I want to become a elementary school teacher...?

Question

My question is this how many of you really love teaching? Is it everything you thought it would be? Can you live on the wages of being a teacher? My family feels like I'm wasting my time and that I won't be able to support myself with the income they make but this is something I've been passionate about since I was in the 2nd grade...

Tell me do you love your job?

Answer 1

Karen Star really said it all beautifully.  I just wanted to add that my husband was medically retired from the military in 2005 and since that time I have been supporting us (and our two adorable Corgi's) on my teacher's salary.  (He does receive a small stipend but trust me.....I'm supporting us.)  If you live with in your means and don't feel the need to buy expensive clothing and other luxury items you will be happy as a teacher.  There are days when  I want to rip my hair out and can't imagine why I go back to this job year after year ...but I'm fairly certain I would have those days regardless of the profession I was in.  Good luck and God Bless!

Answer 2

You have to have that special gift to teach. The pay is not great. In Texas, a poor state, next year, in El Paso, the new teacher will start out at $42,600. I taught elementary school for many years. I have no regrets. It does take a passion to teach. You will prepare the future, which is an awesome task. If you want to do it go for it. Welcome to the profession.

Answer 3

I loved teaching.  I just left the classroom after working for 20 years.  

I taught junior high and high school, and never worked with kids younger than the 5th grade, but it was always a good feeling to know I was making a difference in the lives of children.

Was it everything I thought it would be? Yes and no.  Nothing is ever as I imagine it, and teaching was far more difficult than I had thought it would be.  It got more difficult as the years went on as far as discipline went, but it got easier and easier to prepare and execute lessons.  When class went well, it absolutely was an emotional high for me.  I treasure the notes I got from kids saying that I helped them.

I earned a living wage.  In fact, I was able to save by living simply.  I didn't have to have expensive clothing, a fancy car, or the latest in jewelry as a teacher.  Since I usually got ink or marker on the clothing fairly quickly, the cars were sometimes vandalized in the parking lot, and jewelry proved to be a distraction, I simply didn't spend money on those items for daily use.  By investing in a 403 B plan as much as I could, I was able to build a very nice nest egg.  

Some of my co-workers struggled to make ends meet, but in most cases, the income wasn't the problem, but rather the out-flow.   If you are content with who you are, perhaps you wont be so driven to own more.  It worked that way for me.

Passion is certainly an asset in the classroom.  I'd say "go for it."  In the years before I taught, I did things that earned a lot more money, like managing a convenience store.  But I looked at my life and wondered if I got hit by a bus, would I be remembered only as the lady on the corner who sold beer and cigarettes and candy bars?  I could only sell so many candy bars before I said, "There has to be more to life than this."

I left the classroom at the end of the school year one year ago.  I don't miss the hours, but I miss the kids.

Answer 4

Went to our K5 graduation tonight.   Our Pastor remarked on how what we teach our students will have a lasting effect on them.   One of my students told me today, who rarely talks to adults, "I'll miss you so much this summer."   He told his mom I was so patient.   I get letters from students all the time that they love me.   Our salaries start at $21,000.   Christian school.   I love my students.   I enjoy my job.   Teaching is hard but very rewarding.    My son and daughter make more money at Arby's as managers than I do teaching.   My son makes more money than I at Walmart.   Today I would say you could have my teacher hat because a parent complained about me to the principal.    We get out of school next week.   By the first of August I will be SOO ready to stand in front of the new group of students that God has privileged me to teach.    There is no thrill than when you explain something to a child and you get to see the lights go on when they "get it".   They get so excited!   There is no amount of money that can give you the thrill that teaching does.

Answer 5

I love teaching too. Kids are so cute!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

Well, I just work at a daycare, teaching there, which is similiar to teaching in an elementary school in the sense that I don't get paid that much, but despite the low pay I LOVE my job and wake up every morning thrilled to go to work... Watching the kids learn, getting hugs and hearing their laughs makes the low pay so much more than worth it..  but a few moms of the kids I take care of are teachers... They tell me constantly that teaching is not the career to get into if you don't really have a passion for it, because you won't get rich. One of the moms tells me that she worked at one school when she first started and she was miserable - the kids were terrors.. She took a small paycut and transferred over to another school and even though she makes a little less, she's happy.. her husband is also a teacher and they are supporting themselves and two kids. She still has money to go and get her hair done and to dress decently.