Submitted by Femi Abelardo, Nov 14, 2007 21:42

I have nine years of experiencing in working with children between the infant ages and 10 years old. I have even been an assistant teacher. I have prepared and taught lessons. I was also an education minor at my first college. Still, I do not feel prepared as a Teaching Fellow. I have a supportive school, my fellow 2nd grade teachers are great and make sure that I feel a part of their team. I have people that make sure that they tell me that I am doing a good job (who doesn't need to hear that every now and then in order to keep moving forward? It doesn't matter if it's a direct or indirect comment; humans live off praise and/or appreciation, whether verbal or nonverbal). Still, even with all of this, I feel frustrated and exhausted and physically and emotionally drained. I feel underpaid and overworked and wonder if such hard work is worth my high stress levels. Perhaps I need to return to my other ways of working with children. But, also, the busy-work master's education doesn't help, and the fact that I have to tutor on the side to pay my bills doesn't help me feel good. It's tough to make a definite decision at this point, but these are my feelings at the moment.

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