I wish more people (especially adults and parents) understood that The school work we are given are harder, with a lot higher expectation to do it right the first time. I also wish they could understand what it’s like to be pressured into getting perfect A’s and getting pressured to enroll in a certain job your parents desire. A parent yells at their child that their own life is hard with work, but a child’s school life can affect them mentally with the amount of stress. “Don’t do anything stupid, the kids will laugh at you.” “I got to finish this homework in an hour before my parents kill me.” Kids are forced to follow unrealistic expectations put on by their parents, their teachers, and other kids. Beauty is pushed onto them with the kids at their own school, unrealistic grades and time limits are pressed on by their parents and teachers, to the point of depression, or even suicide. Sometimes, if you make a small mistake, there’s a chance of being suspended or even expelled. Half of the time, schools are unfair and attempt to save their own skins with the media.
I wish more people understood that times have changed, and the way of life has changed greatly in the last generation. Adults continually try to compare their way of life when they were my age and it’s not the same experience that I’m living in. This falls into the way people work and the impact of technology to the point where it’s beyond adults. They don’t get the fact that the way they may have accomplished school work isn’t the normal way to do it now. This has caused me to try and explain without accomplishing anything because when my parents had work to do they didn’t have the option of having advanced technology help them where as it is now the preferred method now. I’m not saying that all adults don’t get that there’s been a shift in the new generation, and in fact most of them realize it but just can’t grasp all the different ways it can be used. This has been repeating that from one generation to the next there has been new ways of doing stuff but there has been such a jump that it still hasn’t been comprehended by everyone and once it is it will make everyone’s life easier.
Teaching in 2018, post-Ferguson, post-Parkland, means educating students who know better than we did the future they want to see, and who act to make it so in ways that we failed to.
Their leadership calls us to rethink what we owe such a generation.
It calls us to take risks to give them meaningful content, like the librotraficantes who responded to Arizona’s ethnic studies ban by forming underground libraries, the Colorado teachers who organized sick-outs to protest the erasure of civil disobedience from their AP curriculum, the teachers who spend their own money so their kids can find books by writers who look like them.
Teaching in 2018 means taking seriously our students’ lives outside the classroom, like the teachers who share “know your rights” materials with undocumented students, the teachers who use their kids’ preferred pronouns, the Maryland teachers who displayed “We the People” posters, the 2,000 Seattle teachers who wore Black Lives Matter shirts, the teachers who cut down on drills when their kids are overwhelmed.
And teaching in 2018 means fighting for students while lacking the power other professionals take for granted.
Teachers in West Virginia and Arizona and Oklahoma and Kentucky are rising up against intolerable conditions, and despite efforts to demonize their uprisings, public opinion supports them.
That's a good thing, because teaching in 2018 means cultivating the generation who will change the world, and we need all the support we can get.
3
I wish people knew that more Americans have a high school diploma now than at any other time in history and yet, poor students and their teachers are continually labeled as “failing”. There was never a time when poor kids had higher scores or better outcomes then they do today. In 2017, 90% of Americans had a high school diploma; in 1950 is was only 34%. Check out this graphic from the U.S. Census if you don’t believe me: https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/time-series/demo/cps-histo...
Teaching in a school system where nearly every student lives near the poverty line is harder. It requires more resources, more time, more money and more optimism. If suburban schools are doing it right--if those teachers know how to teach harder, better, or faster, then isn’t the obvious solution to send those teachers to the schools that are “failing”? Everyone knows the outcome of such a teacher swap would not alter the test results or graduation rates and yet we continue to shame poor students and their teachers. Desegregation was a failure. Poor students mainly attend schools with high levels of poverty. Middle and upper-middle class students attend schools with a tiny percentage of poor students (often less 1%). I wish everyone would stop denigrating high-poverty schools and the hard working teachers in them. The villain is poverty. When we defeat that monster, all schools will succeed.
1
I chose this profession, and I have chosen it every day for the past 33 years. Much like parenting, it can get stressful and tiring, but more often it is exhilarating and incredibly rewarding. I have never had a day when I did not want to go to work. I am lucky enough to teach theatre and Student Government to a students at a public academic magnet school. I earn a 6 figure income and have great benefits, thanks to a supportive school board and a strong union. I wish people knew that we love their kids and want to be the best educator/influence that we can be.
As an advocate and academic coach at New Frontiers in Learning, NYC, I find many teachers face the challenge of keeping up with completing the curriculum and supporting different levels children with learning differences learn. With a strong push towards inclusive learning, how can teachers support a wide range of diverse learners?
Long ago, learning differences were not as prevalent for fear of stigma, lack of knowledge, or even services available. Those that were identified as “learning disabled” were segregated into Special Education.
