By Aaron Pan
It’s no secret that teaching has become an unpopular job. Dealing with kids and even parents, lesson planning, and grading makes teaching no easy task.
There are many jobs where people force themselves to work simply for the money. For senior Rowan Hinds, teaching is not one of those jobs.
“I’d want to be someone who kids can be comfortable around,” she said. “I want to be a big influence in their lives and teach them and inspire them as much as I can.”
As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the year 2034, high school teachers are expected to drop by 17,800. As we move more and more toward the digital age, less and less students find themselves wanting to pursue education.
However, Delta seems to be an exception with multiple students, particularly in the senior class, wanting to pursue education in the future.
Driven by her desire to influence the next generation, Hinds plans to pursue a career in elementary education. She will attend Anderson University after graduation with a major in elementary education.
She plans to teach third grade, but said she’s willing to teach any grade in elementary.
Hinds can understand why some students don’t want to go into education.
“A lot of people don’t have the patience anymore, but I think that’s a good life skill to have,” she said.
She wholeheartedly believes that teaching builds character.
“I do feel like a teacher’s pay should be raised because they are teaching the future generation and raising them,” she said.
Senior Kylee Robles moved around a lot during elementary school before finding her home in Mrs. Wolfgang’s classroom at Royerton Elementary. Having that experience, she wants to have the same effect on other kids that Mrs. Wolfgang had on her.
“I just want to help other kids, because I didn’t have anyone for me when I was growing up, and my 4th grade teacher became that person,” she said.
She plans on teaching kindergarten, unlike her older sister who plans to teach middle school level math. Although she has her sister for help, she acknowledges that being a teacher is no easy feat. She understands why many people are afraid of teaching. Children that are rude, a lack of parental support, and low wages are a few concerns that she said she has.
Although most of Delta’s aspiring teachers come from the senior class, many students from all grade levels hope to one day become educators.
Junior Charlie Knapp is one of those students. As an aspiring choir director, he expects to go into a different field of teaching than most. He intends to study music education at Ball State University, where his parents work.
“I’ve seen the way that teachers have affected other kids’ lives and I want to have that same impact,” he said.
His love of teaching stems from Delta’s choir director Mrs. Elana Camp.
“I’ve seen how she’s helped other people get out of their shells and become more comfortable,” he said.
With both of his parents being teachers, Knapp is an advocate of higher wages for teachers. He believes that teachers do more than just teach and should be paid fairer wages.
In 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median salary of everyone in the United States was $49,500. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the median salary of secondary school teachers was $64,580. The median salary of preschool, elementary, middle, secondary, and special education was $61,960.
English teacher Mrs. Elizabeth Gilmore understands why more and more of the future generation lack the desire to teach.
“Kids these days are not as respectful as they used to be. I think it stems from how much of a digital age we’re in, and how short our attention spans have become,” she said. “I struggle with the same thing.”
In her eyes, being in a classroom for eight hours a day can be quite difficult for both students and teachers.
However, she has mixed opinions on teaching salaries, a large reason why many students are discouraged from teaching.
“It’s hard to say because when you do the math and you cut down the fact that we are paid for the 10 months we work, and if you take your salary and divide it by the 185 days you work, we really do get paid well,” she said.
Most schools, including Delta, provide insurance benefits and a competitive salary. Likewise, she, along with others, didn’t decide to teach for the salary. She decided to teach to influence others and change lives.
“I was always wanting to be able to help kids learn how they learn best, and wanting to help them find something they enjoy in school,” she said. “I’m also really passionate about kids and teaching them that you don’t have to go to college. You have other options.”
Spanish teacher Mrs. Shawn Churchill has been in and out of the classroom multiple times. Regardless of everything, she always finds herself coming back to a classroom, despite all of the challenges it brings.
“It’s a really hard job, if you do it right,” she said. “You have a lot of grading, lesson planning, and there’s a lot more behavior problems now.”
Coming into Ball State, she wanted to major in telecommunications, but she switched her major to Spanish after a year. She added education into her degree and briefly studied abroad.
After graduating, she taught at Yorktown for eight years before working at a consulting firm for four years. Having job experience in both teaching and corporate work, she understands how important it is that teachers get paid their fair share.
“We have a lot of responsibilities, we have standards we have to cover, some teachers have state tests, and there’s a lot of pressure,” she said. “I think teachers should be paid more. I think that a lot of things that I did when I wasn’t teaching were less meaningful and I got paid a lot more.”
Jocelyn Moody always enjoyed her 4th grade classroom with Mrs. Lisa Brand, one of the two 4th grade teachers at Albany Elementary. She always seemed to connect with her, everything from how she taught to how she talked to the students. Her inspiration drew Jocelyn one step closer to becoming a teacher.
Now a senior, she’s a student-intern for Mrs. Brand. After graduation in the spring, she is preparing for college at Ivy Tech to study elementary education.
She’s always thought about all the downsides and positives that come with the job.
“I think it can be hard working with students,” she said. “You have a wide range of students with some who are higher ability, some who are lower. Some have a hard time focusing so you have to create a lot of activities and lesson plans for that.”
To her, being a teacher is more than just teaching. It’s about being a mentor. It’s about being someone kids can look up to. Although she acknowledges the challenges, she’s more than willing to take one step closer to complete her goal.
