Why Do People Teach?

So, I really never blog. I hear myself talk all day and I feel like the world is probably over it. However, something happened today that really made me stop and reflect on this semester. Disclaimer: I did not intend to write all of this! I started out just wanting to share a sweet story, and I got carried away (shocking, I know...if my sister has clicked on this link she is rolling her eyes already- Michelle stop reading now).

I am currently down to the last day and a half of my first full semester teaching full time. Let me just say, it was everything I hoped, nothing I expected, and more exhausting than anyone who isn't a teacher could possibly fathom. Let this statistic sink in for a second, 40-50% of teachers quit in their first 5 years. That's insane...and I totally get it.

 Some people probably couldn't care less about what teachers deal with, and frankly they are probably sick of hearing the griping and endless moaning about things like common core, TEAM evaluation, etc. Trust me, I get it!! I was the poster child for someone who thought teachers just whined wayyyy too much and never stopped to realize how great they've got it (I mean hey- summers off, school over at 3 pm, 2 weeks at Christmas...teachers are laughing reading this by the way). I'd like to state for the record, there ARE too many teachers who whine too much. That's right, I said it. Sometimes teachers are our own worst enemy. Many teachers have never worked outside of this profession, and don't fully appreciate the additional time you get to spend with your family. HOWEVER, there is a reason why you constantly hear teachers shouting their dissatisfaction.

1. The amount of time outside of class you spend on lesson plans and preparing for just ONE class far exceeds any time you think teachers get off. Yes, it's fantastic to be able to be off work during the holidays, but don't think for 1 second that I don't have a million things to do preparing for new classes to start in January. Just because I'm not at school doesn't mean I'm not working.
2. Imagine you are a nurse. You are evaluated by a supervisor frequently and the criteria you have to meet partially has to do with the quality of care you give, but it also judges you on the way the patient responds to you, with no thought to any outside circumstances (because all patients, read students, are the same right?). Then, your job requires a certain percentage of your patients to not only recover from their illness, but to improve by a certain percent that you did not decide in relation to other patients (with no consideration to the individual needs or difficulties of that patient compared to another). Numbers and statistics, not quality, are what seems to matter. Last, all of these things are also weighed without consideration of whether or not your patient WANTS or TRIES to get better. You're a miracle worker, right? If they eat 10 cheeseburgers a day and refuse to stop, you still need to cure their high cholesterol! If you have time, you really need to watch a student explain this- its simply phenomenal
3. The people making decisions that affect #1 and #2 (and basically everything else you do) most of the time have never set foot into a classroom. Sureeee, "in theory" you should be able to do all of these 50 things on this evaluation in every single lesson. In theory.

All this being said, the purpose of this post is not to whine or preach about how under appreciated teachers are. You just have to have an understanding of the struggles teachers face in order to fully appreciate what I'm going to say next, which is that there are 3 main things I've learned this year:

First, having amazing co-workers makes ALL the difference! My very wise student teaching cooperating teacher told me "Good teachers will share everything they've got with you. They know how awesome their work is, and they don't want to see you struggle." This is 100% true. The other teachers at my school made me feel SO welcome from day 1. They are a fantastic support system. In the first few weeks when I was in tears at the end of several days, they were right there to give me some great advice, some tough love, and a hug when I needed it. 

Second, parents can be the worst part of this job. I know, this is a risky thing to type and put out on the big world wide internet, but it's true and you need to hear it. Any teacher could explain to you for days on how to effectively speak to your child's teacher. Take the time if you have kids of any age to understand this concept. Please, parents reading this, NEVER begin a conversation with a teacher with the phrase "Can you explain why you gave my child an F..." This entire sentence says to the teacher, "my child is right and you are wrong. They did not earn a bad grade, you gave it to them. I am not in the class, but I'm going to take my 15 year old's word over yours." Have you thought about the bigger life lesson/message that undermining a teacher sends to your child? We're all working toward the same thing, we all want your child to succeed! We're not the bad guy. No teacher is working for their massive paycheck to destroy kids' lives. Work with us, back us up, and the result will always be better. If a teacher does not want to work with you and refuses to listen, they are the problem. Feel free to throw rotten bananas at them.

 

Last, the entire purpose for writing this incredibly long post that I had no idea would turn into what is has: Teenagers can be terrible people, but it's a teacher's responsibility to give them everything you've got and more, even when all you want to give them is a knuckle sandwich. I won't lie to you, there have been times in the past 6 months when I thought "Yep, I could walk out of this classroom right now, maybe say some choice words on my way, and not feel the least bit remorseful". Everyone told me in the first few weeks that you can't take things that your students say personally, but it is SO hard! It just feels terrible when you overhear them call you a very rude name, or when they tell you how much they hate your class (which you've spent hours trying to make sure is fun and engaging). It doesn't feel great when they constantly complain and refuse to work. People will tell you to learn to leave it at school and not take what happened that day home with you- THIS is the single hardest thing to learn as a new teacher. It's hard to accept that some kids just are not going to like you, period. It's hard to accept that they are going to make up mean names for you and tell all of their friends to never take your class. It's hard to accept that no matter how awesome, energetic, funny, smart, or dedicated you are, there are kids who are going to count the minutes until they never have to see you again...

 HOWEVER

Sometimes teenagers can be just the best thing ever! When they give you a sincere compliment, it makes you feel awesome because you know they don't just give those babies out. It feels fantastic when your worst student doesn't hesitate to defend you when another student makes a rude remark. Nothing is like that moment when you're teaching something difficult and you can physically see a light bulb turn on in their head. Then, you get to see the excitement and pride they feel for powering through and understanding something they thought they couldn't. My dad is my favorite. He's told me a million times about a math teacher he had in school who told him he was stupid and made him feel like he couldn't learn (he's a CPA and basically the smartest person I know). I always have this in my mind. I never want to be that teacher.

 I've read this note at least 20 times since it was handed to me at 3:05 today, and I have cried every time. This note below, THIS is what makes the tears and frustrations earlier this year 100% worth it. This is why teachers deal with all of the things you constantly hear them complain about. The past few months have not been horrible by any means, and it may seem like I'm just being dramatic (let's be real I probably am). I just really wanted to share it and thank everyone who has helped me, anyone who has helped another teacher, and anyone who teaches and doesn't get the thanks they deserve. I wish I could kiss each and every one of you right on the face and tell you how amazing you are. I hope one day I can be the kind of teacher my coworkers are every single day.

This is why people teach.