Teachers did not seem to have the flexibility to adjust their teaching methods, nor were they equipped with the right type of support. Today, however, with an influx of awareness and advocacy, teachers have the ability to learn and be more supportive within the classroom. Laws have been put in place to accommodate.
Offering children various modes to learn-visual, auditory, and tactile methods within the curriculum-are helpful for all students, as everyone learns differently, even us as adults. Learning the signs of a child struggling and advocating for accommodations within the classroom is another support. Allowing children to present material learned in various ways-typed, hand written, orally-are all great too. The conventional ‘blackboard and chalk lecturing style’ is a way of the past. Teachers have a lot more tools that they can offer to ensure all children have an equal opportunity to be successful and reach their full potential.
I wish people knew how much emotional labor is involved in teaching.
One of the most important parts of the job is building relationships with the students in your care, and while that's incredibly rewarding and enriches my life every day, it also opens me up to a lot of opportunities to feel pain. I teach 150 real people, each with her or his own complex set of hopes, dreams, and fears. It gets overwhelming sometimes to watch them crumble under the weight of their anxiety or spin off into drug use.
I also wish that people knew how many hats teachers wear. While I don't think that anyone who is seriously tuned into education believes that teachers line their students' desks up and deliver lectures for 8 hours a day (maybe Betsy DeVos thinks that?), the reality is far from that contrived image of modern education. On any given day, my students learn in a variety of ways: they write and have conferences with one another; they discuss ideas in small groups and seminars; and they workshop ideas with me one-on-one.
And my duties go so far beyond teaching. I train and coordinate a fleet of peer tutors in the Writing Center I direct. I analyze assessment data and develop new strategies. I plan and lead curriculum team meetings with my colleagues to reflect on and improve our practice. I respond to emails from admin, teachers, parents, and students. I counsel distressed students. I coach a sports team.
There is so much to the teaching life that most people will just never know.
I wish people knew the standards that the government is forcing us to teach to young children are not all developmentally appropriate for younger age groups. Finding ways to engage young children in grasping some concepts can be exhausting. Not all children are ready to read at same pace. Young children that are not scoring proficent on a standardized test doesn't necessarily reflect on the teacher.
I wish people knew the emotional toll it takes on a teacher to have to deal with the different learning styles, behaviors and personalities of the 22-35 students in the classroom while also nuturing and teaching them character traits so that they can build confidence in order to succeed and grow.
I wish more people knew what the last day of school is like for teachers.
Friends and family ask if we're counting down the days, how we’ll spend our summer, or what we'll do to celebrate.
But often, when we are supposed to be celebrating a year well done, we feel the emptiness of the hallways with sadness. It’s that feeling you get when you didn't really get to say goodbye.
You’ve spent nearly 180 days with these lives in your reach. You’ve poured into, cared for, struggled with, and dedicated the majority of your waking hours to this group of kids. Kids who showed up and needed your attention in a hundred ways that year - whether you were ready or not.
I wish people knew that being a teacher on the last day of school feels like little pieces of your heart just went walking and you don't know if they will ever return. Sometimes it’s a joy and sometimes It's a sinking feeling as you send them out into the world. You wonder how their summers will go. You wonder which ones will move. You wonder if you'll ever get the chance to hear about the wonderful things they do with their lives, or how they changed the world in their own sphere.
I wish people knew that on the last day of school teachers feel the conflict of celebrating growth, but also the feeling as if it wasn’t enough.
I wish more people knew that even when our students leave us, our "work" never truly does. Our work may be measured in calendar years, but it is because of our kids that we are forever changed.
Do not be fooled into thinking that test scores or graduation rates determine whether a school is "good" or "bad", or whether schools are "improving" or not. It's an easy and quick talking point, but it tells just a small part of the story. The real story of how effective a school is goes beyond numbers, which are usually just a reflection of the socioeconomic status of the community than the effectiveness of the school.
That the profession is just that, a profession. I don't pay my bills with love. I don't save for retirement with "it's my calling." I'm a pro, not a baby sitter. I deserve great pay and benefits.
Your child lies to you. Your child manipulates you. Grades are online. No your child isn't Albert Einstein mixed with Tom Brady mixed with Anne Hathaway, mixed with Angels. Sorry.
No, your child can't have an "A" on everything always throughout the year. No.
No, I'm not a shift supervisor at Taco Bell who cares if your cheese sauce is the right temperature.
Yes, when your child doesn't turn in work it counts as a zero. No I'm not working late to reprint everything for your angel. Yes, when your child doesn't read, ask questions, talks during the lecture, sleeps during class, he will get a bad grade no matter how much you talk about me on facesnap or bookgram.
Thanks...
Thanks...
