By Faviola Robles

We don’t ever really think of how our teachers came to be where they are.

We don’t think they have a life outside of school; we arrive at school and they are just here.  It is interesting to learn of their journey—whether they always wanted to become a teacher or, like English teacher Matthew Couch, a space cowboy. For numerous students, high school will be coming to an end soon and many do not know what they want to become. Several don’t even know what they want for dinner tonight. Not so long ago, our teachers were in our same shoes.  English teacher Angela Pera always dreamed of being a teacher. “When I was a little girl, I absolutely thought I was going to be a teacher. I adored all of my teachers in elementary—even the mean ones,” said Pera.

Teaching is one of the hardest jobs. It is different every day. Teachers have to deal with so many different personalities, so many attitudes and yet, teachers have the patience to stay and help and push students to achieve their absolute best. With all these struggles, why do these teachers teach? For many teachers, what they love about their job is when students finally understand something; when the student’s face is lit up with the expression of “Hey, I know this, and it is easy.”

“I am reminded about how great being a teacher is when I see a kid finally get it and feel success. I love the feeling of seeing someone else succeed. I also cherish the relationships that I get to make. I meet lots of people and really love making new connections,” says social studies teacher Polly Furray.

Then there is that defining moment that tells a teacher that they will stay in teaching. Matthew Couch recalls this moment in time, “The moment when I knew I would stay in teaching was in year three when I looked around the room and all of my sixth graders were quietly working on a writing assignment. I realized I had the potential to be pretty good at the whole teaching thing.”

There are countless other stories of why teachers teach. Everyone has their own story of how they began teaching. Next time you see your teachers, ask them why they teach. It will change your perspective and give you much more insight for all the things they do.