What, exactly, is a mid-career teacher?
Motivation
My Life in the Middle of My Teaching Career
What, exactly, is a mid-career teacher?
There are a lot of teachers who may fit the definition but don’t describe themselves as such. But, a fair benchmark is a teacher with a decade or more of classroom experience. After this time, we become more comfortable in our roles and less likely to be shaken by the many ups and downs the classroom can provide.
If you’ve made it this far, you probably won’t go anywhere until retirement. You’ve developed the necessary coping mechanisms to deal with challenging students, difficult parents, and a variety of administrators who all seem to have unique approaches!
Education resources
You’re no longer a fresh-faced recent college grad with no responsibilities
School is no longer your only priority. When you first started, your new profession likely consumed you. Mid-career teachers often have families of their own now, and if they don’t have kids, they may be caring for their aging parents.
More responsibilities come with age, whether you spend a lot of time working on home improvements or have a rigorous hobby that fills your weekends. Because of these outside responsibilities, you’ve mastered the art of time management and have finally figured out a way not to let your teaching duties consume all the waking hours of your life. Most days.
Your years of experience have provided you with a valuable perspective
You may not have personally experienced every possible catastrophe that can befall a teacher. Still, you’ve likely heard about most of them and had your fair share of tumultuous experiences. You now know that it’s all going to be okay. You have learned through your many years of experience that the sky won’t fall if you don’t get those papers graded tonight.
You’ve developed a few teacher hacks that have served you well over the years:
- Group projects and collaborative learning
- Paper trading/grading
- Grading time during free periods
Your expertise and experience make up for any decrease in energy
While life as a teacher in the middle of their career is different from those who are just starting, there are a lot of benefits to having a seasoned teacher or two among the faculty. No need to jump up and volunteer at every opportunity, as you know it’s alright to pick and choose where you lend your talent and energy.
You’ve got some battle scars
There may have been some mistakes along the way, but you’ve got enough time under your belt that you’re able to improvise and still present a successful class, regardless of the topic. The moments when you thought you would die have become the foundation of your confidence and have provided you with some great stories to tell your current class.
Technology can confound you at times
Change can be difficult, no matter how beneficial it may be. Regarding technology, you may immediately grasp certain devices or apps and have no problem incorporating them into your classroom. There may be other instances, though, when you long for the days of overhead projectors and life without tablets.
They’re still able to teach this old dog some new tricks!
Teachers love teaching because they love learning themselves and want to pass along that gift to their students. There are few things more exciting in life than helping a student reach their goals! Don’t let life as a mid-career teacher get you down.
There’s a lot of knowledge and experience that you possess that can be beneficial to both your students as well as the other teachers on the faculty. Teaching is a career that often feels more like an avocation. Don’t be afraid to share your expertise and help the entire school work at its top level.
