“Teaching is a dying profession.” My phone screen blinks; I am a seventh-grader scrolling through social media, where someone has posted an infographic on the importance of teachers on their Instagram story. I roll my eyes and scroll past, uninterested in the fact displayed before me. 

Now, almost six years later, working with kids is the only job that has ever interested me for more than a month, the only profession that has ever been more than a hyper fixation in my mind. Now, and only now, after nearly two years of working with kids, I have remembered the infographic I saw when I was twelve. 

When people think of the jobs they want to have when they’re older, many do not think of being a teacher as one of the jobs they’d aim for. In a 2021 study asking teenagers (13-17) what jobs they wanted to have when they were older, teaching did not appear on the graph. But why is this?

Speaking personally, there were a few reasons I didn’t want to be a teacher until a year ago; one of the main reasons is that I’ve always had a tough time academically in school. However, I now realize that having that perspective and becoming a teacher, in some ways, gives me an upper hand. I have also watched my mom (although she LOVES her students and her job) struggle through hard years of teaching, challenging students, and above all else, I have watched her bleary-eyed grading papers from 4 A.M. – to 7 P.M. on the weekend. 

But, perhaps the most prominent reason why being a teacher never crossed my mind until recently is that growing up, somebody always conveyed to me and my classmates that you can change most people’s lives, not by being a teacher, but by being a doctor, nurse, or a soldier in the army. 

By no means am I trying to say that those aren’t important jobs. But, the truth is there would be none of those professions without teachers, which, in my mind, makes them the most important job of all. 

When researching education before applying to schools, I saw that since 1970, the number of bachelor’s degrees in education has plummeted by almost 50%.  

Now, I digress, the actual job of teaching is becoming more and more difficult. School shootings are on the rise, you can be canceled for the books you teach and the lessons you speak, and the salary of teachers is not nearly enough to cover what they actually deserve to be paid, or in many cases, even enough to live on in the area where you work. 

Sarah Chernoff ‘23, a freshman at Penn State (University Park), is studying early childhood education. “Teachers are severely underfunded but they are very needed. I want to be able to educate the next generation of students and help them get to where they want to go.”

When I applied to schools for Early Childhood Education, I was aware of the negative aspects of the teaching field. But, in terms of actual passion, I have never felt more raw joy than my days spent in the hot sun, watching four-year-olds learn how to swim, tie their shoes, and watch pure happiness in children making friends for the first time.

Chernoff said, “I have had so many amazing teachers and despite all the challenges they persevered and made sure I got the best education possible.” She continued, “ I still remember my kindergarten teacher to this day. She had such a huge impact on me and started my academic journey on a positive note. I remember always wanting to be just like her when I grew up.”

It is not often that we as individuals are able to make an actual difference in the lives of the people around us. Sure, help your friend with their homework; they may remember it until their next assignment. Cook someone’s lunch; they are thankful until it’s time for dinner. But teach a three-and-a-half-year-old to put on sunscreen, and though they may not remember you, they will remember how to put on sunscreen for the rest of their lives. 

Before I discovered working with kids, I was completely lost in passion. I was struggling in school, my anxiety about where my life was going to go was at an all time high, and I had an constantly overwhelming sense of dread.

I know that not everyone will want to work with kids, but, if you have no idea what you want to do with your life, I urge you to try. Babysit, work at a camp or your temple or church, maybe hang out with your younger cousins for an hour. 

You might be like me, and realize that you have finally found something you can confidently say you can do for the rest of your life.

We have no idea what the state of the world will be in twenty years, so wouldn’t you like to be directly responsible for building the people who will be responsible for it?