We All Had Our Favorite Teachers
I got into teaching in 2005. My allergies to cats had worsened and it was becoming difficult to remain a residential plumber. It seemed that 50% of homes either had cats or at one time had had cats. I was looking to supplement my plumbing work with some substitute teaching at the local tech school. I went there, was recognized by the Director who was a former builder, and was offered a full time teaching position that day. I was 49 years old.
It took a while, but 6 months later I became "Mr. LeVine" and I was teaching plumbing full time. I learned a lot my first year and I changed schools my second year when a really good opportunity became available at a top tech school. It was there that I learned the most about curriculum.
I spent the next 13 years teaching plumbing. To anyone who thinks a majority of teachers rush out of the building right behind the students, you've been misinformed. I regularly got to school 30 minutes before the students and left for home an hour after they were gone. A good portion of my colleagues were doing the same. There were times I stayed at the school well after 6:00 pm to correct tests, enter grades and prepare for the next day/week. When I was building a new plumbing shop I was at the school till 11:00 PM a couple times a week, and on a regular basis.
On normal days I'd get home and create a new test or lesson plan until late in the evening. I spent summers taking classes, getting certifications and writing more curriculum, all things I did to become a better teacher, all unpaid.
Teachers earn between $30,000 and $80,000 dollars a year and are on the same schedule as students, plus a couple days. Non-teachers point to vacations, summers off, benefits, and retirement when criticizing teachers, but I can tell you as a former teacher, the profession is incredibly demanding both in and out of the classroom.
Administrators have pressure on them from the state, school committees and parents to run successful schools and in order to keep their jobs, they put pressure on teachers to do the same. There are numerous observations, some announced and some unannounced, and although they're only a snapshot of a teacher’s performance, they can result in poor evaluations and potential termination. Teachers must be on their game every day. I learned early on that preparation is key. Students can tell when a teacher is unprepared.
As much as my focus was on teaching plumbing, I would be remiss if I didn't mention discipline. In vocational classes with up to 21 students, a lot for one shop teacher, there were some whose focus was on a career in plumbing, but unfortunately the majority of students were there for the social and those are the students that take up a great deal of a teacher's time. Even with Deans, whose job it is to address behavior and determine consequences, it's not enough. Too often students have little or no consequences for their actions and teachers are forced to deal directly with students in order to control their classrooms.
In the end, the job is about appreciation, or in some cases, the lack there of. In my case, I came to terms with my job by doing it totally for my students. There was no other reason. It wasn't salary, vacations, summers off, benefits, or retirement. I was deeply committed to giving all my students an opportunity to feel comfortable in my plumbing shop and to be successful.
There are many aspects of teaching that make life unbearable at times, but the satisfaction a teacher gets when a former student acknowledges them for the positive impact they had on their life, is priceless.