A teacher's life isn't normal!

"Oh, you are a teacher! That's an easy job, just go to college by nine and come home by five. You get many holidays and added bonus, a summer vacation!"

I am sure, all the teachers out there must have gone through this situation. So, here is my say on how a teacher's life actually works.

FREE TIME

We've no free time practically, because in our leisure we prepare for our classes the following day. We literally break our heads to bring in innovative ideas and teaching methods to simply teach on old concept in an appealing manner. Our summer vacations are basically an extra work-in than work-off, because it is in this time that we update our lesson plans and research on the upcoming curriculum, for the syllabus has to be looked at ingeniously. And mostly our free time at home will certainly be stacked up with answer scripts and assignments that have to be graded. Imagine, we correct tons of them. We spend our free time less with our families and friends to help mould your child.

EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

Being a teacher takes us on a roller coaster of emotions. We cannot take it to work with us nor leave it at home. We deal with many children, some come with their family issues, some with minor conflicts with peers, and some with financial constraints. We have to cater to all, and by the end of the day we carry with us a sense of guilt for we think we haven't helped them enough. We deal with children, and we care about each and every one of them.

NO PRIVACY

We cannot go into a shopping mall or to any frequently walked streets just in our shorts and tees, for the fear of some of our students spotting us. The fear is not because they saw us, it's more of an uncomfortable and inexpressible feeling that we become the topic of their discussion the following day at college. I wish they would show the same intense interest while I teach Macbeth! Social Media, I wonder whether it's blessing or a curse. Even with privacy settings, things get out. We need to make sure that everything that goes out on this platform has appropriate content and nothing is PG. Freedom of Speech, I bet now you get the latent meaning of this!

NO SICK LEAVES

We cannot get sick, because it's again a burden on us. Working without taking any leave is far better than taking a leave or two. The portions have to be completed in time, we spare our 'after-class' time to continue with the lessons and to clarify doubts. If a teacher is absent, she is not only concerned about the classes that she missed but also of the plight of her co-workers to engage the classes.

PASSION
How many people get to say or share everyday that they are living their dream. I am surrounded by incredible stories, poetry and literature. The history teachers teach about the multifarious cultures, while the science teachers teach students an empirical approach. We believe that the students are our only hope to carry forth into the future the same passion for the different fields of learning. We teach because we love the subject and believe strongly that it will have a firm place in the future for more and more to learn from it.

WE SAVE THE WORLD

No matter what, we end up falling head over heels in love with this profession. Keeping aside all our frustrations, we give memories to those children; and years later when they have a reunion at college, at least one of them might say, "Hey, you remember Ms. So and so? She was really good!" All our efforts become minuscule in front of the lovely gesture our students show. We don't have superpowers, but our students see them.

Being is a teacher is not a normal job, because teachers are exceptional!