Why I started teaching

There’s very little that can be said about teaching that hasn’t been said before. The sense of accomplishment when you’ve finally earned your students’ trust and respect, the feeling of achievement on having a breakthrough with a student and several other victories are championed by teachers all over the world. There’s pros and cons to the profession like any other. However, what’s most important about making that decision to give teaching a chance is reflection and introspection. While there’s inarguably several stages of being a teacher that will test your capabilities as a human being, here’s a few reasons you should commit yourself to the task of educating the world.Learning And Updating Yourself

“A lamp can never light another lamp unless if continues to burn its own flame; a teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself”.-R.N. Tagore

Teaching is redundant without learning. This includes the teacher being privy to learning new things him/herself. The fact that you, as a person, never get to stop learning, updating and keeping up with the times makes you part of a stronger, smarter, exclusive race that not a lot of people have the privilege of boasting about. It means you’re constantly improving, constantly working with minds newer and younger than yours which keeps your brain from losing its edge. Being around Kids

Being around kids puts you in a very advantageous position to watch the future minds of the country pursue their dreams and take flight into the world. You get the best seat in the room as you watch them journey into the world of knowledge, conquering one skill at a time under your tutelage. You are also granted the opportunity to pick them up when they’re down and guide them when they’re astray.Helping PeopleThis one’s a no-brainer. It is widely accepted that teaching is a humanitarian mission. You are helping people and making a change in the world (hopefully positive, fingers crossed). It’s one of the most underrated joys of the profession that you can come home from work knowing that you’re teaching students of different ages everything from adapting to the ground below their feet to taking flight into the big world out there.Sense of PurposeYou get to wake up in the morning everyday with a sense of purpose. You know your mission and to have it accomplished you have to come in everyday with a game plan to make a difference. The only way is to have no zero days and make sure you can make everyone count.Sharing Knowledge

For this one, we’re going to have to assume that you’re a good person with solid beliefs and rationality. If not, that needs to change. Let’s just assume that you’re a great individual person who believes in good values for now. Now imagine the ability of being able to share your world view with countless young minds. It’s one of the most rewarding parts of your job despite how difficult it may feel from time to time.Shaping the Future

This one’s a doozy of a privilege. You are given the chance to use your brush on the canvas of future minds, painting ideas and thoughts by instilling the right beliefs in them. You get to play a part in helping them prioritise what they seem fit and care about the right things. You basically have the overarching responsibility and the privilege of shaping a responsible individual and sending him/her out into the world. Now that’s humbling to say the least.AutonomyWhile you don’t yet have the authority to teach your students what you want, you do have the perks of deciding how you want to teach them. You can source from all the books in the world at your own discretion and get to depths of a concept and make sure they understand it’s connotation and application at every level. You can even shape the way they understand the concept and apply it based on the merits you have presented to them.Sense of Belonging

You don’t have to identify with a big greedy corporate machine that you promised you wouldn’t join when you were a fun-loving hippie teen. You don’t have to flog your wares or tap dance to the beat of a smarmy conglomerate. You get to belong to a set of students who have been connected so deeply with you that they’ve surpassed respect and trust and moved on to possessiveness, love and attachment. Isn’t that the purest, most beautiful belonging you can imagine? Additional Perks:Despite having to correct a bundle of term papers at the end of the year, you can treat yourself to long holidays at the end of each term. This is something that teaching shares with no other job in common. There is also a sense of novelty that’s unique to just your job. That’s because, regardless of good or days, you’ll never have to sit (or suffer) through two identical days in a classroom. Each day comes with its own set of wacky hijinks and zany adventures.