What are the pros and cons of being an elementary school teacher?

I feel there are many more pros in teaching than cons. First of all, teachers influence lives of students, and hopefully in a positive way if teachers are caring, loving and passionate about teaching. I feel there is not a. I let or more important profession, but only those who feel that way should become teachers.

Some of the cons are parent conferences, staff meetings, paperwork, taking work home, spending monies on materials because school,supplies are in short supply. There may be administrators you don't like, teachers difficult to get along with, rules and practices that you feel are not helpful.......But if you care about helping children to move forward with their life in a positive way and become th best they can be, then th cons are just part of job, and you deal with them as they happen.

Good luck to you and do,hope you find teaching as rewarding as I did. In fact, after I retired, I subbed for 9 Years n one school so I felt like a full time teacher there, as I wanted to have freedom to,take vacations, etc with my husband who was retired.

Some of the cons are that it can be a LOT of work. You spend all day teaching, and then you have to plan for the next day and grade papers. So the job is actually a lot more work than what happens during the school day. Also, working with children is exhausting because they have a lot of energy and you need to be on your game all day long. But, all that being said, teaching is one of the most satisfying jobs since you are really making a difference in peoples' lives. The work you do will help determine the life chances of your students, so if you do a good job, it is really a great feeling.

The weight of making a difference in a child's life is a huge pro that shouldn't be undervalued.

However, some cons from my experience:
-Limited school funding means outdated materials and lack of supplies. Most classrooms are fully furnished by the teacher, minus the telephone, projector, student desks, and teacher desk. Keep that in mind. Classroom libraries, markers, etc are funded by the teacher herself.
-Pay raises are not based on merit, but instead time in the profession and degrees held. It is sometimes a little demoralizing to realize that.
-There will always be a new initiative coming down the pipes - from the state, from the district, or from your administrator. Nothing stays the same from year to year. This can be exhausting and overwhelming.
-As I've seen over and over - Parents. They can break you. It's hard. Your administrator shouldn't. If they aren't on your side, you should find a new school...

Teaching is a great career if you truly have a passion for it. I switched careers from business to teaching, then back to business again! In my opinion, it is a very demanding career, can be stressful and every day you do need to be "on". You will have to work alongside other teachers, administrators, school staff as well as parents. You can often feel under appreciated but if you have a true calling for it, it can be very rewarding. I would definitely recommend spending time in classrooms and in schools to get a feel for whether or not you'd really enjoy a career in teaching. Good luck!

It is a great choice if it really is right for you. As mentioned by the other two insightful teachers, there is after school effort and energy, parents and administrators. There is also kids happy to see you and creativity options not possible with many desk jobs. I do find as a "Specials" teacher i.e, Music, Gym, Art, and World Language. I experience less of the negative and more of the positive. I have few parent complaints and lots of fun comments from kids. That may be something you have considered. The cons of being a specialist is that our positions are inherently a little more fragile in that they are not necessities.