opinion, just one facet of a fulfilling life--finding someone to share your life with is another facet. I do not consider myself less of a teacher because I think about money and love.

d

[Nauczyciel]

I�m not a teacher by education. In truth, I studied English Translation in Poland and hoped I would never be forced to teach � the very idea gave me the shivers. But when I was about to get my BA and face the reality outside the university, one of my teachers, a Canadian, told me I could try teaching in China. I got a job and found it thorny yet thrilling, so I thought, maybe I�d been wrong to think it�s not something for me? Now I�m teaching back in Poland and it�s a pretty dull job, so I don�t think it�s my calling anymore. In fact, I�m getting back to translating (you can see a part of my short story on China Off-topic Forum, thread �Chinglish��), but if given a chance to get a teaching job abroad once again, I will go for it. I�m twenty-five though, so I guess I still have some time to decide what I�m going to do for the rest of my life.

[guest of Japan]

Calling it a calling brings down salaries. You never see a professional athletes saying they are following their calling. They say they are professionals. It would seem to me that one is more of a calling than the other and the opposite is more professional. Yet, one continues to say it is a calling and the other says it is a profession. Which gets paid better?

Obviously there are big holes in my analogy, but I hope my point can be seen.