Teaching High School English
—Teaching High School English—
In a word: Difficult. So much today competes for our eyeballs. If, as an adult, you’re often distracted by your device, or find yourself doom scrolling on social media for hours on end, just know it’s 10x worse for the average high school student. The phone is a constant battle. They can’t be away from it; they’re addicted, straight up. That’s what we’re up against as teachers.
Despite the phone battle, I love my job. I’m fortunate enough to have found a career that suits me and my interests, but also offers myriad intrinsic benefits. (10-years-ago-Taylor would’ve never picture himself as a graduate-degree-wielding educator. No, post-undergrad, I was set on pursuing improv comedy. Perhaps, someday, I give it a go.
As a teacher, I feel like I’m making a difference. Not every day, but most days. I get to build rapport and relationship with students and watch them grow over time. I get to incorporate what I do in my free time—writing, music, reading—into my pedagogy and establish with students real-world, relevant connections. (Whether or not they care is a different story.) I get to read and discuss great works of literature, analyze rhetorically famous speeches and letters, critique college application essays, host club meetings in my classroom, and attend sporting events and dances. It’s a fun job, a dynamic job, a meaningful job. And it’s not without its extrinsic perks.
Summer vacation. This is the big one. The ever-constant rejoinder against teachers when they complain about how hard they work every day of the school year. Yes, we do work hard all year, and yes, summer break is the best. What other career allows you to relax for two months, do what you want when you want with the security in knowing that your job is waiting for you, ready to reset with new “employees” every year? You also get all the breaks honeycombed in the school year: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring. That’s a month right there. And all Federal Holidays. You get those off, too. If you’ve never before been a teacher (and I mean like a real, credentialed teacher, not home school, or some other volunteer thing) you know how thankful you are for each break. Yes, it’s a lot of time off, but it’s needed. And dare I say warranted.
I’ve been a professional educator for 7 years. I’m credentialed in English, which despite the heavy grading load, is the best subject :). (More on this in a later post.) Some days are tough, but most days aren’t. It’s a great job that I’m lucky to have. If you find yourself considering a career change, drop me a line. I’d be happy to chat.
That’s all for now.
TJH -- 11.15.2023