Grayson Parker

MUED 271

Dr. Maynard

5 October 2020

A Teaching Life Summary

Wow. Just wow. I can’t even begin to touch on how this chapter truly made me feel and

the emotions that it captured. I was immediately struck from the first statistic that it gave us. It

is so hard to read how many teachers leave the profession. The second paragraph hit even

harder. Teaching is not looked at as a “prestigious line of work.” I can’t begin to put into words

how sickening and hurtful that line was to even me. Growing up I always idolized teachers, and

my parents did as well. I guess this information was not the way that my household looked at a

teacher, so this was heart-wrenching to read. I always knew a behind every good teacher was a

true passion, but this made me see it even more.

I loved the point that the author made about teaching not being what we expected once

we become the teacher, and how new teachers are not willing to really bend their expectations

to allow themselves to go on. So many teachers just quit. I think Duke said it exactly right. So

many teachers want control. That is their end goal. I cannot even fathom the thought of that.

Teachers are not there for power (or shouldn’t be). Teachers are put in a classroom to enrich

the lives of our future generations, and in my classroom, students will be there so they may be

uplifted and comfortable with this crazy thing called life. The challenges Duke mentioned hit the

nail on the head, and his remarks on how to get through them are even better. There is hope

for a tomorrow, but it starts with a teacher. Being truly upset by the things that people think
about teachers or even the reasons teachers quit so quickly reassured me that I am ready for

this profession, and I am more than ready to change the lives of students, even if it is just one.