Teaching is easy and most teachers are just too lazy to find a job in the real world so they should stop complaining about their careers, right? That’s the comment that I hear most often when I hear people say that teachers have it easier in life than most other professions. The fact is, teaching is just as difficult as most other professions and deal with much more than the public knows. The problems arise when students come home and exaggerate what goes on in school. Parents then believe what was said to be true (because children never lie, especially your own) and then the stories are repeated as fact, with very little investigation into whether the statements were true or not.

Contrary to popular belief, most teachers do not teach one topic in their field of expertise. Teachers commonly have 2-3 preps per day. For instance they may have 2 preps in American History and 3 preps in Global History. Now, while we know some subjects, such as History, do not change that often, prep time is not spent practicing how to recite information to students. Prep time includes correcting homework that wasn’t finished the night before at home, photocopying, stapling, phone calls to parents, mandatory meetings for students with learning disabilities required by the state and/or federal government, meetings with parents, and correcting exams (not all exams are scantrons) with well developed essays from students.

It also covers research time to make lessons better and relevant to the students. Many schools have not invested in new textbooks in 10-20 years, forcing teachers to spend even more time creating lessons that are up to date despite the old textbooks. Students change from year to year, as well current events, which require tweaking of lesson plans to fit the students’ needs for that year. By doing this, the students will continue to get the best possible education from a particular teacher.

Teachers also give up their free time, often uncompensated, by volunteering to help student groups and activities. Teachers are also required to stay after school to be available to assist students each day as well as mandatory office hours after school for anyone who wants extra help or need to make up exams.

Teachers also spend a great deal of time, on their own and out of school, creating hands-on lessons and activities. Then, in class, students learn by working with primary sources, thinking critically on a given topic, role-playing, and bettering their writing skills. This is part of the new teaching method. Spending all class time lecturing simply does not cut it anymore and students need to be better prepared when they attend class in order to succeed.

In order to succeed, the student needs to do more than just show up for class. They need to study at home, come to class prepared, and have a general respect for the teacher, their fellow students, and the learning process in general. This has become a huge problem today and is at the root of the problem as to why teachers do not want their jobs to be judge by test scores alone. Many students come to school with a feeling of entitlement. They have been told their entire life that they are special and they can have whatever they want. When a teacher instructs them to do a particular task, for example, group work, these students balk because they “don’t feel like doing that.” Then, class time is spent disciplining the student or throwing the student out for being disruptive. The lack of respect towards teachers, which comes from students, as well as parents, has reached appalling heights. Many of these students also do not attend classes regularly and those that do are disruptive to the learning process.

Why should a teacher be held responsible for low test scores when a large percentage of students never attend class and then fail state mandated exams? Would you enjoy it if your coworker failed to complete a big project and you were fired for it?

Teachers are still responsible for these students though as they have their administrators breathing down their necks with constant threats of “you may not have a job next year if test scores aren’t high enough.” That is why teachers enjoy tenure. Yes, tenure can protect bad teachers but it is there precisely so that teachers cannot be fired on a whim. Teachers are constantly chided that the job they are doing is not good enough and many live in constant fear that they will not have a job the following year. In order to assess how good or bad a teacher is, you need more than simply going by test scores. Just as in baseball, a player’s greatness isn’t always displayed in his batting average alone, it’s the whole package and the “intangibles” that are used in evaluating a player.

Yes, some school districts have great health benefits but many do not. It is not uncommon to have to pay $200-500 per month for health coverage. This is a moot point because good, cheap health coverage is hard to find in almost any sector today. The health care system in America is a joke and teachers are not exempt from being hit with the same restrictions as other careers.

Yes, teachers do get summers off, but many spend their time in second jobs, workshops, or furthering their education. If a teacher wants to be promoted, they are required to return to school for more education, all paid for by the teacher. Many teachers look forward to their time off to recuperate from the pressure, paperwork, and people. Isn’t that what vacations are for?

And, yes, they also have time off during the year for other holidays. Government workers, bankers, etc. also get many days off during the year. Take a look at your child’s school calendar too. There are many days per year that teachers are working when students do not attend. There are also teachers that take the few days of Christmas and Spring Break to catch up on paperwork and grading, while others use that time to take your children on educational trips, thus, they are still teaching.

Teaching is definitely not the hardest job on the planet but it certainly isn’t the easiest either. They have a job to do, just like everyone else and they get paid just like everyone else. With the No Child Left Behind legislation currently in place, teaching has become more difficult with no increase in pay. Teachers also have a different type of stress to deal with because, frankly, dealing with other people’s children all day is vastly different than dealing with adults. This is not to disparage other professions but there are many more things you cannot say and do while around children.

While people spend time denigrating teachers, they forget that these are the people that are actually educating their own children. Teachers get paid less money than many other professions with similar educations, put up with the name calling from disrespectful students and parents, do their jobs without the hopes of ever being promoted unless they spend more of their own money on more education, and never receive a Christmas bonus from their employers. These people are not only educating your children, they are counseling and motivating them. Teachers are your child’s mentor and they deserve a little more respect than society currently gives them.

I encourage anyone that believes teacher’s have it easy and are lazy to spend one day with them. Better yet, sign up to be a teacher. Pay thousands of dollars to get your master’s degree, as is required almost everywhere today. There are shortages in Math and Science in most school districts and I’m sure they would love to hear from people in those particular fields that are willing to give up their “tough real jobs” to come and teach.

You cannot possibly know how difficult teaching may or may not be unless you actually walk a mile in a teacher’s shoes. They sacrifice just as much as others, sometimes more, so that your children can earn more money and spit on new teachers, calling them lazy and stupid. Appreciate your education and thank a teacher for not being an ignoramus.