In the play, Becket, a young man asks the title character for advice regarding the career he should pursue. When Becket suggests teaching, the young man dismisses the idea with the question, “But even if I were brilliant, who would ever know but my students and my God?” The question this young man raises, “why teach?” is particularly relevant today as we face the prospect of a severe national teacher shortage. Certainly issues of compensation and working conditions must be addressed, but even then one might ask, “why teach?”

After all, teaching is an extraordinarily complex and challenging task. Elementary school teachers are asked to be content experts in reading, writing, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. They typically are called upon to prepare lessons each day in at least five different subjects without the benefit of a preparation period. They are to ensure that all their students stretch to reach high standards but avoid working students too hard or making too many demands upon them.

High school teachers are responsible for the academic success of over 125 students whom they typically meet in 50-minute blocks each day. Five times each day they are expected to present relevant lessons that engage the interests of all students, but they are provided with less than one hour per day to prepare those lessons. They have virtually no discretionary time. They respond to each bell, report to their designated station, and try to pick up where they left off the prior day. To devote even 15 minutes per week to review individual student work and provide personalized feedback adds over 25 hours to their work week.

Those who hope to establish a relationship with students outside of the classroom through coaching, directing, or sponsoring will be called upon to work 12-hour days—except on nights of games, concerts, or performances when the workday will stretch to 16 hours.

Teachers of all levels are called upon to get to know each student in order to individualize instruction in ways that address the personal needs, abilities, and interests of every boy and girl. The abilities of the students vary widely.

Some speak little or no English. Some face severe physical or learning challenges. Some confront personal or family problems that leave them angry or withdrawn. And all teachers recognize that, despite their very best efforts, it is almost inevitable that some students will respond to those efforts with indifference, and some parents will blame them when their children refuse to put forth the effort necessary to succeed. 

Finally, as Becket’s student suggests, even those teachers who do an exceptional job receive no extra compensation and little in the way of acknowledgement. In the face of these challenges, it’s reasonable to ask, “why be a teacher?”

Unless, as a profession, we can offer a compelling answer to that question, there is little hope that we will attract the quality and quantity of teaching candidates that our schools will need in the very near future. While we must continue to work to create the conditions in our schools that foster continuous improvement, and while we must resist the simplistic quick fixes that legislatures often try to foist upon schools, we must also celebrate the aspects of our profession that make it so uniquely rewarding.

Teaching is not for everyone. But I would have answered the young man who asked, “why teach?” with the following:

If you believe it is important to help children
and young men and women
acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions
essential to productive and satisfying lives,
then consider being a teacher.

If you burst with passion for your subject
and want to share that passion with others,
then consider being a teacher.

If you are committed to your own lifelong learning,
to an ongoing study of the art and science of your craft,
then consider being a teacher.

If you appreciate a calling in which each year
offers a fresh start, new beginnings,
and the opportunity to impact lives in a positive way,
then consider being a teacher.

If you truly enjoy kids, if you are able to see the best in each of them,
if you are willing to persist
when confronted by their recalcitrance or indifference,
then consider being a teacher.

If you believe that an educated citizenry is critical to the well being of the nation,
then consider being a teacher.

If you feel joy in seeing students learn to believe in themselves
because you helped them achieve what they felt was beyond their grasp,
then consider being a teacher.

If, like Henry Adams, you understand that, as a teacher,
you can affect eternity because it is impossible to tell where your influence stops,
then consider being a teacher.

If you recognize that giving of yourself to others and developing others
can be one of the most significant and fulfilling ways
in which to live your life,
then consider being a teacher.

It is easy to understand why educators might respond to the constant barrage of attacks upon public education with cynicism, defensiveness, or a siege mentality. But we must avoid that temptation. It is true that we face formidable obstacles. It is true that we must deal with major frustrations. But it is also true that our profession, perhaps more than any other, gives us a unique opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

The work of building a professional learning community will come undone if the next generation of educators lacks the capabilities and commitment to sustain the effort. If our generation makes a conscious effort to attract extraordinary young men and women to education by celebrating a teacher’s ability “to leave footprints on the sands of time,” and if we demonstrate the joy and satisfaction of our work in very visible ways to the students entrusted to us, we can attract the successors essential to our ultimate success.

Used with permission of Learning Forward, www.learningforward.org. All rights reserved.