My cousin linked a fantastic video on Facebook. It’s something that I think ANYONE who has ever questioned what a teacher does– and is worth– should view.
Go ahead, watch. I’ll wait.
Done? Good. I commented on the article after reading a few other comments (which I shouldn’t do, because they make my blood boil, as you will see), and instead of having you scroll down and play “Where’s Waldo”, I’ll copy my comment here because I kind of like the rant I went on!
Read on:
TO THIS DAY I remember my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Bartko. (By the way, I’m now nearly 38 years old…) My grandmother taught for 35 years, and then another TEN as a substitute. I now proudly follow in her footsteps, although I teach in a very different world today than she did with her 7th and 8th graders.
To the… *charming* people who suggest that teachers whine, that they don’t deserve respect because they “don’t work a real job” (choking on that one, by the way), and especially to the one poster who suggested that we don’t complain because we seem to *always* “work in a nice building with all the comforts not like a carpenter or a police officer”, I challenge you to PROVE your generality. Step into the high school in my district where I get a headache every day because the building is old and not ventilated well enough to completely rid of the musty smell or the mold after it rains for more than a day. (Because of budget cuts, the proposed improvements to the school had to be prioritized and reconstruction is too expensive at this time…) Or, deal with the students who bring weapons to school because they fear the gangs in the area and know no other way to protect themselves. (Because even in our comfortable and nice buildings, they STILL don’t feel safe…) And deal with angry parents who sound JUST LIKE YOU on occasion yell at me when their child takes home a poor grade– to which I then have to explain, “He/She never turned in any assignments. I have tried contacting you five times since the beginning of the semester to set up a meeting, but was unable to reach you…” (By the way, that’s the polite version of the conversation and NOT the one I would like to have…)
This rant is SPOT on. Because in spite of all my “whining”, as some of you put it, I STILL DO MY JOB. I still plan innovative and intriguing lesson plans that inspire and keep 35 students engaged and focused for 50 minutes at a time. And not ONE of those students learn in the same way as the other. I have to make sure that my “easily planned lessons” (laughing here…) reach EACH AND EVERY child in my room, from the ones who just don’t care about school to the ones who care too much. Do you have any idea how challenging that is???
Summers off? (more laughing here…) Do you realize that to stay certified, teachers are REQUIRED to keep taking classes? Our license to teach (yes, license– just like a carpenter, Mr. Frank…) does not go on indefinitely just because we graduate college. It must be renewed every 6 to 8 years, depending where you teach, and that renewal is dependent on taking *more* classes to prove that you are still bettering yourself as an educator.
And I don’t know about you, but my days off are normally spent around my job. I plan some more. I search for materials. I take trips where I take pictures and notes and relate them to what I am teaching in my class. During the summer, I continue to work on my 2nd Masters (if I have the tuition for it…).
In spite of all of the potential drawbacks (and I do NOT make a 6 figure salary… I barely make 5 it feels like!) I LOVE MY JOB. Because I like to be challenged on a daily basis. I LOVE to see the light come on in a child’s eyes when they finally “get” something they’ve been struggling to understand. I LOVE it when five years later, I run into a former student and they STILL remember my name– and that crazy project I made them do (which they still have at home). I LOVE spending my days learning new ways to reach the kids in my care.
I’m not only a teacher, I’m a nurse, a counselor, a parent, a study guide, and– on occasion– a friend, to ANY of my students (or any student *period*) who my need it.
And I don’t complain about my job. I just complain about the people who have the AUDACITY to question me for doing it.
