What are the Best and Worst Parts of Teaching?

By Caleigh O'Toole and Beryl Rosenberg

​What are the most worthwhile and challenging parts about the education profession? Asking this simple question allows students to discover more about their teachers. After asking numerous educators here at OBHS, we learned how they really feel about their profession.

Foreign Language
Mme. Avari: “The fact that it’s not monotone, and you deal with kids every day. That’s the best part. [The worst part about teaching] in America is the fact that teachers are used as ‘babysitters’ for study hall, or hallways, or the cafeteria, when we have so much more to offer as professionals.”

Señora Luciano: “The best part of teaching is when you see your students really utilize what you’re teaching them, in a realistic way. So, [for example] if I teach you Spanish, and you use it on vacation. The worst part about teaching is not having enough time to get your point across.”


Math
Mrs. Breun: “My favorite part is our conversations we have outside of the classroom, not relevant to the curriculum, but related to life and getting to know you guys better. The worst part is the commute.” 

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Science
Mr. Marlow: “The best part about teaching is, hands down, bonding with the kids, hands down. The worst part is when you have to discipline someone."

Ms. Badean: “The best part is seeing a spark in your kids when they get something, or they’re excited about an idea or a project. [The worst part is] grading lab reports. Grading can add up.”


English
Ms. Keenan: “The best part is being with the kids and seeing them enjoy themselves while they’re young. The worst part, as an English teacher, is always the grading. It drags you down a bit.”

Ms. Schwartz: “The best part is getting to work with students and seeing them grow in their writing and public speaking. The worst is waking up early.”

Ms. Hinckley: “The best part is seeing kids come back to visit after graduation, and [getting] vacations, and having the same time off as my kids and grandkids. I can’t think of a ‘worst’ part.” 


Social Studies
Mr. Soper: “ The best part of teaching is staying young and being around kids, interacting with students. For AP it’s the excitement of trying to lead them towards success on the exam. I’m not a huge fan of the time restraints of grading and trying to give precise feedback to students. There’s not enough time in the day.”

Mr. Browne: “Watching kids learning to appreciate history. The worst part is not having enough time.” 

Mr. Barbaccia: “The best part about teaching is dealing with kids, and the worst part is having time restrictions. You can’t do as much as you want.”

Mr. Caputo:  “For me the best part about teaching is kids make me laugh. The worst part is education laws, like Common Core testing.”


Gym/Health
Mr. Rizzuto: “Graduation is the worst part that comes around every year, and you know it’s coming, and there’s a group of kids that are leaving. The best part is seeing kids everyday in class sharing and just being who they are. Seeing kids  just be themselves, be who they are. I feel like health class aids itself to that. It’s where kids can express themselves in a variety of ways. They can bring all their opinions, have conversations about how they feel. They can ask any question, they can answer any question, they can tell any story. Just interacting with kids when they are being kids. It’s also just being able to act like a kid… there’s a realness to teaching that I feel like is really unique.”

Mrs. Murcott: “The best part is being around kids and watching kids grow into young adults and watching them be successful and learn. The worst part about teaching is motivating kids who don’t like to be physically active. I try to develop a relationship with them and do something that they would like.”

Ms. Wink: “ The best part is that I get to see all the grades. I think the best part in general is that I teach 250 kids and all of them have different personalities.  For [physical education] and athletics, you get to know them on not only a teacher-student basis, but more of a coach-athlete [basis], and you see them out of the building.  It’s cool to be able to see the differences in personalities. Teaching [physical education], you're preparing [students] to make them confident enough that they can jump into anything at any point in life. The worst part about teaching is that I only get to see [students] every other day.”

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Art and Music:
Mrs. Miley: “The best part is seeing a spark [in kids] when they’re excited about a project. The worst is restrictions that are put on programs, meaning that kids have to go to certain classes.  There’s certain time restrictions and state restrictions, so the worst part is things that are out of our control.”

Mrs. Dissinger: “The best part for me is doing music every day. Waking up early [is the worst].”