People just don't understand what I do. I am a teacher. An elementary school teacher in a city school. I work hard. I work tremendously hard, every single day. I see and hear about trauma that my students experience on a daily basis. Some of my students don't know one or both of their parents, some of my students have parents that are incarcerated, some of my students have parents who are dysfunctional beyond your imagination. Some of my students have pain and hurts that I will never be able to comprehend. They bring that to school. They're expected to learn - a lot - and take tests and perform, when they aren't on grade level, when they're struggling emotionally, when they're too young to be able to say, I can't think because I'm hurting and I have to deal with adult stuff, but I'm just a kid. I do everything I can - I try to give them love, structure, discipline, and safety. I try to talk with them about who they are and how they're feeling, what is happening in their lives and I try desperately to give them some kind of education and future they can cling to. I try to support them and yet, also teach them and give them skills and tools for learning, as well as life. This job is not for the faint of heart.
I get to work by 8:30 stay until at least 4:30 and have approx. 20 minutes a day to eat and use the bathroom. I'm supposed to have a 45 minute planning period every day, but twice a week that planning is taken up with meetings. The planning usually ends up being about 25 minutes by the time you drop the kids off wherever they have to go and if there's no substitute - then I have my kids and no planning. During the planning time you're supposed to grade papers, do any number of a 100 administrative tasks, call parents, write notes, make copies, review lesson plans and curriculum, etc. etc. There is NO way on God's green earth that I could ever get all the tasks done that I need to get done in a 40 hour work week. It is impossible. I've tried. I'm an incredibly organized, efficient, work smarter/not harder kind of person - anyone who knows me can attest to this. I can literally get 100 things done in one day...but I can't walk on water or move mountains - even though on some days I try, hard.
I won't go into the outside stuff because I'm afraid of reprisal. There are so many factors I cannot mention that make the job harder. SO MANY.
I will say this though - please STOP looking at me as if I'm a glorified babysitter or someone who just frolics with little children and reads and does crafts all day. Please do not insult my intelligence, my education, training, experience and expertise by saying, "Aw, that's sweet" when I tell you what I do. Please do NOT say, "Well, you do get allllll that time off." Yes, I do, but I'm telling you now, I work more in 10 months than most people do in 12 for half the pay and respect. I am quite honestly, one of the most intelligent, loving, caring and talented individuals I know and yet, I am paid half of what other folks I know are (aside from my amazing colleagues and friends who are also teachers or in education) with SIGNIFICANTLY less education, training or experience. And you know what else I really am peeved about - please, for the love of God, stop saying that I should just do it because I love it and not expect a big salary. Please. No other job would be possible without my job. I teach the basics - reading, writing, math, science and social studies (history/civics). I have to be able to break down ANY subject to an elementary level, get them to pass tests, to think, to reason and to somehow learn independence and heaven-forbid a little creativity along the way.
It's physical, it's emotional and I make hundreds of decisions daily. I deal with regular, systematic disrespect and in some cases, actual abuse. "Society" loves to talk about how it values teachers, but overall, I'd say not. Media loves to talk about all those creative teachers around the country that do special hand-shakes or give out toothpaste to their kids, who spend their own money, who sacrifice time with their own families/children to care for others, yet they also LOVE to point out the bad seeds. They love to do stories on bad teachers and all the harm they do. We aren't treated like professionals, we are treated like robots. We are expected to perform miracles and a lot of times we do. We really do - those of us that care - those of us that still love our kids, even though all the other "stuff" has threatened to break us more than once.
No one knows that there have been many nights I have laid in bed crying about a child, for a child, praying for a child, wishing I could help/save a child. No one knows that there have been countless moments of true success and happiness that happen every day when I see a child "get it" or when I know they've connected something or applied something they've learned to real life. No one knows that I talk about the kids like they were my own or that I sometimes wish they were. No one knows how hurt and insulted and down right horrible I've felt because of what a parent/admin/or a coworker has said or done. Sometimes the job hurts. A lot. Sometimes it's amazing and a gift.
I'm not "complaining" although it may sound like it. I just wish that someone, somewhere would simply understand the pressures we face and realize that you will continue to have teacher shortages and fewer people going into the profession, as long as this "attitude" about teachers continues. We aren't heroes, but we are human. Please remember that.
