Feeling Low About Teaching
Hey all! Sorry if this post is longer than usual. I normally don't share too many personal experiences about myself on the blog as I figure you aren't here to learn about me, but rather to grab some fun and practical teaching and classroom organization tips. But, I have had a heavy heart for quite some time and I am hoping by discussing it, maybe we can come together and see some light shine again.
As many of you know, I am no longer working daily in the classroom {see my story HERE if you want some background as to why}, but I do feel like I work with all the world's teachers now instead. In the last year, it seems that more times than not I hear about the challenges of teaching: more hours, less support, heightened student behavior issues, the never ending paperwork piles, parents, administrators, assessment, assessment, and more assessment, among others. I have always been a "teacher's teacher" choosing to help out in ways I know I can by lending an ear or trying to find small ways to ease the situation with tips that I might stumble across. I am not one for challenging school reform as that is not my forte in any way, shape, or size.
Yesterday, as I was getting my hair cut, I was chatting with my hairdresser about her high school daughter's plans next year for college and she was explaining that her daughter (who is tutoring a super cute, well-behaved Kindergartener right now) has recently decided she wants to go into teaching. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to explain to her how tough the teaching profession has become and how she really needs to make sure her daughter volunteers with a classroom teacher to see first-hand the reality of how much teachers have to deal with on a daily basis. I, in essence, spent that time trying to tell her how to talk her daughter out of becoming the one thing I have always been so proud to call my profession. When did that happen? As I drove home, that thought weighed heavily on my mind.
After I arrived at home, my own daughter, who is a high school sophomore explained to me that many kids had been chattering about "the end of the world" on Friday, and that rumors had started in social media (she doesn't have any accounts so it was all hearsay to her) about a possible planned school shooting in her school that day. Immediately, I decided that she would not have to go. I don't know if that was the right decision or not - am I teaching her to be afraid of something that most likely won't happen? - but I just can't bear the thought of even taking a chance. I am hearing similar stories of high schools in other areas of the country that are telling high school students that no backpacks can be brought in to school on Thursday or Friday for that very reason. Again - when did I become frightened to send my own children to school?
While I don't know the answers to the above questions, I do know in my heart that teaching IS a noble profession. We shouldn't have to shield our children from bullets to be called a hero as teachers do AMAZING and HEROIC tasks EVERY DAY when a child makes that connection or instills pride in completing the task at hand. I am hoping that through this blog post, I can be reminded that schools are, for the most part, the safest place many children see on a regular basis and that there is magic occurring within those walls.
If you have a story to share about how teaching is awesome, PLEASE link it up if you have a blog, or leave a comment if you don't have a blog. I am guessing I am not the only one who feels this way and your comment/post could be just the thing that a fellow teacher needs to bring back the hope for the remainder of the school year.
This will be my last post for 2012 as I take some time to read your posts and comments and reflect on where we can go from here. I want to be able to take on 2013 with a new found spark and the promise of a new day. I am hoping you will join me on that journey.
Be well and thanks for your stories from the heart!
