"I am not a babysitter" – Newsweek October 11th

“I am Not a babysitter,” by Heather Robinson

How True! Without teachers, there would be no other professions, yet we are one of the least respected and most underpaid professions in the country. We are often told, wow what you do is so incredible, yet those compliments are said without any true thought or meaning. The woman who wrote this article, Heather Robinson, writes about her family asks her when she is going to get a “real job,” and why she hasn’t tried to move up to administration. They don’t understand that teaching is her passion and that she isn’t doing it for the money or recognition because clearly those two things are not why people go into teaching. 

Personally my favorite part is when people think that teaching is a 9-3 job that has summers off. People don’t realize that there are HOURS of planning and paperwork that are required for every single day in the classroom. And summers off, though that sounds amazing, from most teachers that I have talked to, their summers are spent VERY on. They take classes learning new techniques and ideas for lesson plans, and then by the time those classes are over they are writing up their lesson plans for the new year. This article really explains the struggle that teachers have with earning respect from society. 

At the end of this article, Ms Robinson concludes her opinions by saying that she is not writing this article to ask for higher salaries, improved benefits, or even to get parents involved. She wrote this article because she feels that our society NEEDS to put a higher value on the teaching profession. 

As education students, we must realize the importance of what she is saying. We deserve the recognition and with that recognition can come better teachers, more money from the government, and with all of that can come better educated students.