Mommas don’t let your babies grow up to be teachers

Sometimes around this time of year I will share posts that jest about how teachers are freaking out or not ready for school to start.  Memes like this one for example...

And people will say, "I thought you loved your job.  You should be excited!"  The truth is I am excited, I do love my job, but boy- I would love to get paid to sleep in until 7:00, pick raspberries, blog, ride my horses, play with my puppy, read, etc...and a lot more.  As jobs go, I wouldn't pick any other one.  But if a girl could get paid to sit at home and not work at all, that would rock.

However, as much as I love my job and get excited about new reading ideas or some stupid history show on TV, I would not wish teaching on my kids or the generation that is just coming into the career.  I sure hope they come in with backbones of steel and the will to do what is right no matter what.  Because for the most part, public opinion is not with teachers, it is against us.  All you have to do is log into Facebook and you will see.

Education is in a lose/lose situation right now.  Quite frequently I see the meme posted that rants about the kinds of things that should be taught in school.  Some of them are "sew a button" and "change a tire".  I think balance a checkbook is on there too.  You know what I think when I read that list? "Hmmm.... maybe parents should try, I don't know, parenting?"  Teach your kids the things that parents should be teaching their kids and we will stick to teaching them about the things you may not be an expert in, like psychology, American history, algebra, physics, biology, music theory, grammar, the elements of writing and more.  But hey - you want us to teach that stuff in school, okay.  Then you can't do the next thing which I see parents complaining about on Facebook.  Complain about how we don't get everything done in school.  See below.

Homework.  Why do teachers have to give SO MUCH HOMEWORK?  Head.  Desk.  Teachers can't win.  Teach all the subjects.  Teach all the life skills.  Get it all done during the school day.  And you had better do a damn good job because if my kid doesn't succeed on the statewide tests, then it is all your fault.  Never mind that I have them signed up for every after school activity, sport and club known to man and we have zero time to work on academics.  Why do teachers give homework?  Because we have standards that need to be met and sometimes your little lovely doesn't use their class time effectively to get those standards met.  Shocking information I know!  And sometimes your little lovely is an achiever and wants to go above and beyond the requirements to make their assignment, story, project, etc... amazing.  God I love those kids.  I can relate to those kids!  I was that kid.  Let's just take a moment and celebrate those kids.

I also hear that homework takes away from family time.  I'm calling BS on that one.   I know some families that do an amazing job of family time.  They do crafts, go for walks/runs, work in the garden, visit museums, read books, play games and all sorts of awesome family activities.  I'm actually kind of jealous of those people.  I aspire to be more like that.  We do our best but I have a feeling we fall more into the category that most parents do.  Our family time seems to alternate between attending some kind of sporting event or where each family member is doing their own thing and the kids are spending entirely too much time with electronics.  I would love to see the homework become family time.  When kids come back and tell me that they shared their homework with their parents or talked to them about a novel we are reading, I am thrilled. It doesn't get any better than that.  Parents who are involved with what their kids are learning have kids that are active learners.  The single best thing you can do to help your child succeed in school is stress how important it is.  (Even if you don't feel that way deep down.) But too often that's not what I see or hear.  I hear parents venting about school on social media, complaining about homework, reporting teachers, saying how they never needed algebra or economics or history, etc...  After that message at home, teachers are supposed to motivate students to learn and get them excited about that lesson on the founding fathers.  And when we don't, parents and students complain that teachers don't make learning fun for kids.

I love my job.  There is a lot of venting and complaining in the previous paragraphs.  The reality is that I love a challenge.  I'm all for that kid that walks in my classroom and tells me they don't like to read and have never found a book they like.  I'm all for the kid that says, "history is boring".  Those kinds of kids bring out the best teacher in me.  All we ask is that parents meet us halfway.  I once heard the story of a teacher that told parents who came to complain about something that their kid had said happened at school.  That teacher told the parents, "You believe half of what the kid tells you happens at school and I'll believe half of what they tell me happens at home."  That isn't half bad advice right there.  That and remembering that our lovely little cherubs will likely say almost anything to get out of trouble.  I remember trying to complain about teachers to my parents when I was young.  It went like this...
Me: And then Mr So and So said this and did this and it so wasn't faiiiiirrrrrr.
My parents:  Yeah.  But what did YOU do?
I don't know WHY they never thought is was all the teachers fault.  I mean, I was the perfect little angel.  I jest and you know I wasn't the perfect angel.  The truth is your child isn't either.  And the cold hard truth is that the teacher probably had a very good reason for what they assigned, the consequence they handed out or the reward that was given.  If you have a question, ask!  We sure don't mind sharing and we love hearing from all of you.

If the rants against teachers on social media weren't enough to make teachers feel like hanging up the 3 bags of stuff we haul back and forth to school everyday, then you add in that the state and federal government keep passing laws and mandates about what we should be teaching.  And not just what, but when.  And how.  And to who.  All by people who, 90% of the time, have never set foot in a classroom and do not understand kids or how they learn.  Oh and if our students don't do well enough on their state mandated tests, then we must be poor teachers.  Never mind that students are figured into the equations and percentages who don't speak the language, or moved to the district a week ago or have never attended a Minnesota school, etc... 

Here's the truth, we teachers are going to keep doing what we are doing.  We will keep working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet after our teaching hours are logged.  We will keep bringing work home on nights and weekends (yeah, there goes our family time).  We will keep buying our students binders, markers, notebooks, highlighters, glue sticks and post it notes.  We will keep buying educational materials from Teachers Pay Teachers and ABC Toy Zone with our own money all while parents complain about ALLLLL the school supplies on the back to school shopping list.  We will keep researching and reading and attending classes and workshops (many times on our dime).  We will keep trying to be a better teacher because that is what we do and what we live for. 

But guess what I'm not going to encourage my kids to pursue as a career choice? (Well, besides off shore oil rig repairman....)