The most compelling reason given for becoming a teacher involves the interpersonal interactions resulting from continuous contact with children and young people. Specifically, teachers mention that they like to work with children and youth, make a difference in their lives, and see the look of joy when a student finally "gets it." Reasons such as these are given by teachers who view teaching as a
special mission in our society and consider teaching a valuable service and a way to make a lasting contribution to society. One teacher explained her career choice by saying, "I want to be a difference in somebody's life. I want to mean something...change something. I would choose teaching again in a minute if I had the chance. It's what I want to do." Other reasons people mention when discussing the decision to be a teacher include ease of entry, exit, and reentry into the profession, flexibility of time, and material benefits. The teaching career is accessible to individuals who start their careers in other fields and develop a second career. Parents enjoy the hours that parallel their children's hours, including the time off during holidays and in the summer. Satisfying salaries, job security, and benefits also attract individuals into teaching careers. Nevertheless, without fail, surveys continue to demonstrate that teachers who indicate that they are not likely to leave the profession give "love of teaching" as the reason they will continue. Perhaps due to the influences of family, teaching often continues as a family tradition. One future teacher in five reports a mother or father who taught at one time or is still teaching. Parents serve as models and have a great influence on their children's decision to become teachers. As one future teacher wrote, "I never had the opportunity to have my Dad as a teacher, but I have always heard wonderful things about him from his exstudents....I guess you could say I am in the 'family' business." Despite the statistics, some parents may not support their children's decision to become teachers. Many beginning teachers report that family members tried to dissuade them from entering the teaching profession. Future teachers are often aware of the negative perceptions associated with a teaching career but are not daunted by them. One future teacher admitted, "When I made it to college—graduating at the top of my high school class—my whole family said I shouldn't go into teaching. 'You're too smart to teach,' they said. 'You need to be a doctor or lawyer and make some money.' I was the only one in my extended family to ever get a degree, so everyone was pushing me to do different things. I looked at business, but nothing excited me like being a teacher." The main idea of this passage is
a. There are many negative perceptions associated with a teaching career.
b. People enter the teaching profession for a variety of reasons.
c. "Love of teaching" is the most common reason given for becoming a teacher.
d. Some parents do not support their children's decision to become teachers.
b
You might also like to view...
All it takes is a few nightly news stories showing young bodies being wheeled out of schools on gurneys to convince the world that violence in our schools is increasing. Certainly, it is shocking when a couple of adolescents open fire in a school with semiautomatic weapons. It is shocking when a sixteen-year-old in Pearl, Mississippi, stabs his mother to death and then shoots two classmates to
death and wounds several others. When adolescents are depicted on the evening news, it is often in the context of violence, particularly at schools. In fact, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, crime in the nation's schools has been decreasing since 1993. Victimization rates at schools have dropped from 48 crimes per 1,000 students to 43 crimes per 1,000 students. The fact is, only one-half of 1 percent of juveniles are arrested for violent crime in any given year today. School shootings are still extremely rare; they are not on the increase. In the 1992-1993 school year, there were fifty-five school-associated violent deaths. In the 2001-2002 school year, there were only four. Indeed, adolescents are not really killing other adolescents at an increasing rate. They rarely kill one another. Less than 3 percent of homicides in the United States involve an individual under the age of eighteen killing another person under eighteen. Nevertheless, Americans believe that juveniles are responsible for 43 percent of all homicides. In fact, they are responsible for only 9 percent. The Wall Street Journal took a poll a few years ago. Seventy-one percent of respondents believed that a killing was likely in their schools. In reality, the chances of that happening are one in a million. Perhaps as a result of a misguided perception about school violence, we are in an era of zero tolerance. Authorities seize not only weapons and illegal drugs at school, but also nail clippers, asthma inhalers, and headgear. Even though less than 1 percent of all violent incidents involving teen-agers occur on school grounds, authorities believe that zero tolerance is necessary. As a consequence, a large number of innocent schoolchildren are being accused of violating the rules. Sometimes, accusations border on the bizarre. In one case, a six-year-old was apprehended for bringing a "weapon" to school. The weapon was a plastic knife given to him by his grandmother so that he could spread peanut butter on his sandwich. The author appears to have bias against a. school children. b. news programs that exaggerate school violence. c. drug rehab programs. d. the Justice Department.
For each italicized word, circle the letter of the correct definition. Retrospect means
a. going forward b. approaching quickly c. looking backward
For each of the following statements, identify the type of "false logic" illustrated: ad hominem,
bandwagon, either-or, hasty generalization, non sequitur, or red herring. The bill sponsored by that committee is immoral. That chairman is having an affair. a. Ad hominem b. Bandwagon c. Non sequitur d. Red herring
"Delight in Disorder"--Robert Herrick The theme of the poem could be paraphrased as:
A. Imperfections and inconsistencies can enhance the appeal of art. B. Clothing which is too perfect is distracting. C. Poetry and women are both lighthearted and playful. D. All of the choices