Over the past year, EdSurge has been reaching out to students enrolled in teacher preparation programs to understand who is in the teaching profession today and why.
In each profile, we hand the microphone to an aspiring educator to explain, in their own words, what drew them to this career path and why they stuck with it.
The series, called “America’s Future Teachers,” comes at a time when the teaching profession is in crisis. Many current teachers report high levels of stress and dissatisfaction in their roles. Some have left the field. School districts are often Can't fill all vacant positions, or not being able to fill them with qualified candidates. And the rate of people enrolling in teacher training programs has He fell precipitously Over the past two decades, the number of new teachers has been too low to meet the student population. The U.S. Department of Education even began running television ads to encourage people to enter the profession.
This complex landscape only makes the prospects for those who have decided to pursue a career in teaching anyway even more interesting.
The 10 future teachers we interviewed come from different geographies, backgrounds, educational experiences and motivations. Each story, each person, is unique. Some took a traditional path, from high school straight to university and then into the classroom. Others found teaching as a second career, after trying their hand at baking, in the corporate world or in the mental health field. Many have known for a long time that this is their calling, while others needed more time and perspective to realise it.
However, several themes emerged. Many of these findings, which we outline below, are consistent with those found in a recent study on what it would take to attract Gen Z to the teaching profession. This is consistent, as most (though not all) of the people we interviewed for this series are part of Gen Z.
1. Relationships are key
Time and again, preservice teachers told us they are drawn to the field because of the relationships they are able to build and maintain with students. They see that connection between students and teachers as central to their work and critical to helping students succeed.
AJ Jacobs from Rock Hill, South Carolina shared that the quote, “No meaningful learning can occur without meaningful relationships” is what motivates him.
Sarah Cardoza from Eagle River, Alaska, talked about how, for her, “outcome” matters much more than “income.”
“The common thread throughout all of this,” said Joshua Davenport of Knoxville, Tennessee, “is making connections.”
2. Many set their sights on teaching from an early age
When we asked future educators to pinpoint the moment they realized they wanted to be teachers, most shared a memory from their childhood or adolescence that cemented their desire. Even those who didn’t become teachers right away (they started their careers in other fields for various reasons) had identified teaching as their preferred career path early on.
Pricila Cano Padron of Dallas, Texas, remembers her “wake-up call” in high school, when she helped tutor classmates who were learning English in math and reading (she is bilingual). Janae Montgomery of Brusly, Louisiana, doesn’t remember a particular moment, but says she always remembers wanting to be a teacher when she grew up. Jacobs said she decided to become an elementary school teacher after seeing the passion her mother, another teacher, had for her students.
In fact, many of the teaching candidates we interviewed have close relatives in that field, and that exposure seems to have made a positive impression on them.
3. Alternative routes expand access
About half of the people we interviewed were taking advantage of one of the growing number of alternative and flexible ways to teach.
Several of them were pursuing teaching as a second career. Davenport had worked for more than a decade in the mental health field and was enrolled in a Grow your own program that allowed her to earn her teaching license while working at a school. Annie Talley Ochoa of Cupertino, California, earned her degree while substitute teaching, after years in the Marine Corps and then at a retail company. Cardoza was taking online classes to finish her undergraduate teaching degree after stints as a pastry chef and orthodontic assistant. Montgomery was able to continue in her paraprofessional role at her school while earning her degree.
The expansion of earning-while-learning options to enter teaching is making the career available to many people who otherwise would not have had the time or money available.
4. Lifelong learners become teachers
Most of the student teachers we spoke to loved school and considered themselves lifelong learners. And they want to pass on that same passion for learning to their students.
“I want to rekindle the fire — or light the fire, for some people — of education,” said Riley Campbell of Washington, D.C. “If students find joy in learning at a very young age, then they will find joy in learning when they are older, and then we can continue the cycle of learning.”
Caleb Brown of Clemson, South Carolina, believes that seeing himself as a “forever learner” will only help him better serve the kids in his classes: “Even as an educator, the learning process never stops. I can learn from students as much as they can learn from me.”
5. Their concerns run the gamut
We asked each future teacher what worries or makes them think about the profession they have chosen. On this question, more than any other, their answers were very varied.
Some said they are concerned about low salaries and that during their teaching placements they have been around teachers who are burned out and ready to leave. They wonder about the long-term sustainability of the profession.
A pair of teaching candidates, including Brown, pointed to the politicization of education and book bans as concerns. Cardoza was concerned about unpredictable funding for schools and how cuts not only affect teachers' jobs but also the quality of students' educational experiences.
Many teacher candidates are concerned about technology, not so much for its applications in teaching and learning, but for its impact on children's learning and development, especially excessive use of screens and social media.
“There might come a time when they compete with their iPad to see who can give them the biggest hit of dopamine,” said Zachary Farley of Corona, California. “I think about that a lot.”
Cano Padrón said she fears for her students’ safety as gun violence goes unchecked. Some, including Viridiana Martinez of Berkeley, California, said that even during their teaching practice semesters, they could see that students are struggling to recover from the pandemic.
But those concerns pale in comparison to the hope that students instill in them, and that is what drives them to keep going.
“At the end of the day, kids are kids and they need teachers, they need guidance and they need people who are going to put time and effort into them,” Cardoza said. “And it’s worth it. You can see it in the classroom when you make those gains. It’s worth it.”
