Why teaching?

Hi everyone!

I'd like to share with you why I became an English teacher. To be honest, I have only come across with a handful of great teachers in my life that took their teaching practice to a level others never did. 

I'm not talking about methodologies or innovation. They were people who really worried about their students and wanted to help them regarding not only the subject they'd teach, but at a personal level. Teachers who were really there if you had a problem or just felt there was something strange going on with you. Teachers who were first and foremost caring humans. 

Unfortunately, they were only a handful, but I looked up at them. They made you feel important and special. Still today I know teachers like them, but the sad reality when you are in a formal education context is that there aren't as many. This links straightaway with current problems in education (droppers, failure figures, etc.) and it is an aspect that educational authorities tend to forget. Every teacher is different and has a different teaching style, but this shouldn't hide the reality that we have to care for our students. 

I know present workload (and I'm not writing about classes, but bureacracy, excessive procedures and protocols, pressure from educational authorities and a long etcetera) is very heavy and high, even to the point of becoming a real obstacle in our profession.

However, we should stop and think about it. As a teacher, I want to help my students achieve their academic objectives, but their personal ones as well as much as I can up to the limits we can't "trespass". And last but not least, inspire them!

Thus, we must be prepared for an ever changing situation and reality and there is an element that can't be missing at any time: our own motivation. Of course, motivation won't make problems and difficulties disappear, but it will help us cope with them and look for the best solutions. 

When I wake up everyday, I'm really looking forward to being in class with my students. Actually, I can't imagine my life without teaching. I would more than likely feel depressed. I love teaching, specially English. 

When I talk to colleagues and my students I always tell them the same: if I ever lose my motivation, I will quit because it wouldn't be fair for my students to have a demotivated teacher. Of course, there are up and downs, but they mainly come from external sources, not really from our daily teaching practice.

This career is hard, sure, but is really rewarding (usually from the long distance). I just need to see my students learning, reaching their goals and being happy in life. Of course, the boost you feel when they acknowledge you were important in their life is unbelievable. But this shouldn't be our driving force. 

Then, whoever is or thinks of becoming a teacher should think about their own motivation and their goals in their career, but always bearing in mind the central "element" : STUDENTS.