There are countless reasons to be a language teacher. I have worked for a number of different jobs in the past: banker, customer service rep in retail, visitor assistant in a museum, waiter, volleyball coach, operations manager at a gym, and a teacher – many of these were overlapping jobs. Of all these jobs, I can honestly say there are two that completely outshine the rest, coaching and teaching.

Teaching had always been part of my life but was never an occupation I had seriously considered until it fell onto my lap. This article will detail the reasons why I love being a teacher and why you might, too.

1. Making a Difference

It is true that every job makes a difference in someone’s life one way or another; however, with teaching you feel the direct effect you make on the people around you. The opportunity to impart a little bit of your ideas and knowledge onto another person is both overwhelming and exciting.

One of the most poignant moments I had as an educator was after a particularly rough day on the job. My students were performing at a lower level than usual and getting them to focus was a challenge in itself.

After class, a parent of one of my students came up and spoke with me, “Hey Vadim. I just want you to know, these kids really look up to you. You can see it in their faces when they’re listening to you. Keep your head up and know that you’re doing a great job.”

Every day as a teacher has the opportunity to change someone’s life.

2. Creativity

There are a vast amount of ways to teach a language. The ability to create new ways of imparting knowledge is one of the most exciting parts of the job. Your school will likely have a curriculum they want you to follow and lessons they need you to teach, but how you go about it is up to you.

Creating new games that incorporate the weeks vocabulary always brings a high level of energy and enjoyment to the classroom. Finding new ways to teach a topic or a phrase always keeps your mind active.

3. Interaction

Teaching gives you the opportunity to be around people from different walks of life. Being able to talk with and teach students from other parts of the world gives you different perspectives on life.

If you are somebody who really enjoys the company of other people and meeting new people teaching provides you with plenty of opportunities.

4. It’s Challenging

A friend once told me he didn’t like repetitive nature of teaching; however, I couldn’t disagree more. Teaching brings new challenges every day.

One day your students are focused and absolutely killing the work you’re giving them and the next, they’re listless and indifferent. As teachers, it’s our job to find out why and change our lesson based on the needs of our students.

Teaching requires a lot of quick thinking and impromptu decisions. Maybe the lesson you have been planning for the last few hours doesn’t go as you want and the students are clearly starting to check out. At this point you have two options: trudge through the lessons amid the growls and scowls or slightly reformat it on the fly to something more engaging.

The feeling of teaching a successful lesson is both rewarding and exhilarating.

5. It’s Fun!

Getting into the classroom and being with a whole bunch of different people is more fun than anything else. You get to know these people and they get to know you – they’re like your extended family.

You laugh, joke, get angry with each other, and, most importantly, grow together. You and your students will change immensely throughout the course of a school year. Getting to see this change is reason enough to become a teacher.