Simone McDonald - contributed

Simone McDonald has been teaching for only a year, yet she has already learnt that it can be a thankless job, but her love for the profession continues to keep her in the field.

McDonald said she always wanted to be a teacher, so she followed her dream and enrolled at the Shortwood Teacher's College in 2004, where she did a diploma in Religious Education. "I always liked teaching, I always loved children and I always liked dealing with the bigger children, " she said.

She now teaches the secondary level, teaching students between 12 and 18 years old at the Garvey Maceo High School in Clarendon.

SEEN THE DISRESPECT

Although she said she also went into the profession because she felt it was respected, so far, she has seen the opposite with a lot of disrespect being given to teachers. "I totally believe that they (students) don't respect us anymore. Some of the things that I see them doing like cursing bad words in front of us convinces me that some of them do not respect teachers," she said.

However despite this disrespect, she has had some rewarding moments. "(I enjoy it because of ) the fact that I put a smile on someone's face. Some of them even say that they love me because I'm a kind teacher, I don't rough them up," she said.

She notes that one of the things she wants to see in the classroom is the introduction of more technological devices to aid in teaching. She believes that these devices can make learning more fun for the students.

McDonald is from a family of many teachers. She has eight aunts and a twin sister who are in the profession. She wants to remain in the field and so is hoping to further her studies and eventually become a lecturer at the tertiary level.

In the meantime, she said teaching is not for the faint of heart and urges those considering the profession, to be prepared. "They need to brace themselves, because anything can happen," she said.

Other attributes she said a prospective teacher needs to have is knowing how to relate, having a love for the profession and children and just an overall passion for teaching.