Friday, November 30, 2007 5:56 AM
by
jtspencer
Does teaching make you happy?
It's six fifty-six and I have no idea what I'm teaching first hour. It has to do with the sixties and the counter-culture, but I'm still undecided about how it will flesh out. I'm sure I have something typed up in the lesson plan binder (the one where I now have to print two separate copies - one for the school secretary and one for my classroom). I am stressed out. I can't keep all the projects, events and activities straight in my head. On paper it's all great, but in real-life it's so messy.
So, I flip to the Time Magazine cover (I hate the fact that I now associate current events with using the restroom) and read about happiness. It turns out that teachers are among the happiest people in America. The only ones who beat us are clergy and firefighters. Although, I would argue that, in many cases, we function as clergy (praying for students, saying "Oh God" quite frequently) and given the propensity of students to set off smoke bombs and fire crackers in the restrooms, I would argue that we occasionally play the role of fire fighters.
It turns out that special education teachers are the happiest, followed by elementary ed teachers and finally those of us in secondary ed. I can believe this. I simply can't be that perky. I've seen elementary teachers and I've watched them get into heated debates about the best way to create bulletin boards. I'll just never be that type of teacher. I don't own any sweaters. Period. Especially the type with puffy paint or kittys or Christmas trees.
I don't think teachers are always happy. The truth is that it is a stressful job. The paperwork is insane. The politics can be brutal. Classroom management, even for the best teachers, can be a war of attrician. So, why are we happy? I would argue that there are a few reasons:
1. We have autonomy. Most Americans don't get up in the morning and say, "What will I do at work?" I get to plan my entire day (albeit around a rigid schedule)
2. We can be creative. Whether it's the teachers all excited about bulletin boards or the act of designing one's own curriculum, teachers get to be creative.
3. It's challenging. Few teachers feel bored at work. Few accountants don't feel bored at work.
4. It's meaningful. There is a deeper sense of purpose in what we do.
So, as I think about all of those things that make our job great, I am struck that "happiness" is not the right word. "Contentment" is more like it. I am also struck by the fact that our educational system works against those four things. We teach kids that they need to learn so they can go to college so they can get a job that pays good money. That's at least what we tell kids in the urban, low-income district. We even bring in athletes (who, by the way are toward the bottom on the happiness scale) as motivational speakers.
In the meantime, the standardized educational system prevents autonomy by using a one-size-fits-all model that is so teacher-centered it leads to a forced dependency. We stifle creativity but dismissing it as "extra fluff." We drop the curriculum down to a lower level to make sure no children are left behind, but then it fails to be challenging for those at the top. Then, we hand them stacks of worksheets that are irrelevant and don't meet the need for ending.
I wonder what it would mean if we asked the questions: What is the good life? and What leads to happiness? then we tailored our educational philosophy to fit those.