Ten Reasons to Love Being a Teacher
In this season of love and compassion, are you giving yourself the same love and appreciation as you give others?
As every teacher knows, education can be a complicated field. And while the challenges and roadblocks are real, today we want to celebrate the reasons we love being teachers!
Let’s connect over our shared love for the art of teaching, the impact we make, and those fabulous students we get to build a classroom community with.
I’m sharing some of the things I love most about being a teacher, and I’d love to hear any additional things you love about being a teacher in the comments!
10 Reasons to Love Being a Teacher
Let’s start with the 10 reasons, and then dive into how we can build our joy in the classroom and keep the love flowing all school year long!
- Flexibility – One of the best parts about being a teacher is the ability to be flexible with your lesson-planning, using both your passions and your students’ interests to bring learning to life every day in your classroom!
- Celebrating achievements and milestones – There’s always something to celebrate with your students, from improved literacy scores to losing teeth! Your students are constantly meeting new standards and achieving their individual or classroom goals, and getting to celebrate them is an awesome part of this job!
- Variety – No two days are the same in a classroom! It’s impossible to get bored as a teacher because there’s always a new challenge, new goal, or new topic to dive into. In fact, most jobs seem unbearably boring after being a teacher.
- All the growth – Your students grow so much through the year – emotionally, physically, and academically! I love how being around so much growth keeps me feeling motivated, refreshed, and in a growth mindset, too.
- Learning – There’s the joy of learning that you see in your students and the learning you inevitably do each year. Every classroom is different, so even after 15 or 20 years of teaching, you’ll still learn something new from your next bunch of students. Many adults don’t get the chance to access their love of learning or inspire others to learn in their job.
- Fun – Being a teacher is fun! You can bring laughter and a sense of playfulness into nearly anything you teach. You’re not stuck in a boring, corporate office – you can create a fun classroom environment that keeps you feeling light and energized throughout the year.
- Impact – No other job makes a difference in a child’s life like a teacher. Your work, energy, and skills are actively creating the next generation, and they will remember you for the rest of their lives. When things get challenging, remembering the genuine impact you make is enough to remind you of why you truly do love this job.
- Relationships – You get to build meaningful, individual relationships with your students each year – sharing jokes, relating to their personalities, and creating important connections. Outside of your own classroom, you also get to forge life-long relationships with other teachers and staff in your building. Nothing brings you together like making it through a school year!
- Creativity – Sure, there are standards to follow, but you can be as creative as you want in how you deliver information and shape lessons. I love how being a teacher has expanded my creativity (and creative problem-solving skills!).
- Purpose – Being a teacher is one of the most important jobs in the world. The sense of purpose you carry with you as a teacher is unlike anything else. Teaching is more than a job, it’s a calling.
How to Love Being a Teacher All Year
It’s easy to feel the love of this job during Teacher Appreciation Week or on other special holidays, but how do you keep the love of your job flowing all year long?
Here are a few tricks and strategies you can try:
- Build a “sunshine” folder: Keep sweet notes, drawings, compliments, or other positive mementos in a file folder in your desk. Anytime you’re having a tough day, pull it out and remind yourself of the impact you’re making and how much others appreciate what you’re doing.
- Write it down: At the end of every day, write down one positive memory, experience, or moment on a little piece of paper. Fold the paper up and add it to a mason jar or container. Do this every day (or as often as you can!) throughout the year, and then next school year start or end your day by reading one of your happy memories.
- Limit venting: Everyone loves (and needs) a good venting sesh with other educators or friends. It’s good to have these safe outlets to share when you’re feeling frustrated or angry. Just don’t let these vent sessions go on forever or you’ll end up feeling worse than you did when you started. Agree to a set amount of time, usually 5 to 10 minutes, to vent and then move on to finding solutions or focusing on your next steps forward.
Finally, remember that it’s not realistic to love your job every minute of every day. You will have challenging moments and tough days. But intentionally focusing on what you love about teaching, and consistently building a culture of love and positivity in your classroom will not only help you enjoy your job more, it will benefit your students, too!
Building the Love in Your Classroom
There are so many more reasons than the 10 I’ve shared here, and I’d love to hear what you love the most about being a teacher.
As you work to continue building a positive culture of love and community in your classroom, you will love using this free resource to support you and your students.
Click here to download 10 Ways to Create a Positive Classroom Community Guide now >> HERE!
