Being a teacher has to be one of the greatest jobs on earth. No, I’m not just saying that, I truly mean it. I’m not getting paid to say it. I’m not getting bonus points with my boss. I’m not being sarcastic (shocker, I know). I truly believe that being a teacher is one of the best jobs you can have. Notice I didn’t say easy. You have to love a challenge to want to be a teacher. But with that challenge comes great rewards.
So let’s talk about what being a teacher is like. Like I said - it is truly roller coaster. There are days when I have literally cried on the way home and been willing to hang up my grading pen and strap on the waitress apron for life. And other days when I feel positively giddy with the my students. Being a teacher is exhausting. I’m sure most jobs are. Some days my own family pays for how mentally tired I am. There was the time I forgot the tuna in the tuna noodle hotdish. And the time I cut off my girls, telling them I was sick of repeating myself. They calmly let me know that I hadn’t repeated myself to them even once - but the day had worn me down.
Most days being a teacher is amazing. My current class makes me laugh out loud, quite literally, every single day. We get a lot of learning done. But we get a lot of laughing done too. Just don't ask them to cut something out with a pair of scissors. It will take half an hour off of your life that you will never get back.
But there is a flip side to the coin, a few things that challenge teachers to keep us on our toes. I never realized until I had been teaching 6th (and 4th) grade for a couple years how many times I would have to give the deodorant talk. Yes, the deodorant talk as in "wear some" - and "don't be afraid to put it back on after PE". You know the class schedule I hate the most - morning PE. It makes for a long day when you can't open up the windows. Currently we are also struggling with the "one spritz of Axe is enough" talk. I love the smell of Axe - in limited quantities.
Another unique component of teaching are teacher evaluations. I'm sure everyone gets evaluated at their jobs from time to time. It does keep the person honest. I'm not sure how often people's evaluations are solely based on the cooperation of those who would most like to see them get reprimanded by their boss. I always hope and pray that my students think they are the ones being observed, but I teach sixth graders and we all know they are smarter than that.
Teaching also ruins you for normal every day conversations and relations with others. I've been known to use the "teacher stare" in the line at Walmart. I spend way too much time telling complete stranger's kids that they need to "change their behavior". I can't seem to stop myself from correcting people's grammar and once, once I even asked a customer at the Village (when they asked me if they could have curds instead of french fries), "I don't know, can you?" Thankfully the customer was a former school board member and very understanding. It isn't easy to turn off!
The other part of being a teacher that most people aren't aware of and I wasn't aware of either became abundantly clear the first year of teaching. Teachers spend entirely too much of their not-so-abundant salary on materials for their classroom. Currently my room is in desperate need of pencil sharpeners. But this poor teacher has spent enough on classroom supplies and hoping that we can all just share and help each other make it through the final quarter. I know to buy more of them at back to school shopping next fall. And looseleaf paper. And binders. And glue sticks. I've taken to picking pencils up out of the swept up garbage from the hallway and I'm not afraid to raid our drawers for those pens that everyone steals from the bank and every other local business. I tell you - the struggle is real. Students go through pencils, glue and scissors like they are single handedly responsible for keeping office supply companies in business.
One thing that I can say about teaching is that it is exhausting. I always have good intentions of getting so much done when I get home. But I end up more like this teacher.
But it does make me feel better to know why I'm so tired and it isn't just because I'm old. I never really thought before about the number of decisions I make in a day. It's pretty impressive really for a person who has trouble deciding what to wear each morning when they get up.
One of the most frustrating things about teaching is the complete lack of time. There is never enough time. Time to get done in class what I want to, time to prepare, time to collaborate, time to assess, time to reflect.
So after all that, after everything that we complain about, I complain about, why would I say that teaching is the best job there is?
Because of all the million little moments that add up with my kids over the days, weeks, months and yes, even years. I have taught roughly 400 different kids over the past 18 years and those students have left so many wonderful lasting memories.
I love watching their faces when they get something they have been struggling with. Or watching their excitement when they find the words we've been learning in their free reading novels. Or watch them be moved to tears by an inspirational story I share. Or hearing them discuss novels in literature circle with the analysis skills that most adults don't possess. And of course - a favorite, when they learn something in history that they have to say is "so cool". I love watching them succeed, help others and yes, even tease me from time to time. I get to work with some of the kindest, most giving and caring people I know. I tell my students each fall that we are a family and that we need to have each other's backs. They have never disappointed me.
Teaching may be one of the hardest jobs that I can think of mentally, but it is also one of the most rewarding.
And of course there are those little things that make every teacher's day. Like, I may be poor, but at least I'm teacher poor. You have no idea how rewarding Sharpies and a personal laminator are. I have all kinds of shiny preserved documents at my house. Laminators rock.
And the treats. At least once a week there is something yummy to choose from in the lounge. I try to stay away, I really do. But sometimes the chocolate cravings are so bad that I swear you could drizzle chocolate over cat food and I would still help myself to a handful.
The most important thing, the thing that keeps me coming back, day after day, year after year, are the kids. My kids. All 400 plus of them. They were my kids and they will forever be my kids. I look forward to years to come and a few more kids to add to my family.
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