Is the teaching profession right for you?

While thinking about being a teacher you need to consider the positive's that come out of it, but even more important are the negative aspects that come with it. Choosing the right profession is the most important thing in your life because it's what you will be doing for the rest of your life. I believe that weighing the pro's and con's of what you will be doing for the next 20-40 years of your life if very important. Chapter 1 in 'Teachers, Schools, and Society' by David Sadker, discusses the teaching profession as a whole, and things we should know before commiting ourselves into anything we may not want to do.
One article that I found interesting called "You be the judge" discusses the good vs. bad news of being a teacher. On one hand teaching is great because you are not working alone. Students that you teach and other colleagues can be an intrinsic motivator for some teachers. On the other hand, being surrounded by anywhere from 15-30 young adults for 6 hours a day can get very frustrating. Being able to handle your students throughout your whole day can be a tough task, but this job may not be for everyone. One thing future teachers must know is that this job requires a lot, but may not pay a lot. Being able to accept a smaller pay check than you had hoped for is probably what most future teachers will have to do. However, i believe that most teachers are willing to sacrifice because teaching is such a rewarding job and they love doing it.
While on the topic of pay for teachers, another interesting part of this chapter was the discussion of merit pay and tenure; both which are very important to know about going into a new job. Merit pay is a pay system that allows teachers to add to their salary by performing well. Basically, the better you teach, the more you get paid. It may sound like a good idea, but would you really want that over tenure? Personally, I would like tenure because it assures the teacher's job and salary. One negative that tenure has on all schools across the country is that it keeps ALL teachers in the system. Not every teacher enjoys teaching, or coming to work everyday, but they do it because they are getting paid. Teaching should be about wanting to come to work everyday and influencing your students mind in a positive way that will help them then, and for the future. Pay is a hot topic right now for teachers because many feel that they are under paid and over worked, which could be true. With all these different aspects, some being the obvious positives, and some being the terrible negatives; is teaching the right profession for you?