Many professions have internships, apprenticeships, or something similar, as part of the requirements to work in that particular profession.

Generally, it is a specific time frame you have to spend working under the supervision of someone in your chosen field. In the field of teaching an individual does several of these internships and then the last big test is the student teaching.

I think the most important reason for these internships is to give students an inside look at the profession they think they want to embark on. Some professions seem interesting, cool, and even enjoyable when viewed from the outside but become anything but when you find yourself knee deep in the stuff they didn’t teach you about in college.

There have been studies that have shown that certain college majors see an increase in enrollment when television shows about that profession become popular. Criminal justice and forensic science majors saw an increase when all the CSI type shows became popular. I’m not sure if “Welcome Back Kotter” had the same effect on the teaching profession. I know Hawkeye and the gang on M.A.S.H made emergency surgery seem like a hoot.

If television can make a profession look cool, students will come and we all know television can make just about any profession seem cool and filled with nonstop fun and adventure. Cool and filled with nonstop fun and adventure? When’s the last time you heard someone describe their job in those words? Besides your accountant.

I chaperoned a field trip for my son’s fifth grade class a few weeks ago and volunteered to help in his classroom last week while they worked on a special project. The project involved fire, so I guess the teacher wanted as many so-called adults around as possible to spritz water on any flaming students. There were a few students I would have liked to have thrown a blanket over and given a few whacks in a fire snuffing demonstration.

There was a student teacher in my son’s classroom during both of these cool, nonstop fun and adventure days in the life of an elementary school teacher. He seemed like a pretty sane guy, friendly, intelligent, and the kids loved him, but when I left after my chaperone stints I thought, “Is that guy out of his mind?” Even after months of student teaching in a room with 25 no-attention span, no off button fifth graders he still wants to be a teacher.

I would think teaching might be a profession where they would benefit from keeping prospective teachers out of the classroom until after they graduate and then springing the cool, nonstop fun and adventure on them like some cruel trap.

I chaperone and volunteer in my kids’ classrooms quite a bit and have never once left thinking, “Ya know, I think I want to be an elementary or middle school teacher…it seems so cool and full of nonstop fun and adventure.” No, I usually leave thankful I do what I do and don’t have to answer off-the-wall questions and respond to strange observations from strange little people. Like the observations expressed to me, “Boy your voice is deep.”

Maybe you learn not to respond because I’ve noticed the teachers usually only respond to pertinent questions…of which there are very few. But I felt rude not responding, so I said, “Ahh..thanks..someday yours might get deeper too..maybe.” Or “Wow you have hairy arms.”

A pertinent question deserves a pertinent response, “Yeah..ahh.. thanks, it keeps me warm. Someday your arms might be hairy too, little girl.”