Child Called It

This past week I have sat down with my supervising teacher and asked her a series of questions. The basis of the questions were, what do you like about teaching, what do you not like about teaching, and what it takes to become a teacher. Mrs.Olsen was kind and courteously to answer my questions throughly.

Mrs.Olsen enjoys many aspects of the job. As a teacher her favorite part of being a teacher is that each school year begins with a fresh start. She enjoys setting goals, and having an evaluation of success such as grades and ISTEP. She also enjoys the fact that there is an ending date to each school year. She enjoys the fact that many of her family members are stuck in jobs where there is little change in activity, assignment and personnel. This is never true for teachers because the get the months of June, July, and August off every year. She also enjoys the fact that if she is ever frustrated with her job there is always someone who is having or has had the same problem as she has.

Having the responsibility of being a teacher also has some down sides. Mrs.Olsen has a hard time with students who reach the middle school level and still cannot read. She also has problems with student who cannot socialize well with their peers, or have other personal problems which keep them from enjoying the feeling of accomplishment and success. She is also very upset with her school's guidance counselor situation. She feels that having only one counselor for 800 students is outrageous especially when they keep that one counselor busy with administrative duties. Another drawback to teaching in the history department is students are required to test out of basic English and math through the ISTEP program. Many history teachers find that it is harder for students to take history seriously because it is not technically required in school. Teachers sometimes have to make an effort in getting students to pay attention to history.

Mrs.Olsen