R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

During my college career, I had a handful of odd-end jobs. From telemarketing and working in retail to hostessing and scooping up ice cream (CS wouldn't let me wear nail polish so this job was short lived haha) I always had a different perspective on that industry after working in it.

For example, most people can't believe that I lasted as a telemarketer for a record breaking four years. I'll admit telemarketers are quite a nuisance especially during the coveted dinnertime, but I vow to never hang up on a telemarketer again. It's not easy cold calling, let alone asking for money, so the least I can do for my fellow telemarketers is listen. Also, ever since I worked in the restaurant industry and saw what goes on behind the scenes, I feel bad asking "to be moved to a booth or a seat closer to the window" because I know that I probably messed up the servers rotation and their sections.

With that being said, ever since I became a teacher, I now respect what they do even more than I did before. Thanks to TweetDeck, an interesting article about elementary school teachers popped up. Here's the link, but incase you don't check it out, I'll summarize it below:

http://www.careerealism.com/want-to-be-a-teacher-better-read-this-first/

The article basically listed six things to know before going into elementary school education.

1.) If you're expecting you'll feel appreciated every day, think again.

Kids will be kids. They'll say things they don't mean and act like they don't care, but I know that one day they'll look back and thank me.

2.) Unless you have unwavering patience that can outlast the most frustrating of events, get out now.

I believe this is the most important thing to know. Teaching in general requires a lot of patience, but being an ESL teacher requires even more. Sure, it can be frustrating when students don't understand what simple words mean or forget to put a verb in a sentence, but I always take a step back and put myself in their shoes. After taking Spanish for four years and not understanding anything (shout out to Senora Urian's class), I can relate to my students being overwhelmed by English.

3.) If you want to make a big impression and really touch your students in a memorable way, learn everything you can about teaching with technology.

My lesson plans are planned out for me, but they are all interactive through the computer. Whenever I can, I also like to show videos and pictures on the internet related to each lesson.

4.) If you're still in college, do everything you can to spend as much time in classrooms as possible.

Even though I didn't pursue education in college, before I started teaching, I had a week of observation. It really did help seeing different teaching styles and techniques.

5.) If you're not happy with teaching, don't do it.

I'm happy, even if my feet aren't after standing in heels for eight hours a day.

6.) Remember why you went into education in the first place.

Sure, I have bad days being a teacher, but so do celebrities and CEO's of major companies. Luckily, the good students outweigh the bad ones and they are the ones that make each day worth it.