I have been a teacher for 27 years. The best part of teaching is working with children and families. Children are always thirsty to be cared about and to learn. Helping a child make connections between what they knew and what they just learned is a joy that never grows old. Teaching continues to broaden me as I guide the children to more knowledge of the world around them. Families are still trying to do their best by their children, even when the families are struggling with nightmarish problems. I may not agree on their approach or their attitudes or even their efforts, but most people are trying to do the best that they know how to do. When I work in concert with them, children can succeed.
What is difficult is that everyone has become anxious about children's futures. People keep throwing solutions at the teachers and expect that each of them will 'fix' a wild amalgam of problems. What is missing are the nuances of understanding and teaching human beings. Great teaching and rich learning can take place, but there have to be many, many resources available to the teacher so that each child can learn according to his or her best style. And get out of our way so that we can do what we are trained to do - interact with children and teach!
DJ, thank you for your remarks. I love how you come back to family and children at the heart of what we do!
After 30+ years in classrooms, it has been difficult watching how the economy in rural and middle America has been letting parents and communities down since the 1980s when the now-misnamed conservative movement gradually grew in force. While most schools are still operating adequately in spite of leaner budgets, the aspirations of students have rightly been dented. The challenging social and cultural climate of today’s schools is not primarily a result of “throwing God out of schools” as is often opined. It is caused by the economic decline of most Americans, and secondly to the over-reliance on a “God, guns, and country” idea held by too many as a remedy for the situation.
In fact, the law simply requires that no one religion be promoted by schools who are obliged to respect the rights of ALL students and parents. It is paramount to any freedom-loving country or individual that all human beings have the right to choose their own religion.
Most teachers and school administrators are in the profession because of their belief in the possibility of the positive development of ALL citizens, sometimes privately basing this belief on the premise that we are all created in God’s image.
In any case, all citizens need the opportunity to earn a decent living without recourse to a belief in whether they are good or bad. Let's get back on track and build this thing together.
We love your kids fiercely, but cannot love them more than our own families. We spend hours crafting lessons, reaching out at home, reading student work, preparing professional development... this all eventually chews into our personal time because unlike a “regular” job, during our “free” periods we’re trying to use the bathroom, eat, drink some water, make copies, follow-up on things that haven’t been finished, our bulletin boards, etc. When we go home, we want to be home.
Please understand that we will do the best we can, when we can. I can’t stay after school like I did when I was 22. I have a family, medical appointments, a life outside of the school building. While I wish I had the time to read all 8 of your student’s college essays, write the college and internship recommendation, plus manage the club for your child, I simply can’t. I can’t because there are several other students in my classes who I have to write separate lessons for, create different assessments for, because instead of being asked, I’ve been mandated. I wish I could enrich and do more, but my dog needs to be walked, my house needs to be cleaned, my grandma needs a ride to the doctor.
Cell phones are the single biggest distraction in the classroom. So much technology in the palm of your hand to be sure but it’s hard to compete with. Also, we need as much parental support as we can get. As a HS teacher I only see each student 50+ minutes a day so those moments as parents are super important in teaching kids manners, character etc.
I"m in my 16th year of teaching. I"m also a retired Air Force officer. Nothing I did in the military was as hard as what I do every day in my high school. We work with a huge diversity of kids and few resources. We get one period of planning and teach 5 classes. There is no time to reflect or improve our teaching. Most of the time we're I'm just trying not to get to far behind.
The kids are fantastic and difficult, smart and lazy, kind and bullies, in other words a public high school.
Well, they can't do any worse than we did, baby boomers.
Public perception often see us as martyrs fighting the good fight. But action is woefully missing. Our classes are stacked and we have such a short time to both catch up our students and teach them something new something need for a test at the end. The successes of a day are lost by the failures in June. We fight time passing by so fast, the phones, the emotions, the hunger (our kids), the headaches from eating food desert garbage, the feeling of impending doom (I’m in high school)
How to fix? The restrictions on who can teach one what hinders students getting the tailored education they need. The needs of a cohort are constantly changing especially in big cities with heterogenous populations. There need to be better ways to prove you are qualified to teach a class than going back to university.
Volunteers? Public schools are restricted by bureaucracy and it is impeding students from exposure to careers, experiences, connections, supplies, access... there are people that have knowledge to share with our kids but there is no system built to make the connection with business individuals and public schools.
Options for work over the summer that includes outreach to families and new incoming students to prepare for their arrival to a new school (re: freshmen students) and then flexibility in the classes offered. Given the choice there are teachers that would be elated to create courses based on their and student interest that can cover broad standards
I want people to know how much I love my students! They are stinky, rude, quirky, wonderful 13 and 14-year-olds. And they are an inspiration. They love to help others. They laugh at my stupid jokes. They are sorry when they make a mistake. They worry about everything. And they are in a world worthy of worry. We joke and laugh about things so we don’t cry about them. “Throw a book if a shooter comes in” and “I’m stepping out for a second - if we have a “drill”, you guys do your thing and text me” are things I’ve had to say to these kids. That’s not fair. I shouldn’t have to worry when I run to the copier to get a paper we need that I might not be there in the event of an attack. I love these kids. They are awesome. We are responsible for giving them a safe space to learn. Let’s do our part.
