I am a teacher. A co-worker, in a social gathering at his home, said his children were always told not to choose to be teachers or else they would be punished. That colleague, a teacher herself, before a group of teachers, spoke wittilly, but the audience felt the acid taste of frustration: one of her children had a degree in law and the other in medicine. In fact, nothing guarantees that these children will not become professors later on, but the message is clear: after all, "Who Wants to be a teacher?". That is the title of an article by Tony Oliveira (
Carta Capital, April 2011; Brazil; link below), who focuses on the vocation for pre-university teaching.
The situation of teachers in Brazil is marked by humiliating salaries, professional devaluation and no career plan, which keeps the youth from pursuing a career in education. The author says that statistics indicate a decreases of candidates for undergraduate areas such as Humanities, Mathematics, Geography, and Education. Fewer and fewer students who finished high school have chosen such majors. To illustrate, in a period of seven years for those majors and others meant for teacher formation, the number of members has reduced by 58%, ie, decreased from 101,276 to 42,441.
The article also provides historical data about the devaluation of institutionalized teaching careers in Brazil, while pointing out government measures (at national and international levels) to stimulate new vocations. A fact I find compelling is the fact that students of more humble social origins (and derived mostly from poor public schools) are the ones who mostly seek teaching careers, which can, according to an expert quoted in the article, generate a vicious cycle of low quality. Not that the blame should be laid on the candidates, but on the educational system as a whole. That implies that the teaching degree candidates may have difficulties in language and reading comprehension, as indicated by the results of the Brazilian pre-university national exams.
The established belief in Brazilian culture is that "being a teacher is a mission or vocation - not a profession - just contributing to the devaluation of the profession". In fact, some still choose this career for the love and dedication. Anyway, "Who Wants to be a teacher?" Is an article recommended both for those already in service and for those in training courses, and especially for potential teaching major candidates in high school.