Why is it that when someone gets their first job in education they are so excited?

As an administrator, I consider one of the best parts of my job is getting the opportunity to hire a brand new teacher. I also think it’s a big responsibility because a teacher hired for the 2009-10 school year may retire sometime around 2044.

By then, God willing, I will be 76 years old and only slightly more senile then I am now. Of course, by then I may not even know how old I am or recognize the fact that I may still be senile. I do know that at my school that will be 8 principals (plus about 14 superintendents) from now, so students and staff will have long forgotten my name (it should be noted that I may have also forgotten my name), but this year's new teachers may still be working with students.

A new teacher looks forward to everything about their first teaching assignment: their new room, their own desk, getting keys to the building, a real paycheck, putting up bulletin boards, possibly even school lunch, and of course their first group of students.

Everything about the experience is positive and upbeat. They have no complaints about their schedule, or who their teaching partner is, or parents not being supportive, or the fact that they think teachers aren’t appreciated enough, or that their paycheck is too small.

A new teacher is open to advice and willing to try different things. There is no talk of “Why change? That’s the way we have always done it.” or “I am not going to use the computers. They will never catch on.”

They are thrilled with the job, their colleagues, the kids and the opportunity to make a difference.

This isn’t to say that veteran teachers don’t feel the same way. Many do and are a credit to education, but others may have begun to take the huge opportunity that we have been given as teachers for granted. Many think they should get paid more, get more respect and appreciation, and maybe... just maybe... work less hours.

But so should doctors, engineers, waitresses, carpenters, and the guy who changes the oil in my truck, and everyone else who works hard for a living for not nearly enough money.

Some people will say, since we work with students and are such a big part of shaping the lives of the future that we should be paid triple what we get now.

I would have taken more money, but I am pretty sure I knew what my teaching salary would be when I was hired. I do recall on more than one occasion as I went through school, a teacher commenting on the fact that they didn’t get paid enough, so I wasn’t shocked when I saw my first paycheck.

But somewhere, supply and demand comes into play. Sure, there are areas where good qualified teachers are hard to come by, but for the most part you can find a group of very good applicants for each open teaching position. If there were 50 candidates for every neurosurgeon job, they probably wouldn’t make as much money as they do now.

It also must be human nature that over time some people begin to focus on the things that aren’t given to us in our profession, and less about what we do get.

New teachers aren’t experienced enough to focus on what is not good about their job; they are too busy looking at the good side — they only see a chance to make a real difference. Maybe we should all take a moment at the start of each school year to reflect on the excitement that new teachers possess and we undoubtedly had at the beginning of our careers.

To read more blog entries by Michael Smith, visit his site PrincipalsPage.com.