Not long ago a high school choral teaching friend told me he was accused by a parent of achieving success only because it was good for his career. “It’s about you, not the students.”
Like so many other choir teachers I know, he sacrifices evenings, weekends, sleep, summers, vacation days, his mental and physical health, and that ever-elusive “work-life balance” (whatever that is) for the sake of giving opportunities to his students.
Is he paid more for his over-the-top work ethic? He is not.
Does he get paid a bonus for teaching music remarkably well? He does not.
Do his students have any idea how hard he works or how much he cares about their success? They couldn’t possibly.
And I know literally hundreds like him.
What motivates these remarkable people to work so hard? Is it career advancement? Ego? Competition? Megalomania?
It is not. While I’ve know one or two motivated by each of those factors, the vast majority I know do it because of love.
Love for choral music. Love for their students. Love for that moment when learning happens.
If your motivation for success is career advancement, I suggest that education is the wrong field. Better to go into sales, real estate, management – careers where how hard you work can change your future position and earnings.
Think of any teacher you know. If you think they are motivated by anything other than a desire for their students to succeed, you are, quite simply, deluded.
Yes, they want to succeed. Yes, they are proud of their successes. But the thing is, their successes are human beings, out succeeding in the world.