We are not just teachers. Providing content is the easiest part of our job.
We are:
Proxy parents
Untrained therapists
Suicide preventers
Self-esteem boosters
Crisis counselors
Cheerleaders
Parent whisperers
Angry, disrespectful email recipients
Lunch duty monitors
Parking lot monitors
Study hall monitors
Tutors
Drug sniffers
Contraband watch dogs
Club leaders
Sports coaches
Service learning coordinators
Autism/ADHD behavioral experts
ESL specialists
Peer support systems
Second job needers
20 hour-a-week graders
15 hour-a-week lesson planners
Disciplinarians
Community liaisons
Child protectors
Technology integrators
Comedians
Entertainers
Public speaking coaches
Pre-teen and teen relationship managers
Professional development seekers/captives
Curriculum planners
Team builders
Cell phone removers
Critical thinking coaches
Environmental protectors
Lockdown drill experts
Social justice advocates
Fast eaters
Thrift store shoppers
Administration placators
Meeting after meeting attendees
Mentors
Photocopying experts
PowerPoint makers
Bulletin board creators
Grammar gurus
Lab specialists
Shoulders to cry on
Hands to high five
Lovers of children
Lovers of learning
We live near or just above the poverty level in service of your children and a better future for our society. We are treated like ungrateful grifters. It's time to pay us what we deserve.
4
This feels like a poem. Well said.
Its an amazing experience through out my teaching career. When I look back early times of 2004 -2010 things have changed compeletly.
New ideas new technology a lot more creativity enhance the level of education far more better than before, I enjoy adapting new ideas of teaching methodology in my classroom from teacher centred to student centred learning environment, we have lots of new startegies which is helpfull and easy to implement & time saving as well, where students learning is guranteed & I believe its an amazing trend so far..!
Honeslty 2018 is far better than those ancient teaching years, the whole concept of teaching is changed its much easier to apply all these new strategies and technology inside you classroom, offcourse its not an easy task to adopt new ideas and strategies, it needs a lot more hardwork , patience and cooperation of every single student , parents and school authorities too.The whole idea is to say that being teacher is not an easy job its a challenge everyday every year, most important is how well you accept and adapt these changes and challenges and implement in your classroom with your students successfully.
For me, its important to see my students success that is the most awesome feeling ever, there you will see all your hardwork is being paid when your student success, it reflects all your hardwork in throwback form. I love my profession, its not about 2018 or 2017 or 2019.. its all about my passion which grows and inceases every year✌!
Cell phones. We are competing with the world in the palm of their hand, not to mention status updates, texts, and snap stories. It's unlike anything a teacher before this generation has ever seen, and without a doubt, the biggest shift in education in a long time.
1
The best part of teaching is the kids. Our kids and future deserve the best teachers. The best teachers are those who are highly educated themselves and embrace the profession despite all of the difficulties that come with the profession. However, as the pay levels remain subpar more of the "best" teachers are leaving. I will leave because as much as I love the job and the kids, I need money to support the family I want to to have one day in the near future. What I wish people understood is that teachers take their jobs very seriously, and consider it their profession. And all we want is to be fairly compensated so we can focus on what we really care about: helping kids learn and teaching them how to be good humans.
I make $37,000 a year. I have a Master's degree in English - Secondary Education. I had a 4.0 GPA in grad school, 3.8 GPA in undergrad and a 4.0 in high school. I feel confident in saying I could go do many other jobs and be very successful (I have worked in corporate roles and received lots of opportunities), but I choose to teach because of the kids. I firmly believe that education is what shapes the future of our world. I am proud to be a part of that but sadly I know I won't be able to stay forever simply because of money. People need to take education more seriously in this country.
Teaching is a calling. It is a humanistic profession. There are constant ebbs and flows of needs, demands and constraints. Teachers could share laments from budgets to behavior to isolation to curriculum. The long and the short of it is that no matter what, we show up for kids. Lawyers engage in "practicing law" and doctors "practice medicine" whereas educators are immediately thrust into knowing all without a lot of support. We exist in an autonomous profession but are often criticized for the decisions we make. The knowledge we want to impart in our learners, things like we learn from failure or a test score doesn't define you, are the very things that educators are not given any grace on. It is an interesting dichotomy. It is very easy to get caught up in the bureaucracy of education. However, our best moments are spent muffling that and doing what it takes, no matter what, each day to empower and engage our learners. Teachers are superheroes. We can do more with less, and we often do. We connect hearts with affective social learning to brains with cognitive learning. It's cliche, but we are nurses & coaches & cheerleaders & counselors & scientists & librarians & zookeepers & mathematicians & parents. We do it all. The truth is, education hasn’t changed much in 20 years because the attitude of those that are standout educators is to embrace our calling and in spite of the pendulum swing, or new demands or cultural shifts, we do what it takes “for the kids."
