Teaching is more than just showing up to school each day.

I don't think that anyone truly understands the preparation that goes into teaching. I am not just talking about lesson plans. Getting materials ready seems to take even more time. I could spend days face to face with the copier and still manage to forget something that needed distributed. Organization is essential. I could live in my classroom and still not have it properly organized. By the end of each day, I am lucky to find my car keys let alone a missing glue bottle. On a good day, I spend close to 45 minutes after the students leave in order to get things back into place and ready for the next school day. For all of those people who say it isn't fair that teachers get the summers off, I invite them to shadow me for a month. The amount of time that I put in (both in the classroom and at home) far outweighs a 40 hour workweek during the summer. Teachers need the summer off to recuperate and maintain sanity to begin the process all over again once August arrives.

As for preparing for a kindergarten class each day, it is more demanding than I ever could have imagined. I have spent countless hours tracing and cutting things that are too intricate for their limited fine motor skills. I have to give directions at least 100 times a day in 100 different ways to make sure that everyone understands. (It's not like they can pick up a paper, read the directions, and complete a task.) I cannot plan anything longer than 10 minutes in length because they are not used to focusing their attention for any longer.
So many people do not realize that teaching is not just about what occurs within the confines of a classroom. It takes hours thought and preparation. It takes compassion and patience. Most of all, though, it takes a person who can look at every child and make the commitment to providing that child with the best education possible. For so many children, school is the only place where they will find someone who believes in them.

Even with the time and preparation requirements, I am so glad that I chose a career in education. I absolutely love my job and I can't imagine myself anywhere else doing anything else. I get the most amazing feeling when one of my students reads to me. I think back to when they first stepped into my classroom and marvel over how far they have come. Each day (even with the trials) is rewarding in its own way.