Here’s what it’s really like to be a teacher in 2019

It's a tough gig, say teachers, but it's rewarding. Source: Getty

It’s World Teacher’s Day, and Twitter is filled with odes from students to teachers past and present, thanking them for their contribution to their lives.

And, teachers have used social media to express their gratitude for the job too.

“On #Worldteachersday I am reminded that I have pursued the best, most rewarding career,” one teacher tweeted.

On #Worldteachersday I am reminded that I have pursued the best, most rewarding career. I get to work with the most wonderful people - my students & my colleagues. I'm also grateful to those teachers I've been able to observe & learn from during my research. I'm so lucky.

— Claire Golledge 📚 (@ms_golledge) October 24, 2019

“It’s a tough gig, sure, but still wildly rewarding,” another wrote.

It’s #WorldTeachersDay. I’m so so privileged to work with so so many of these dedicated humans. It’s a tough gig, sure, but still wildly rewarding. Perhaps the only bigger privilege is that I fell into this caper in 1994 ... the rest is history. Have a ripper you chalkies! pic.twitter.com/BaboLz5MbT

— Adam Voigt 🐯🏆 (@adam_voigt) October 24, 2019

And a tough gig would be right; with long hours and heavy workloads, teaching is a challenging career - and the average salary is $68,147 per year, according to PayScale.

So much so, that the Hunter Institute of Mental Health found 40 per cent of teachers quit the job within the first five years.

Yahoo Finance spoke with primary school teacher in Campbelltown, Kristine*, to find out what a day in the life of a teacher is really like.

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What’s the most exciting thing about your job?

The most exciting thing is seeing the difference you can make in someone’s life. As cliche as it sounds it’s really nice to turn up to work each day or after the holidays and see people who are genuinely happy to see you again.

What’s the toughest part about it?

The toughest part is the same thing really - seeing the kids you desperately want to make a difference with but you just can’t get through to.

What’s the workload really like?

The workload - not to be dramatic - is huge. It’s constant.

When you’re passionate about what you do it’s always a drive to make sure you’re doing what’s best for the kids.

Excursions, following up absences, planning and programming, running sport, liasing with staff, organising visits with other organisations, connecting with schools, as well as making sure you take care of yourself and continue to train and get your own professional learning. It’s a lot... but worth it.

What do you make of the stereotypes around the teaching industry?

I think slowly the stereotype is changing.

In Australia, teachers certainly don’t get the recognition that they do in other countries and I think sometimes we can still be viewed as a glorified “babysitter”.

Of course it’s frustrating when people make comments about the amount of holidays we get but my response is ‘I don’t get a choice when I take my holidays,’ and it’s always when everything is the busiest and most expensive.

My other response has become if you want as much holidays as I get, then you should have chosen teaching.

We are very lucky to get that time off but it’s always a very well deserved break.

How has the teaching industry changed since you’ve been in it?

It’s constantly changing.

The expectations on teachers becomes greater every year. The content that needs to be taught, particularly in older grades, grows every year, and every year the social and emotional issues we deal with in the classroom increase as well.

Trying to keep up with technology and teaching kids that will end up in jobs that don’t exist yet is a very difficult task.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.

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