One of the greatest struggles in life is getting up early in the morning. Many teachers are here before school and stay after school on most days. Teachers are always willing to be as flexible as they can be and try to accommodate everyone’s needs. The dedication they have to their job is something that often goes overlooked. 

Many times students will think that it is the teacher’s job to stay after when it is genuinely just their devotion to their work and the students. This gets people wondering: What gets teachers motivated to start their day?

“I love it honestly, you have to love your job because you will spend more time there than anywhere else,” American Literature teacher Mrs. Galligher said. 

Your job becomes a second and sometimes first home for people. Having a great relationship with staff and students makes the job even more enjoyable.

“Interacting with students, especially the older ones is a key benefit of the job. Mostly because you can keep it real with them and talk to them like adults,” Dual Credit U.S. History teacher Mr. Ringle said. “You are also able to build better relationships with them.”

As a teacher, every day on the job is different. Teachers never truly know what to expect from their students. That is one of the parts that is exciting and keeps them on the edge of their seats–knowing that every day is going to be different is another big reward. 

“It’s a very high-energy job. It’s never boring and every day feels like a reward,” Galligher said. 

While it can be tiring, students’ energy is what keeps most teachers going throughout the day. Most teachers did not even plan to go into teaching or did not plan on going into high school education. 

“I did not even plan on going into secondary education. I originally wanted to be a professor at a university but that was no longer what I was passionate about,” Ringle said.

Most teachers don’t plan on what education they will stick with, let alone plan on being a teacher in the first place. Some teachers had completely different life plans and ended up switching last minute. 

“I originally planned on being a nurse and even went through the classes for it in college,” Galligher said. “It wasn’t until I didn’t pass one of the classes I needed to advance in the program that I realized that I only liked being with my friends and not being a nurse.”

Teachers are a huge part of a community. They help many individuals in school and outside of school. To answer the question “what drives a teacher?” is knowing that they get to impact students’ lives every day.