1
Will the egg and sperm donors please step up? I began teaching before online grade book programs and email for everyone. I began teaching before parents could harass, insult and threaten you over an 88 versus 90. Unfortunately for me and my students alike. most parents act as "advocates" for their children - for they are much more "special" than other students. Parents demand their child's "Honor Roll" certificate while simultaneously demanding a "fun" but undemanding learning environment but one that doesn't require any significant individual effort (especially homework). Homework you see interferes with Juan or Shameka becoming the next budding actress in community theatre, a world-acclaimed ballerina or the next youngest baseball star. Or, worse, it might interfere with mom's date with the latest boyfriend, or her college homework or dad's favorite television show. It is so much more fun to jeer your child's team-mates at a game than it is to supervise homework time. A family "movie night" is so much more relaxing than actually listening to your child read at night.
What is positive about teaching is what has always been amazing, the moments when a student says "oh, NOW I get it" and the sense of accomplishment you feel when they understand. It is the conversations with the parents that really care - about their l earning and long-term growth, so much so that they unplug the television for the entire household.
1
I want people to know that teachers from all backgrounds do teach acceptance, leadership, math, science, language arts, music...the list is as infinite as Pi! Our schools are filled with teachers from varied backgrounds - me (a 51 year old Irish-American white guy) teaching a 12 year old Jordanian-American Muslim boy about the first TV anchorwoman in America to wear a hijab (Tahera Rahman), down the hall from me a 30-something female Korean-American Christian with two kids teaching from a picture book about love written by a Mexican-American author, down the next hall a 30-something Polish-American white female married to a Black Jamaican-American man with biracial kids teaching a Russian-American girl about Ghana’s Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah’s heroic life story. We bring our hearts to our kids each day with intentional teaching that is determined to combat a world that is making it more difficult for parents to mold children into strong, accepting leaders. I applaud the parents; I see them working to provide for their kids. We are with children for more waking hours than their parents are; this makes teachers almost as important as parents in helping to determine the futures of these kids. I want more people to know that teachers are a major part of the fiber of the thread that weaves this world together, we always have been and always will be sewing an ever-expanding colorful and majestic quilt. Teachers give - and “giving” may be the greatest act of kindness one can perform.
Parents, we still need you. We need you to reinforce good habits of reading, critical thinking, problem solving, volunteerism, and conflict resolution. Times have changed, yes. But we still need you to contact us, to check homework, to ask questions, and to consider us your ally. Together, we have an enormous task - raising our children (in the midst of uncertainty) to be responsible and active members of society.
I wish people realized how different schools are than when they were in school, and how different situations are from one school district to another. Some schools have full time school nurses, others may have an administrator who took some classes or not. Some may have parent support groups that raise large sums of money to help the school get trips and equipment, others rely on the teachers to find their own help. For the boomer generation, one of the biggest differences is the number of single parent households or three job households that make it very hard to access parents or to get them as involved as they would like to be. Getting an adult to go on a field trip is numbing, in our district they need to get fingerprinted and pre approved before they can chaperone. Then there is the time and money dedicated to preparing for tests, instead of time consuming fun projects that got kids involved in their education. Without art and music classes so many kids miss out on the importance of creation and personal discipline. So few kids have hobbies anymore, having fun while you learn or reading for fun has gotten lost in the bureaucracy of producing worker bees. I just retired from teaching middle school math.
Every year I get more expectations and responsibilities added to my plate. My paycheck has stayed the same for countless years, parents are less involved, I see my boss in my room about twice a year. I love what I do but I am so tired that I don’t have the energy to do much outside of school. My Friday nights are spent putting grades in and at least half of every Sunday is spent planning. I get to school at 6:45 am and generally don’t leave until 5. I teach after school clubs and have meetings at least 2 times per week after school. This is my 21st year doing this and it gets harder every year. I have no savings and live paycheck to paycheck. Every two years, I get a new boss. I worry about my students when I’m not with them. When I’m not buying supplies with my own money, I ask for help on donors choose. I’m 45 and looking forward to retirement and hoping I can stick it out til then. The best part of my job is when I’m in that classroom with my kids, watching them grow and learn. That is why I do it.
