Teaching is a complex profession, so very dependent on the people who take on the role of teachers.

Yes, the profession of teaching is at another set of crossroads. One certainty is that the profession of teaching is not static; the rhythms of the profession don't play the same tune for long before another wave of innovation hits the spotlight.

And given the importance of the work of teachers, this is no surprise.

In their recent piece, Seven reasons people no longer want to be teachers, Nan Bahr and Jo-Anne Ferreira raised a few points that warrant discussion which, hopefully, can lift prospective teachers out of the quicksand of despair and toward a future of opportunity and career fulfilment.

Here, we acknowledge the ebb and flow of teacherly life by identifying seven new crossroads for aspiring teachers but focusing the lens on why people do choose to be teachers, and why teaching is a most satisfying career choice.

1. We now ask them why they want to be teachers

The landscape of initial teacher education changed throughout Australia for the entering cohort of 2018.

A new non-academic requirement task was put to all aspiring teachers. The task varies between states and between higher education providers, but the Queensland version was a 1,000-word personal statement about one's motivation and suitability for teaching and one's involvement in learning and/or leadership activities.

We weren't sure how this initiative would impact on the numbers in the 2108 cohort.

The fact that Griffith University's 2018 Bachelor of Education program began with 660 first-year applicants, compared with just over 600 applicants in 2017, serves as testimony that the non-academic requirement task was not a disincentive for aspiring teachers.

In fact, informal discussions with our first-year Griffith group tell us that, by and large, our applicants felt that writing about teaching affirmed their desire to be a teacher.

2. They need more qualifications, but see benefits

This year also saw the one-year graduate diploma entry program replaced by a two-year graduate-entry master's program.

Entry numbers were affected, especially compared with the bumper 2017 intake of aspiring teachers who rushed to be a part of the last cohort of one-year graduates.

But we're not surprised, given that for applicants who have already invested at least three years in a degree, a further two years of studies at the master's level is a big ask.

This is where the crossroads of changed entry requirements present a real challenge for aspiring teachers and an opportunity for future employers to work with a new breed of highly qualified early career teachers.

Jasmine has been reading her class books about cattle farms to teach them about Beef Week before their trip there later in the week. ( Amy McCosker )

3. The world-class national curriculum does include creativity

Australia's state-based education systems took an eon to come together to plan and enact a national curriculum.

The inaugural Australian Curriculum is futures driven, exciting to teach and has all the hallmarks of a world-class curriculum.

Some schools are leading the way by throwing off the standardized assessment shackles, and ensuring curriculum content goals are the priority, including the capabilities of "critical and creative thinking".

We expect more to follow suit.

The space for creativity, both for teaching creativity and for creative teaching, is a high priority for many schools.

Claims there is no room for creativity in school teaching cannot be sustained.

4. The pay's actually not bad

As the teaching profession continues to evolve, so too do the career opportunities.

Experienced teachers with a good track record are eligible to apply for positions of added responsibility in their areas of specialisation.

Teachers are also exercising their agency, seeking to use new media and social media to promote their work and the status of their profession. ( ABC News: Kathleen Calderwood )

In Queensland, experienced senior teachers earn a yearly base salary of $94,532, a head of department earns a base salary of $108,818, and an executive principal earns a base salary of $166,272.

So the base salary for an executive principal is $22,000 more than the highest salary for a principal dentist with Queensland Health.

And a recently published study of 1,165 teachers called "Why choose teaching?" revealed that about 1 in 4 of those aged under 39 held leadership aspirations and were attracted to the profession because of these opportunities. Considered in line with leave entitlements and additional benefits such as locality allowance and accommodation relief for rural and remote placements, teaching provides career options with immediate and medium term financial rewards.

5. Teachers rise above the negativity

Ms Bahr and Ms Ferrari have hit the nail on the head here: for longer than we care to remember, the mainstream media in Australia has failed teachers.

The overwhelming bias in the media, that seeks to belittle teachers and the work that they do, is to say the least, incredulous.

Yet, Wyatt-Smith and colleagues revealed that: "Despite the challenging nature of the profession and the way it is sometimes presented in the media and by some influential (political and other) parties, teachers reported a high level of satisfaction with their choice."

Teachers are also exercising their agency, seeking to use new media and social media to promote their work and the status of their profession; it's blogs aplenty in the teacher techno-sphere and it's having a great impact.

6. They're not just looking for a fall-back

Since time immemorial, individuals who choose to be teachers do so because they want to make a difference to young people's lives and they value the intrinsic career rewards of teaching.

This is why we became teachers and why we are still serving the profession, and why so many people from all walks of life continue to choose teaching as a career today.

The "Why choose teaching?" study, again, confirmed these factors and emphasised that among the lowest-ranked reasons why people became teachers was to have teaching as a fall-back career, employment benefits and the views of others of teaching as less important.

Quite simply, people do want to be teachers.

Sorry, this video has expired The Staffroom: Teachers speak about the impact of their work on kids ( Jane Caro )

7. Teachers can influence others to teach

Interestingly, the most powerful influencer for individuals choosing teaching as a career is teachers themselves.

The "Why choose teaching?" study found that the promotion of the profession by firstly teachers, and then parents and family, is the most powerful factor with many aspiring teachers considering teaching while still at school.

Teachers in fact hold the most important key to building their profession.

They go so far as to make the following recommendation: "To promote the image of the teaching profession, educational leaders should aim to improve teachers' perception of the status of teaching."

Donna Pendergast is professor and dean of the School of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University, and Beryl Exley is a professor and deputy head of School Learning and Teaching at Griffith.