the buisness of college

i find it most frustrating that college is not what i imagined it to be. it seems to me that colleges are not there to help you or to provide a learning environment. to me, college is just another business out there to make a pretty penny. its too bad that the stress of trying to pay for college and trying to get around the bullshit rules is making me hate school. everyday it seems that i am doubting and questioning why i am in school, pursuing a degree and getting further into debt for a career that will barely pay the bills.

it is extremely sad that a manager at a gas station makes more starting out than a teacher that has been teaching for five years. what kind of education system do you expect when you pay teachers crap. people will say that teachers get all this time off...summers and holiday breaks, but only people that have no idea what teachers do from day to day will ever say this. summers are not spent lying around and relaxing. they are spent looking through and committing to memory the textbooks and curriculum for the next year. they are spent reflecting on what went well last year and what they will change for this year. they are spent working nights as a waitress because the meager pay they make all year doesn't cover all the bills. they are spent in planning meetings for school development. they are spent teaching summer school. holiday breaks are not breaks, as they are usually used to grade tests and papers. they are used to see the family that they never get to see during the week because they are either at school or preparing for the next day at school.

a teacher does not have the luxury of a 9-5 job. their job begins before school, usually around 7am as they ready their room for the day. then all day they are on their feet playing mom, coach, referee, counselor, friend, and role model all while attempting to get their students ready for the tests that the school relies on. they are pushing fifth graders that are two grades behind in math to do skills they are not ready for, because that is what the government dictates. when the kids leave at three, a teachers day doesn't end. there are after school duties, meetings to attend and lesson plans to write. they head home around 430, where they usually have children and families to take care of. dinner to make, baths to give, bedtime stories to be read, papers to grade, emails to return, phone calls to make, and finally...its time for bed so that in seven hours they can get up and do it all again.

i must be crazy. that's the only reason i can see for me going into this field. yet i love being in the classroom and seeing children learn. i guess stress and bills are going to be part of my life for good. i better start adjusting.