<p>There are lots of threads ** about ** teachers on CC, and reading some of them makes me feel frustrated at some perceptions; so here’s a thread ** for ** teachers, as many of us gear up for school: what makes you grateful, happy, satisfied to be a teacher?</p>
<p>As my son is getting ready to leave for college, I find myself completely grateful for one of the reasons I chose to teach: I had his schedule and the gift of time with my child.</p>
<p>My dh is a teacher. I think he’s grateful for making a difference in kids’ lives. We often hear from former students/parents who talk about the effect he had on them. Very touching.</p>
<p>I loved going to work…I’m sure that’s not unique to teaching…but it was sure the right place for me. The collegial work atmosphere, my school, the kids, the families…I liked it all.</p>
<p>Not a teacher, but as a mom who had a career that required me to work during those precious summers when my kids were home I think “summer’s off” is the biggest “plus”.</p>
<p>I’m not a teacher either. But I am very grateful for my son’s teachers. They were an extremely formative part of his life. And I can pick out a handful of them who had a profound influence.</p>
<p>My daughter is a certified teacher, although not working because she is in grad school and there are NO jobs, but she always said as a teaching fellow she was grateful that no two days were the same and she could never predict what the kids would do.</p>
<p>Zoos, congrats to your daughter for achieving her goal. </p>
<p>Tell her to hang in there (I think a lot will change after Bloomberg and the new contract, which I think Mulgrew is going to wait out Bloomberg). Look at new schools, which are allowed to hire people who are not currently in the system. Look at charter schools and some of the private schools. Tell her to let every AP, or Principal and admin person she knows that she is looking for a job. If she is doing high school, don’t be afraid to look at transfer schools that work with students who are over aged and under credited. If she is still in grad school, get the SPED extension/certification.</p>
<p>Sybbie, thanks so much! Great advice you have given me and I’ll pass it on.</p>
<p>She’s starting the master’s in special ed - 7-12 this semester (with a scholarship!) and plans to take advantage of the program to get the certificate in ELL, which is paid for by the DOE, afterward. Much to her surprise, student teaching taught her that she has a particular knack for ELL and is wild about it.</p>
<p>I’ve been a teacher for 27 years. While it is a stressful, challenging job it is also very rewarding and much of the time, a whole lot of fun! As a working mom, it has been a perfect fit. I chose to have my 2 ds attend the elementary school where I teach and that was a wonderful decision. Perhaps, my earnings over time would be greater had a chosen a different career, but my salary, my benefits, my schedule, the shared school experience with my kids, and my enjoyment of teaching children have enriched my life and my family’s life.</p>
<p>Going into year 22 on August 22, 2011. I am happy to go to work, once I wake up and get out of bed. I will also echo what others have already said-- it is a perfect fit for a working mom. I have been located on Facebook my a few of my former students who are now adults with kids of their own. It feels good to hear the kind things they have to say.</p>
<p>Too many things to list that I’m grateful for but here are a few:</p>
<p>*Grateful for every sweet, insightful, tender and intelligent thing any kid has ever said to me.
*Grateful that no matter how tired and drained I am at the end of the year, I get a fresh start every September and a chance to do better.
*Grateful for every parent who has ever said that I make a difference.
*Grateful for the smell of new crayons in the fall.
*Grateful for snow days that matched my kids’ when they were little and we could go sledding together.
*Grateful to see a fresh and nervous group of kindergartners come in every year accompanied by teary moms and dads.
*Grateful for custodians, school secretaries and administrators (well some of them) who GET me.
*Grateful to be employed, in this economy, doing something that matters and that I love.</p>
<p>Not a teacher but work at a school as a computer aide. I love the school I work at and the people that choose to teach there. I see all the testing and outside work they have to do for the students and know that I could not do it. It’s so maddening to see what the state, school district, and parents expect of teachers. But it’s also heartwarming to see the students and families who do appreciate them. Thank you to all the teachers in the world.</p>
<p>EPTR, That is a beautiful post.</p>
<p>I am not a teacher but I am very, very grateful for the teachers who made such a large and positive difference in my life and my son’s life.</p>
<p>I am grateful to every teacher who has made any impact on my children. It is one of the most noble professions there are, and it is a pity that great teachers are not getting the praise or considered to be a noble profession by our society. I have seen such a shift in the attitude of people in regard to teachers and this shilft is not positive. I think this thinking is awful and the worth of a teacher is immeasurable. I can think of alot of careers that I have little respect for but teaching is indeed one of the finest.</p>
<p>Zooser,</p>
<p>Sent you a PM</p>
<p>My teaching has been in several settings. The decade I most treasure was teaching First and Second grades, regular classrooms, in a rural poverty school with students of many races and income levels thrown together. I was able to meet multiple generations of my young students’ families (once even a great-great grandmother!) as everyone used the same grocery store. Through the children or their parents, I’d hear daily about events of the previous night in town before they made the local newspaper. If someone was arrested, I had the child of the batterer, the cop, the lawyer and the judge who’d eventually hear the case, all sitting together in a reading group. Oblivious. </p>
<p>Teaching children how to read was my favorite portion of each day, because I felt as though I was giving them the key to the kingdom, namely literacy. </p>
<p>I realized someday they’d have their own families. To the extent I could, in the smallest way, influence their attitudes and skills NOW to read well, I imagined multiple ripple effects in their ability to work jobs and influence their own households someday.</p>
<p>Sometimes we’d look out our window and see herds of deer. Other times there were police sirens. The children looked to me to make sense of it all. At the exact moment 9/11 occurred, I was reading a book to them…just like the President. I couldn’t tell them what had happened but I knew it would profoundly affect their lives. Today some of them have older siblings overseas in the military.</p>
<p>You touch in every aspect of American life. There’s plenty to think about, aside from the drudgery and administrative tedium that is the pricetag of that profession.</p>
<p>Former teacher/tutor–I’m grateful for the opportunity to help students reach their goals. Seeing students move forward with confidence is rewarding.
S (2010 grad) is about to start his 2nd year of teaching. He loves constantly learning new things himself, and presenting info. to students in creative ways. He loves it when students call him “The Smartest Man in the World!” 
He’s also happy to be employed.</p>
<p>i am grateful for students who ask questions.</p>
<p>I am just about to start my 29th year of teaching. Half of those years were spent teaching special ed in the public schools, and now I teach in a JrK classroom at a private school. </p>
<p>I love my work and am happy that I still look forward to seeing my students every day (or at least most days :)). I am my students’ first teacher at our school. It is my goal to introduce a love of school and a love of learning. I love my students’ curiosity, their trust, watching them learn and grow, and I love the happiness they bring to me on a daily basis. I know…that’s a lot of love, I am lucky.</p>
<p>Teaching has been a perfect career for me. Most of my time working in special ed was before my own children were born. When they were 4 and 6, I started working in the JrK-12 school that they attend/attended. I have been able to work and be with my kids. The best of everything!</p>
<p>I know my mom sure was grateful for the private school tuition break for kids of faculty.</p>