Being a teacher brings a sort of a stigma around here. But I’m pretty sure its similar elsewhere. I always used an excuse that I am not technically a teacher but just a person who got lost somewhere on the road and ended up here. I finished my middle school for nursing and then enrolled as an occupational therapist. After college I worked as an OT for about 2 years – substituting. But then I hit this brick wall in a shape of no open job spaces. I wasn’t worried or depressed by it. I got my first job at age 12 and by the age of 25 worked just about everything possible.
Though some would say that getting a job is hard, I know how job hunting works. I sent over 55 applications in different directions of the wind and in the upcoming month another 100. If you are not choosy and bendy enough you can work. Out of over 155 applications I got around 20 with feedback – that I was not accepted and 2 interviews. I was accepted for both positions, but chose the position of a teacher’s aide. I figured that it would benefit me as an OT in the future, since it was work related with special needs.
First three years I kept on looking for that open space somewhere in my line of work and even landed 2 interviews – but didn’t make the cut. You have to know positions as an OT are rare here. Looking for an albino unicorn rare. The interviews were painful. Not for the interview part itself, but the waiting room. Sitting in that room I was saddened by the fact that I knew half of them. Most were my generation, the girls I went to school with. Sharing my path. Meanwhile I was promoted into a teacher and 7 years have passed by now. The experience is rich and precious. You could say life changing. I like my job. It keeps me on my toes and the action/problems make sure all the cogs and wheels in my brain are spinning.
In this time I have ran into mostly two types of people. The ones that say: I could never do what you do and the others … teachers have it easy. Why would you say that? Is it the smaller work hours? Lots of vacation time?
I pulled out my work sheet and randomly choose month March 2017. 211 hours done in a span of 20 days. So that averages around 11h per day. The lowest work hours I had is in April (150 hours). But I was on sick leave + some national days off and still got an average of 10h per day.
What I am trying to say is … I know when I overwork myself and I know when I’m slacking/should or could do more. I will say every workplace has people who more or less don’t do their job and the others who overtax themselves. I see no difference in my current line of work and I see no issues with it. There are good teachers and bad ones, there are good engineers and bad ones, you have a good plumber and a bad one, a fine manager and a crappy one, etc. I do wonder why the stigma for teachers is more pronounced though. When exactly did the teachers lose their respect?