Teachers shape the minds of the next generation and prepare them for future occupations that they might plan to pursue. A student’s education, grades and excitement for a class can depend largely on the teacher who teaches them the subject. But why do teachers choose to teach in the first place?
Kent Bailey, who teaches international relations, human geography, global politics and government at Valley, was interested in the field he currently teaches in before he realized he wanted to teach in the first place. He has been a teacher for 18 years.
“I was a big geography and history nerd growing up,” Bailey said. “I didn’t know I necessarily wanted to be a teacher, but I definitely had the interest.”
There are other instances where, while they still plan on teaching, teachers like Micheal Geaneas planned to teach in a different field.
“My original subject I wanted to teach was science,” Geaneas said. “But there was a shortage of math teachers, so that’s kind of how I came in with math.”
Teaching might come across as a stressful occupation, but there are plenty of joys that come with it.
“I really love students, because students are constantly surprising me,” Susan Magurn, who teaches history and has done so for 25 years, said. “I’ve been in this business for a really long time, and every year I get questions that nobody has ever asked before.”
For other teachers, it’s a bit more complicated as to why they enjoy teaching.
“It used to be that I got to teach subject matters that were interesting to me,” Bailey said. “Now it’s a lot more of trying to get kids to be interested in subject matters, teaching them to pick up skills and things along those lines.”
So, is teaching a worthwhile occupation for those interested? Teachers like Christopher Norman, who teaches economics and world geography, thinks so.
“If you are interested in teaching because you love the subject material, you might find it difficult,” he said. “But if you love the subject material and connecting to people then I absolutely would.”
