But not today. Today I am angry. I am angry that, once again, teachers are being misrepresented. I am tired of it. If you are not a teacher then you could not possibly have a CLUE what it's like. So, I'll walk you through my day...
4:45- alarm clock goes off
5:30 (or 5:40)- leave house
6:30- arrive at school
6:30-7:30- prepare for day (make copies, run errands in school, write morning message, clean up, organize work stations, experiments, etc.)
7:30- kids arrive in room
7:30-8:00- spend time repeating myself many times to remind children of procedures and help them with their morning work, check agendas for notes from parents, check homework
8:00-8:15- morning meeting (discuss date, weather, number of days in school, etc)
8:15-9:20- teach literacy (help children with reading, spelling, vocabulary), repeat tons of times what they should and should not be doing, ask them one more time to please stop talking over me
9:20-10:00- kids go to related arts (this means that I get to use the restroom, grade papers, enter grades, prepare for math, science, social studies, call parents)
10:00-11:05- more literacy, children go to work stations to reinforce what they've just learned, I teach phonics and spend any spare time asking children to please get to proper work station and work on their work
11:05-12:05- teach math, remind them of what we've been doing, review, model new math, have them practice, call small groups, help kids in small groups, remind other students to please get quiet and work on their own work, wrap up lesson and review once more (take mental notes of things they're not understanding so that it can be focused on again tomorrow= replan.)
12:05-12:35- teach social studies, review what we learned previously, repeat myself for what feels like the millionth time (but I would literally do a million times if they needed me to), make sure they understand the topic
12:35- line up for lunch, get 16 people quiet and in a line and not fighting, pushing, or anything else, manage to get down the hall way in one piece
12:40-1:05- lunch (which means opening everything, helping kids with table manners, making sure they're not too loud... does not mean I actually get to eat anything)
1:10-1:30- recess (the kids play, I ref.)
1:30-1:35- water and bathroom break
1:35-2:20- teach science (use planned experiment, repeat directions multiple times to make sure they get it, let them go at it, regroup and discuss)
2:20-2:40- sign agendas (make notes on behavior), read aloud if extra time, pack up book bags, make sure they have everything they need to take home in their book bags
2:40-3:00 (every other week)- bus duty- make sure one group of kids get on their bus when it arrives
3:00-4:30 (or later if needed)- make copies, call parents, replan lessons, prepare for next day, grade papers, plan small groups... etc. etc. etc.
The point is, a lot goes into a day of teaching. So much more than could possibly be put on here. Am I always cheerful? No. Am I always pleased with their decisions? No. Am I always the BEST teacher ever? I doubt it. However, these kids are my life. Literally. I work my rear end off for THEM. I work 10-12 hours a day for them. Why? Well, I'll tell ya, it sure ain't for the money! ;) It's because my desire is for them to succeed. If that means early mornings and late nights, so be it. If that means frustration to the point of tears because they aren't giving me their all- good. If that means giving a huge hug and pat on the back for a job well done... GREAT! The thing is, no one can understand what it's like to be a teacher until you are a teacher. Until you walk a day in a teacher's shoes you cannot know what it means. I love those kids. I worry about them. I pray for them. I work FOR them. No one goes into teaching for anything else. They go into teaching for the kids. they go into it to make a difference. I realize there are problems. I'd be lying if I didn't admit it, but the honest truth is that teachers are out there every single day working hard for someone else's child. They are out there giving their all to someone else... so someone else can succeed. Don't tell me that it is the teachers's fault that the school systems are failing. Don't stand there and tell me that. I work my rear end off to give my kids everything they need... tons of time and my own money go into each child in my room. You know what, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I will never give up on my kids. I will never give up on the public school system. I know that we can succeed just as I know that my kids can. We just need more people to back us up.
Alright, that's my two cents. I'm done now.
I have friends who are teachers, tons of them, and I am a teacher myself. What I know for sure is that the people who think they can give up on public education might as well go ahead and committ suicide because this country has been built on public education.
ReplyDeleteFurther, we are the people who believe in the children brought forth by others. We are the people who care what happens to them. We are the people who spend the money we make teaching in order to be able to do a better job at what we do.
Who has a job that requires them to purchase the equipment they use, give that equipment to someone else and watch that someone else use it up? Who has a job where they would give up family time with their own children to do more for someone else's children? Who has a job that requires them to forego their own child's school programs, open house, etc. in order to meet the parents of the children they work with everyday?
I'll tell you who does those things. Teachers. Teachers who take your children as their own, love them daily, nurture them, and try their best to make sure those children leave their classrooms knowing what they need to be successful at the next level.
Are all teachers like this? I am sure they are not. But, I can tell you that in the school where I work everyone is there every single day to give, give, give and give some more.
So, please support the teachers in your child's life by teaching your children to listen, to respect classroom materials, and to do what is asked of them.
If we do this TOGETHER, we will make an immeasurable difference in the lives of your children.
Well said!! I am not sure why but I feel like I am having to defend myself and public education all the time these days!!
ReplyDeleteI think as a teacher we learn to be more thick skinned and we STOP biting our tongues because lets face it, what we are fighting for is what's best of kids! Plain and simple!!