Job Discussion Forums

[struelle]

For those keeping up on news in Canada, BC (my home province) is embroiled in a 2 week long wildcat teachers' strike. The issues are complex and involved, but I obviously find myself in support of the teachers and their demands for better working conditions. I lost count of how many picket lines and protest rallies I've been on so far

That said, I know full well that once I finish my practicum in (hopefully) December, I plan to return to SE Asia and then later China to teach again.

So for me at least, it begs the question: why bother getting involved in a teachers dispute back home? It shouldn't matter what the strike outcome is, as long as I can get on with my work, finish, and get a plane ticket out of the country. Right?

I then had to take a step back and consider, once again, why I chose to go into teaching in the first place. I then made a list of pros and cons of teaching both at home and overseas, and also considered the long-term future. It got me thinking: what are the rewards in teaching?

To sum things up, while overseas, you generally have high intangible rewards: respect from supervisors, excellent students, your own classroom, freedom in curriculum, trust, and a more enjoyable life overall. In cities at least you are compensated fairly well and the cost of living tends to be lower than the West.

Back home the intangibles are not as much. The public schools (at least in BC) are seriously being undermined, there is a shortage of funding and resources, class sizes are large, you can't float from district to district, students need more attention, and the general respect from parents, public, and government is not that great.

I've come to the conclusion that teachers go into the profession because they care about students and want to make a difference. They don't go into it for the money. But I think what's happening in my home province is that many teachers end up demanding higher salaries because they can't find the intangible rewards they were hoping for. On the other hand, it's also true that teachers back home are very upset with working conditions, and feel that their students are getting a raw deal as well.

So I guess the question for all you teachers is, what rewards do you find in the job? For me, the biggest is the sense of social justice, that I can enter a profession that strives for that.

Steve

[guest of Japan]

[moot point]

Don't you find Canadians are always going on strike? That's all I see when I open up a Canadian paper. I think it could be our French connection coming out in us.

[Guy Courchesne]

When I was in elementary and secondary school, I remember being out of class for four separate strikes by both the Catholic and public school boards. In one case, the strike lasted 9 months. This was in Ontario.

[Gregor]

What rewards? I don't know. I have learned about myself over the years that if I don't think about the rewards and just go through life relatively content, then the rewards are there. I don't think about it unless I have a complaint.

But OK, let me think. It allows me a lifestyle that I like. I like being a foreigner, and I enjoy my job. Especially the part about teaching, but even the administrative part is cool.
Do I make a difference in society? Yes, of course. That's what teaching is all about. I used to think that spreading the English language was some form of cultural imperialism on the part of the English speaking world (I didn't care, mind you, but I did think it).
Maybe it is, too. But if so, other cultures are not losing as much as English is, at least in terms of purity. It's becoming assimilated into other cultures, and it's cool to see. It is my job to see to it, just in my own scope of influence, that the quality of education and the quality of the English used is the highest possible, allowing English to continue to be used across borders (rather than, say, Chinese English being so garbled and strange that it would be incomprehensible to an English speaker in, say, Laos).
It's also my job to represent my culture and people and present them (as myself) in the most positive light possible, to help in international understanding across these cultures.
I teach more than English, too. The students learn about my behavior and values and work ethic, and so on. I teach by example how people should be treated, how to cope with a different culture, and so on. Most of my students are younger than me, so this is all part of my job. I think I have a huge, positive impact on a lot of people.
I also teach learning skills. This isn't a high priority in a country where the education delivery method is still mostly rote memorization. So I have to teach the students learning skills so they can get the most out of my class, but they can apply that to ANY class.
My teachers, as well. As their boss, they learn a lot about how to behave (or not) if they're ever in a position of authority (I don't have MUCH authority, but I am their boss). People look up to me to set and maintain standards in a lot of different areas. There are TONS of rewards to my job. Add to all that an absurdly high local salary making me, in Chinese terms, a very rich man.

Yeah, I can't complain.

[Mchristophermsw]

Rewards for Teacing eh?

Well, first I want to address the issue of being in it for the money?
I hear alot of people say that they are not in it for the money and that may be so but the reality is that Money has to be a factor.

If a teacher in the States is so ill paid that he/she is under extreme financial pressure, can't buy a home or provide for oneself or family...then Hell, money does matter to an extent and guess what? If your stressed out with financial worries, it will affect what you bring to the classroom.

Ok, if you wanted to be rich, maybe an MBA from a prestigous school would be the route with 6 to 8 diget salaries. Forget education, or public safety, health etc. Don't know any social workers or Police officers that are swimming in cash from their salaries.

But a teacher should be paid a fair wage that can atleast provide modest lifestyle without having to rely on cup of noodles for dinner everynight ( Like I had to as a starving student LOL ).

But as a teacher of some sorts, If I have enough $ to live a simple and comfortable life then the rest is priceless. What is priceless you may ask?
Being able to touch the lives of your students. To be their teacher and at times considered a role model, a coach, friend, and counselor. To see your students smiling faces and eagerness to great you in class or in the hall way. To be the encourager of dreams and possiblities for hungry minds. Wow, there so many things that make teaching a job that one could not put a monetary reward on.

Currently, I am teaching mandated offenders ( Inmates ) and my curriculim is Drug and HIV/AIDS education. I also include alot of life skills curriculm and it feels great to rekindle hope in the eyes of someone who had lost almost everything. It is wonderful to see someone in public and have them come up to you and say thank you for touching their lives by something I said or did when they were locked up.

Yeah, teaching is not for everyone but for those it is for God is smiling down on you

[moot point]

Rewards?

Once in awhile you get a former student who approaches you and claims you have altered their choices in life. That is kinda cool and a real ego booster.

Material rewards?
All the vacation time. If you work it out to actual $/hr worked it is a heck of a good wage in most instances.

[Justin Trullinger]

Many, perhaps most, businesses screw people over, one way or another. At least those with the 6 to 8 digit salaries, and big possibilities for personal enrichment. ($$$)

I do not screw people over. I get to know them on pretty agreeable terms, and use my expertise and training to help them develop their potential to do something that THEY have decided they want to do. I just like it.

I don't really care for the admin part. It tires me out, and stresses me out a lot of the time. But, I have an idea how an educational NGO can work to the benefit of many people. So this is my chance to put my ideas into practice. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. But I'm learning. That part I like a lot!

This morning, when I left one of my volunteer classes, the whole class, 33 4 to 5 year olds, tried to hug me goodbye at once. Priceless.

I could make more money doing a lot of things, and sometimes have. But I have NEVER regretted a day well lived and a job well done in this job. I think I'm here to stay. (Teaching, that is. I'm sure wanderlust will take over again someday, but I know I'll be teaching in the next spot, too.)

Regards,
Justin

[Spinoza]

I never thought I'd enjoy working with kids/teenagers but that has turned out to be the main reward in my job. It helps living in a country where the teens are, by and large, extremely pleasant. Korean kids have given me a positive view of humanity that I never thought possible in me before. So that's rewarding. Of course money's important too and, thank goodness, the salaries in Korea for teachers are pretty good, as I could never imagine working for peanuts.