What it means to teach now.

      To say that teachers are undervalued is ridiculous.  "Study after study points to teacher expertise as the critical variable in effective reading instruction" (p. 15). Without teachers, how would students learn to read, or learn anything for that matter? Yes, I know parents are also considered teachers, but take this example. What if a parent is illiterate and doesn't speak English? How are they to help their child learn to read? How are they to help their child learn English and be successful in school? Without the constant work from a teacher, these students become successful!
     As a first year teacher, I am amazed to find myself learning new things every day from veteran teachers. At the same time, I offer new ideas and strategies to help my older colleagues. I think that teaching today can be defined as collaborative coaching. Teachers need to constantly be reevaluating their teaching, asking themselves questions like how can I improve on this lesson and what were successful aspects of the lesson? Teaching today is also collaborative with teachers. Teachers need to share ideas and lesson plans. I don't think teaching should be a competition, yet I know some people feel this way. Teaching is all about sharing. If you have a great lesson where the students were successful, engaged, and understood the lesson, why not pass it onto someone else to use? I think that you should take credit for coming up with a great idea, but at the same time, don't hide the lesson and take ownership of it.
      Another aspect of teaching today includes becoming a mother/father figure, or sister/brother figure to your students. For example, I work with 7th and 8th grade students. Some of them open up to me about their issues at home. They seek me out for advice and just someone they can talk to and who they trust. To be a mentor to these students is crucial because they might not get the attention at home. Maybe their parents work all day/night and they have no one to turn to. Being someone students can trust isn't exactly in our job description, however, it is an important aspect of being a teacher today. It is also important as a teacher to connect your students with their community. Getting their parent involved in the school and the community has a huge impact on how students will view coming to school. If their parents are involved, then their students will be more successful.
    Therefore, being a teacher today is not undervalued. Maybe people need to take a closer look at who is really benefitting from teachers. It's the students. Without great teachers, students would not be successful or prepared for the real world.