What I actually do is not reflected in my contract. I look like a 9-month 39K (before taxes) employee with a fairly cushy schedule...the reality is early morning and after school meetings regularly, a certain number of required "professional" hours (for which we don't receive compensation)...and then there's the grading and planning. I logged 10 hours of grading and planning last weekend alone on my own time (usually there is anywhere between 2-3 every weeknight, too). My students and parents expect that I'll be accessible 24/7, more or less, thanks to technology. I'm sinking hundreds of dollars of my own money into classes over the summer to renew my certification even after 20 years of expertise. In short, I work so much harder and longer than anyone outside the profession realizes, and because of everything that's expected of me and the constant disruptions to the classroom in the form of administrivia and testing, it's almost never enough.
When it comes down to it, I am not just a teacher in this job. I am mom, counselor, mental health screener, nurse, etc., simply by virtue of what public schools have become today, and by how limited our resources are. I have listened to kids cry to me about break-ups and college rejections, but also about their miscarriages, their transsexual identities, their meth addict parents, their rapes. This job takes everything out of me: my money, my time, and my heart.
1
We don't use lectures to teach anymore. I teach physics, and my students learn through experimentation, collaboration and peer review. My subject area gets a bad rap since most people associate physics with Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein and The Big Bang Theory, but my my classroom is lively and fun. I use a research-based methodology known as Modeling to make sure my students drive discussions and learning in the classroom. The days of the "sage on a stage" are over.
I have taught for 35 years for less than minimum wage. The citizens in our state refuse to fund our schools. Legislatures have broken laws and needed to be sued to pay. I am made fun of by parent and locals. They tell us we are stupid, hookers, and worthless. Good times. I have worked 400 hours of OT since November. I get to work at 6am I work until 10pm and all weekend. I have never had summers off. Most teachers in this state make 28k a year and have three jobs. The kids have issues we have never seen before and it gets worse every year. All in all the job sucks. I used to love it. I am done.
1
I find I work a lot more than 40 hours a week, over breaks, and during summers. My daughters wonder why I'm always working and can't spend time with them. The truth is my job requires me to increase my workload each year with little to no raise. As the number of students increase, my work increases. mostly due to grading. But then my workload increases in other ways as well, like new requirements put in place, new methods of teaching and learning and new ways schools try to complete for students all provide me with more work. I also used to create curriculum at a previous school I taught, which really created more work for me. Teaching this generation involves finding new and creative ways to get and keep their attention, not to mention that my review is based on how well I can keep students engaged throughout the entire lesson. Not all parents are supportive, and admin for that matter, so that makes it difficult to manage middle schoolers when they act up. Some of these kids are homeless, in abusive situations, or have a difficult time at home or school, but remember I'm responsible for how well they do on a state test. I don't make enough money to buy a house, so I live as a single mom with family. I give myself two weeks off in the summer to spend time with my family and then use the remaining 4 weeks to plan and prepare for next year since I don't have much time for that once school starts. I also attend trainings during summer. I do this all to see my students succeed.
Teaching is my life. I love what I do, and honestly do not know what I am capable to do outside of teaching elementary school. Getting to see a student understand a new concept is the best feeling in the world. Making a connection with that one student that never liked his teacher before, oh, there's nothing like that. But, there are days I do not enjoy my job. Days when I have people above me telling me what to do, telling me that I have new standards to teach to, new tests to teach to, parents demanding more, parents uninvolved in their child's life, more students enrolling in my class than I have desks for.
I teach third grade in the suburbs on Phoenix, AZ. Currently the state of our education system in AZ is a mess and it is directly affecting the students. There is a drastic teacher shortage here. Teachers are underpaid and a majority of teachers work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Myself, I work an additional job outside of teaching to help pay my bills. Teachers do a great job of not letting their outside stressors affect what is happening within their classrooms. We buy our students snacks, supplies, books, even clothing. We decorate our classrooms, build libraries so they have books to read, yet can't pay our own bills. I have the constant battle in my head each spring to renew my contract or quit. Do I love my job enough to continue and struggle to make ends meet? Or do I quit and find a job that will pay me what I'm worth?
I've taught high school English for 6 years. I knew we didn't get maternity leave, and I expected to not be paid while out, but I had no idea how appalling it really was until I attended a district workshop on maternity leave after becoming pregnant last year. Because we are on contract, we are not only not paid, but we OWE our daily rate for every day that we're out (after applying any sick leave, but I have a daughter with special needs whose doctor appointments use mine up each year). So for me, it cost more than $200 PER DAY -- and they only pay the sub $70-75. I had to return after 4 weeks and even then it cost thousands, on top of the several thousand in medical bills because my insurance coverage is garbage. If I'd needed a C-section or my baby needed to be in the NICU, it would have bankrupted our family. Worse still, we can donate sick leave to those with medical needs. An employee hurt his back after just starting at our school and they worked hard to get him leave donations from district employees. But we aren't allowed to do that for someone who is out for maternity because -- they said, and I quote, "you get the joy of a baby at the end." So my colleagues who wanted to donate theirs to me weren't allowed. Yet mothers are forbidden from returning without a doctor's note authorizing full and unrestricted return? And this applies even for spouses- so if my husband was also a district employee, he wouldn't be allowed to donate his sick leave for me to have our baby.
