Windy city workforce

This department spotlights a relatively recent addition to the workforce, focusing on the person’s educational or working background, daily responsibilities, challenges, passions, frustrations and outlook for his or her future in the field.

Name: Jenny Lund
Age: 27
Job: 4th grade teacher
College path: Bachelors of Arts in Education from Northeastern University and a Masters in Curriculum and Education from University of St. Mary.

How you ended up here: I have always enjoyed working with kids, and I knew that I wanted a job that wouldn’t require me to sit behind a desk all day.

How long you’ve been at it: Four years.

Hours your boss expects you to be at work: My school day is from 8:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. I usually get to work around 6:30 and leave anywhere between 3:30 and 7:00, depending on if I have meetings.

What you’ve learned from your kids: Kids are a true reflection of their parents. Once you meet them, that pretty much explains the kid. Kids think you should know everything. And if you don’t know an answer to one of their questions, you can pretend you do, but encourage them to look it up and find it out on their own as part of the learning process. Kids can tell right away what kind of day I am having, and they won’t hesitate to tell me if I look like I am having a bad day.

Breakdown of what people anticipate from you: The parents expect you do everything! I am expected to teach to the variety of kids in my class, solve all friend problems, be a mediator between divorced parents, remind parents to dress their kids appropriately for school, give them breakfast, etc. The list goes on.

How does America’s future look? Based on those in my room, the kids seem very money driven. They want to help people by becoming lawyers and doctors, but they also know those professions pay well. A lot of kids are knowledgeable about anything relating to technology.

Things can get tense when: Parents are not supportive about the way you are teaching because they feel they could do your job better. Also, having staff and administration who are always changing and people who want to disagree just to be different. That, I’m sure, is no different than any other job.

Best perk: Getting to have fun at my job and having summers and all of those other days off that no one else gets.

Did anyone inspire you to get into teaching? I had a great Social Studies teacher in 8th grade named Mr. Rossi. He never taught with the book. We did all sorts of projects that made learning really fun. I thought it would be great if, one day, I could be one of those teachers who kids would never forget, because they really had fun while they learned.

Where I can go from here: I could get another degree in administration and become a principal. In education, it is either being a teacher, or wanting to go into administration.

Teaching tends to be most rewarding when: I am just talking with the kids. The days when we get off topic but have a great conversation about something. It is also great when I see them do something or hear them say something that is a reflection of how I teach. It makes me realize that they do listen to me once in a while.

My summers off usually include: Working as a camp counselor or teaching summer school and taking classes during the day. Then regular summer stuff with my friends at night.

Do teachers get the respect they deserve? Where I teach, I feel that teachers are respected by most people. But overall as a profession, I don’t think we do. I think there are too many teachers who complain that they are overworked and underpaid and never get time off. I think this is true in some places, but I feel you know that ahead of time when you choose to teach.

What might you change if given the chance: The perception that I don’t work as hard as other people because I am a teacher and get a lot of time off. I don’t feel your profession should be respected based on the amount of days you are in the “office.”

Why you have a smile on your face when you come to work: I know that each day I will laugh and feel good about what I am doing. It may be more on some days than others, but my students always seem to surprise me by the things they will do and say.

Advice for joining the field: It’s a great job! You might not make a ton of money, but you can go to work each day feeling good about what you are doing. If you stay in the profession long enough, the long-term benefits are good.

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