Chapter 1: Becoming a Teacher

Pros:

• Most teachers say they want to teach because they care about children and youth and believe they can make a difference in the lives of their students.
• I truly believe that I will be able to impact student's lives by becoming a teachers. I am very excited to help them become better at math and share my life experiences with them.
• Excellent teachers hardly ever stop thinking about the subjects they teach.
• I love math so much that I think about it all day. I try to connect some sort of situation to math or physics so I can understand it better. As a teacher I believe I will be able to help students make connections between the real world and the math they are learning.
• By 2012 around 700,000 teachers—almost one of four current teachers—are projected to retire.
• Because math is an under covered subject area for many schools across the country, I am not worried about finding a job. However, I would like to teach in Maine because I love it here and I received the Educators for Maine scholarship loan. That requires I teach in Maine for the next four years after I graduate so my loan is forgiven in full.

Cons:

• Teaching, at first, does not pay well.
• This is troubling to me. I am extremely excited to become a teacher; however, I am disappointed in the pay. I know I will be doing what I love for the rest of my life, and that in and of itself is pay enough. 
• Some students seem to resist learning.
• It will seem difficult at first to get students to stay on task, but I hope with more experience I will be able to use many "tricks" to solve the problem.
• The assessments that need to be passed include standardized paper and pencil tests, portfolios, case studies, student teaching or internship, comprehensive examinations at the end of the program and projects.
• There are a very large number of exams and requirements that future teachers need to pass in order to become a teacher. I am a bit overwhelmed and apprehensive about it. I know; however, that I will be able to work hard and pass the requirements no matter what.