For Joe

Hi Joe!
I think that is really cool of you to consider this! I knew I wanted to be a teacher since high school. It is the best thing in my life (besides my loved-ones). I get to wake up everyday and be excited to go to work. Seriously. Yes, there are days that I am tired, cranky, and the kids are little craptards. But one the whole, it is so great just to be around kids all day. I love teaching, and I love the joy of seeing them discover something, but I like the kids just for being kids. They are funny and stupid and immature, but they are practicing what it is like to be adults, and to be mature. It is amazing to watch.

I teach a mix of math classes. I teach geometry, which is pretty much in the middle, I teach an engineering class, which has very driven, smart kids, and I teach the lowest level algebra we offer. These are the kids who go home to an alcoholic mother and a father who is in prison. These are the kids who show up because they will go to jail if they miss another day. These are the kids who plan to drop out as soon as they can so they can live on welfare. From day to day, they are obviously the toughest class to reach and teach. But in the long run, it is the most rewarding class to teach. You can't measure successes in them learning the quadratic formula, you measure successes in them turning in an assignment complete, or them choosing not to retaliate when someone makes them mad. If you are ever in this situation, don't expect to reach every student. You will get discouraged if you let every failure get to you. Instead think how you can make it better for another student. It isn't like Mr. Holland's Opus. Sorry, it isn't. BUT, you can have moments when they make progress and it makes all the effort worth it. Some of this may sound cheesy, but this is how I really feel. I really do love teaching, and I get a tremendous amount of fulfillment out of it.
That being said, to answer your specific questions:

1) I can only speak for Indiana, and math in particular, but I know English has End of Course Assessments (ECA). They are standardized tests that assess english standards put forth by the state. This gives you a fair deal to teach them. However, this does not take up all of the curriculum, so you will have leeway to teach some things you want, and if you are creative, some really cool ways to teach it as well. Even the things you have to teach you can put your own flair on and teach it the way you want. Just don't think you're going to walk in the classroom with your sports coat and your jeans and your messed up hair and teach them whatever the hell you want. If you tell your kids to rip their textbooks in an act of creative rebellion a la Dead Poets Society, you will be fired. You are not Robin Williams, so be reasonable. As long as you teach them what they need (according to the state), you can teach them what they need (according to life).

2) Obviously there is more freedom at the college level, but I can't speak on this.

3) I work with a great group of people who really care about kids and who really have their best interests at heart. We laugh everyday at lunch. We collaborate on things. I also know people at the school who are dispassionate because of the grind of school, but I don't think they EVER really had what it takes to teach. For me personally, I am generally at a better mood at the end of the day then at the start of the day. But even if you are having a bad day, think of the privilege it is to show your kids joy and happiness, when THEY are the ones having a bad day, or are joyless.

4) I won't lie and say it is worth it every single day. I have days when I'm like "Wow, we got shit accomplished today." But the next they is usually pretty awesome after those days. Depending on how you measure success. You measure success on a lesson, a concept, a whole unit. But mainly you should measure success on your kids' love of life. Have you read the mission statement of a school? I have. Dozens of them. Not ONE of them says anything about passing the end-of-year exam, or getting a high score on the SAT, or even getting into a good college. They talk about being a life-long learner, a good person, and someone who loves life. I don't even know how you measure this, but I know I can make a difference with this in my kids' lives. That makes it worth it.

5) Joe, if you love kids, you will be a good teacher. If you love them when they are excited about learning, and when they are apathetic, when they are immature, and cranky, when they just broke up with their boyfriend and are bitchy, when they don't want to do what you want, and when they are sad, then you will be a good be a good teacher. It doesn't matter what subject you teach. Math was my worst subject in high school, but I chose to teach it because I knew I loved teaching, and the subject didn't matter, so I might as well pick one that people have a tough time liking anyway. You are a very social person, and doggone it, people like you. If you can bring that into the classroom, you will be good at what you do.

Also, about pay. Teachers do not get payed a lot compared to many professions with the same education. There are other blessings in the job that more than make up for any monetary shortcomings. If you value material possessions enough to not want to teach, then don't teach. I will say that teaching for a year and a half, I have never wanted something I couldn't afford, and I am paying off a car and schooling, plus living on my own in a new city.

I also know several teachers who hated it. They couldn't deal with the kids, or the staff, or the whole system. It's not for everyone. There are frustrations. But for me it is, for what it's worth. I thank God everyday I get to do this. If you try it and hate it, you do have an education that can take you other paces, and that should be a good feeling!

Plus all the school lunches you can eat!