Running head: FINAL ESSAY 1
Final Essay
Liberty University
FINAL ESSAY
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As a teacher you will face many challenges as well as rewards. In this essay I will
discuss three challenges and three rewards in a teaching career that most teachers will encounter.
To begin, learning to adjust to new situations, meeting curriculum requirements, and learning to
accept constructive criticism and advise from seasoned teachers are all challenges teachers will
most likely face at some point in their professional careers. Along with the challenges comes
many rewards, including being a positive influence in many young people’s lives, having a
decent paying job while being able to do what you enjoy, and earning the satisfaction of
fulfilling your life’s calling. There are so many rewards as well as challenges in teaching it is
hard to pick just three of each, I could go on and on about the millions or struggles on teaching
as well as the billions of rewards but there is only so much you can put into words to explain
how fulfilling teaching can be. So, let us dive into the wonderful world of teaching and decide if
teaching is the career for you or if you should try something else.
When considering a teaching career, you should assess your ability to adjust to new
situations and take criticism and advise from others because lets face everyone including your
future co-workers are going to have an opinion about how and what you should teach. On top of
opinions you’re going to face teaching children with disabilities that effect their learning
capabilities and you are still going to be responsible for their education just like every other
student in your class. This means that you must learn what works for them and their needs.
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Which will most likely require you to seek out advise from a seasoned teacher or a teacher that
works specifically works with children that have special needs to effectively teach those students
that need a little extra help in getting to the understanding point of learning. Even the
government is going to have an opinion about it so if you can’t handle criticism turn back now
and choose a different path. That leads us to the many curriculum requirements that the local,
state, and federal governments have many laws and regulations about. Curriculum is “all the
organized and intended experiences of the student for which the school accepts responsibility”
(Ryan & Cooper 2016). Standardized testing is the most common way that the government
assess the effectiveness of teachers as well as curriculum. Since the No Child Left Behind Act
(2001) and Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), standardized testing is more intense and
prominent in public schools to assess the curriculum and its effectiveness as well as how well it
is being taught by teachers and what needs to be changed. The NCLB act is “the name of the
2001 reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act. NCLB adds many new
requirements for states and school districts” (Ryan, Cooper, & Bolick 2016). “The main goal of
NCLB is to close the “achievement gap” between the students who perform well in schools and
those who perform poorly” (Ryan, Cooper, & Bolick). Teachers are subjected to criticism and
opinions now more than ever and from the looks of things testing, curriculum, and criticism are
only going to get more intense as the years progress and more education reform laws are Passed.
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Challenges in teaching are endless because you are shaping the minds of future doctors,
teachers, lawyers, etc., but the rewards out weigh the challenges a million to one because while
it is difficult to teach it is amazing to watch a child learn and grow. With that being said, let us
discuss the rewards of teaching I believe to be the biggest rewards on the profession. First and
foremost, having a positive influence in a young person’s life is the most important and fulfilling
part of teaching. Seeing a child succeed with your guidance is all any teacher could as for and
being an effective teacher allows you to earn this reward daily. You may be asking, what makes
an effective teacher? An effective teacher makes quick decisions on the spot based on the
situation and the student rather than the lesson plan. Effective teachers need to be able to make
lesson plans but also have the ability to change the way they explain or teach the topic based on
the students and their needs. If a student doesn’t understand the topic at hand the teacher is
responsible for coming up with a different way of explaining the subject so that the student
learns and doesn’t fall behind. Public school’s curriculum is often set up to build off itself
so, if a student misses out on a particular topic it can cause a struggle for them in future subject
matter. Effective teachers also possess the ability to multitask and take advise from co-workers
and administrators even when it may be challenging. Effective teachers are effective because
they get to know their students and work around their needs and abilities. Another reward of
teaching is having a stable job and earning a decent paycheck while being able to do the thing
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you love the most. While teacher don’t make as much as doctors their service to the community
and the country are just as important, after all if we didn’t have teachers who would teach
doctors the basic knowledge they need to get into med school and become doctors. Teachers are
often times underappreciated and underpaid but it is all worth it at the end of the day because as
a teacher you will be able to pay the bills and do what you love Finally, the last reward that is
very important in a teaching career is the satisfaction of fulfilling your calling. Whether you feel
that it is a religious calling or just the feeling that you are meant to be a teacher it is a wonderful
filling when you feel like you have found your purpose in life. Personally, I feel that God
intended for me to be a teacher so her I am trying to pursue that calling and if I am being
honest, I have dreamed of being a teacher from a very young age. As most children do, I
changed my dream many times, but I always imagined myself as a teacher. In my middle school
years, I wanted to be an FBI Field agent because I became obsessed with crime dramas on TV
like CSI, NCIS, and Criminal Minds. Later in my early high school years, I found myself with
an interest in midwifery and nursing, mostly because I thought that it would please my mother.
Then in my sophomore year, I found an interest in law, but it was very short lived. By the end of
my sophomore year I was back to teaching and it stuck, so here I am, a freshman in college
pursuing a teaching career and loving every minute of it.
In conclusion, Teaching is both challenging and rewarding but it is all around wonderful
and fulfilling. The challenging parts are rewarding in their own way you just have to find the
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positive in the struggle. The rewards are plentiful and well worth the struggle, hard work, and
effort. Aristotle once said, “Those who know, do. Those that understand teach.”
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References
Ryan, K., Cooper, J., & Bolick, C.M. (2016) Those Who Can, Teach. 14th ED, Cengage
Learning.