I arrive to school every morning at 7:20am, I drop off my belongings in my classroom, and I head to A.M. bus duty where I have had to use myself as a physical shield between students and cars and call 911 on various occasions. Then I get anywhere from 8-15 minutes to get my classroom prepared for the entire day. I am the sole art teacher for 780 students K-8, and I often teach the varying 9 different grade levels back to back with no time to prep between. After school, I make phone calls home, document behavioral issues, and play the role of social worker for many of my students... all before even beginning to grade or do any prep for the next day. I plan and develop my own curriculum for all 9 grade levels, work and coordinate various art shows, all while maintaining a role in all grade level duties (Kinder Night, JH detention, etc) outside of contract hours.
I rarely leave before 5pm and struggle to get even the essentials done for each student because I only see each class for 43 minutes about once every two weeks.
I moved here from Australia (Ohio native), where I made more as a part time nanny than I do as a certified teacher here in Arizona. I cannot pay off my loans or even buy my own car while I barely take home $24,000 a year.
I volunteer my time and burn the candle at both ends because my students deserve more than this state will give them. But I know that I cannot continue. If nothing changes soon, I will have no choice but to leave the state and teach elsewhere.
"Oh, but you only work nine months darling!" Uhmm, NO, I don't. I spend so much time outside my "contract" hours prepping, lesson planning, bargain shopping for supplies, learning (professional development and PLC), checking papers (it never seems to go away) and so much more. This is my sixth year in teaching here in Phoenix, Arizona. I am still learning to learn to defuse myself during dinner time when it is a rough day at work.
Hopefully, most teachers are not as unfortunate as we are in my school, I mean, students equate to funding, so our building administrators do their best to make parents happy, even if that means decisions made by teachers are over ruled. Yes, everyone thinks we have this authority, smoke and mirror friends, smoke and mirror.
Probably one of my favorite comments about being a teacher: "But you knew what you signed up for!" Technically NO, I signed up to teach, not to parent, I signed up to lead and become a role model, not be ridiculed and disrespected and I signed up for a career and got a masters degree because I want to be the best teacher I could be, so I expect to be fairly compensated.
I wish parents would know how important their participation is in education. I wish administrators would once a month transform as a classroom teacher, so they could see from our lenses. I wish our politicians would stop using teachers to pass their financial agendas. I wish our community would be more aware, so they could education and its system.
1
I am a 20 year veteran teacher in Phoenix, AZ. I started in an inert city district and wither there for 15 years. Although I absolutely loved my school and students, over time my teaching philosophy did not mesh with the Suoerintendent’s philosophy of teaching to the test. We spent weeks giving practice tests. The students had no counselors and needed us in a very different way than just preparing them for standardized tests. In the end, I changed districts to one that is wonderful and believes in building student relationships and allowing me the freedom to teach. However. When you change districts in AZ, you lose a considerable amount of money because they do not pay you for your prior experience. I lost 20,000 dollars a year. That’s right, 20,000 a year. I sold my house and moved 3 times because the new district doesn’t give cost of living raises to keep up with rising rent costs. In the end, I would change districts all over again. But the question I get asked the most is “Why do you stay in teaching when the money is horrible in AZ?” Because it’s the only job I ever want to have. Because it’s my passion. I won’t quit, but I will fight tirelessly to make changes in AZ.
1
I wish people understood what it’s like to care and manage 160 students. I come in at 7:30 am and start the coffee maker. Meanwhile, kids start filling my room; they drop off scooters, skateboards, ROTC uniforms, and other things they don’t want to carry. The bell rings and I rush to finish planning my classes. I might have plans for 10th, but I need to firm up 9th. I warm up my WiDi projector, hoping it cooperates with me today. I rush through my email. I have a self-paced professional development course I have to finish by Friday. Grades are due Friday! I have enough time to run to the copier, finish writing quiz, and marking pages in Romeo and Juliet before my freshmen come in. In that time After my prep, I will attempt to take accurate attendance 5 times, answer no less than 20 personal grade related questions per hour, redirect students who are misbehaving at least 10 times, with a 35 minute lunch between 4th and 5th. I will do that until 3 pm. I’m allowed to leave at 3:30 and unless I have a doctor’s appointment, that doesn’t happen. I typically stay till 4:30 to grade and plan for the next couple of days. Usually I’m not alone. I’ll have kids with nowhere to go come hang out with me; looking for a kind ear or a snack. I’m nearly always with kids even when I’m trying to get things done. I love what I do but it is a profession where you are always on. I’m always on. That’s what I want people to know.
