Why Do You Teach?
By Aleta Margolis
In this blog, Aleta Margolis discusses the problem of the negative perception of the teaching profession and how to change it through “Teacher’s personal stories”. The myriad challenges cannot be denied, and the negative comments from former teachers on social media have exacerbated this negative attitude. This can even discourage new prospects from entering the profession. Margolis writes that “We can’t build respect for the teaching profession simply by pointing out how teaching is broken.” A fatalistic attitude which assumes “that problems are insurmountable and that change efforts are bound to fail” is self-fulfilling.
To counter this, Margolis has listed the positive impact that teachers can have on their students not only in teaching the content but also social skills and citizenship. She quotes positive responses like the following from teachers who answered the question of why they teach.
“‘I teach because I can’t stop myself [from] being in a place where I can do something, and I know that will make a difference!’”
Margolis also suggests that stories about why teachers are leaving the profession should be balanced with stories about why teachers stay. To further this change, she founded the organization, “Center for Inspired Teaching” which has a weekly Monday morning positive newsletter and free materials.
At the age of 12, Lina Zapata came to the United States with her mother. She attended school in New York, but struggled because the help that she needed was lacking. However, this inspired her to become a teacher so that she could support students like herself. As a Spanish teacher for over twenty years, she has guided numerous students as they study Spanish to also learn about and respect the culture. Her classroom is a comfortable place for her students, and they appreciate the fact that she was once an ML like them.