This is the school shooting generation. My child, and the children I teach, have grown up without the illusion of safety we grew up with. Similar to pre 9/11 thinking, the adults in charge of children now grew up thinking school was a safe place. 19 years since Columbine! 19 YEARS!! The anxiety my children come to school with increases every year. Home is not a sanctuary anymore either because of the internet and social media...bullying that starts in school follows our students home. Our school leaders need to acknowledge social emotional learning is more important than academic learning. Dignity standards need to be taught before writing and arithmetic, starting in kindergarten and all the way through college. And finally, teachers need to go into the hallways, the cafeterias, the locker rooms, and onto the school buses, to help keep our children safe. As a parent I demanded the adults in charge of my child keep her safe; as a teacher I expect the same thing of myself with the children entrusted to my care.
I arrive every morning wondering what the day will bring. I teach second grade and anything could happen. What you don't expect is what the kids confide in you. The bad night they had when the police had to come. They couldn't get to school on time because there wasn't anyone to take them. Or listening to their stomaches growl because they didn't have breakfast. We are not just teachers. We are someone who takes time out of their day to no matter how busy to acknowledge them and let them know that you will do what you can to make their day better. We spend our own money to buy them supplies because their family didn't or provide snacks for them to get through to lunch. Add onto that the amount of work required by us to actually teach. New curriculums that have provided no real training to teach it. Worrying what more we can do to make sure a child can read so they can pass standardized tests. Then when the day is done, grading papers, tutoring, or contacting parents. Worse yet, for some teachers, heading off to their second job so they can live more than paycheck to paycheck. But you have 3 months off! No I don't. Trainings, professional development, and planning for the next year take up those three months. Just because I'm not at school during the summer doesn't mean I'm not working. I love what I do. We just want to be compensated threw higher salaries and lower insurance premiums to be able to only concentrate on our jobs and not which bill we can pay this paycheck.
3
I teach 5th grade in Arizona. I wish nonteaxhers (especially legislators) understood teachers are just as sick of testing as the kids and parents are. Yes, accountability is important, but so is childhood. Last year my district’s 5th graders spent over 24 hours taking state & district tests! These tests are oftener tied to teacher evaluation and pay. This isn’t fair to the kids or the teachers. Just let us teach!
Teachers often spend hours on weekends, evenings, and school vacations performing nessecary school activities that we are not paid for. People need to stop saying things like, “you get so much time off!” because we give up so much of our time for free.
1
I wish legislators understood how their over-involvement and politicization in Michigan schools, esp. two policies of School Choice (money following a student to any public, charter or traditional) and unregulated Charters, esp. "for profit" ones, have resulted in poor morale for all educators in MI schools. Over my 40 years in MI schools, we've gone from top 10 nationally, to bottom third in almost everything. Neighborhood schools and any sense of investment in local community schools has been destroyed, and "yo-yo-ing" on policies have meant just as teachers get started on an initiative (think: Common Core and Smart Balance test), the legislature backs away from it. The "churning" this has all meant in student membership, finances and administrative leadership, as well as teachers in public charters, has been disastrous and few recognize these "distinctive" facts to MI schools that have resulted in the downward decline of test scores, but as importantly, morale and the attractiveness of the profession. Breaks my heart.
When I look back on my career as a teacher....from the time I was able to volunteer in my children's classrooms, to the time I went back to become a certified teacher, and we were all in college, I give thanks for the honor that is mine due to being a part of my profession. But, I deeply regret the disrespect and dishonor teacher's often experience, even I, teaching in retirement...have experienced these instances....What ever happened to the attitude my parents instilled in me toward my teachers....respect and obey, if there is a problem we will settle it together....that is what I did and that is what I still expect my students to do....Oh, yes, and an apple on my desk once in a while won't hurt.
2
One issue (of many) I’d like to address is the idea that we should be paid less because of “all our time off”:
Last year, I worked between 50-60 hours every week for the entire school year. If we average this out to 55 hours, and then multiply that by the number of weeks worked (~40), we end up with 2,200 total hours worked that year. Now, if we divide that number by the total number of weeks in a year (52), we get an average of ~42hrs/week. What this means is that I was doing the equivalent of a “normal” 40hr/week job within a significantly smaller time frame. And this holds true for many educators besides myself. When you then consider the intensity of the work teachers do, paired with the expertise they must acquire (often on their own dime) and the salary they make (especially in AZ, where I teach), it becomes no wonder that so many are leaving the profession or avoiding it altogether.
If we had reasonably salaries & class sizes, more widespread support, greater autonomy, and knowledgeable, invested legislators, this job would be incredible. It would still require considerable dedication, reflection, expertise, and pedagogical talent, but it would all be worth it for the tremendous satisfaction it brings to be able to spend each day seeped in a cocktail of professional passion and youthful enthusiasm. Unfortunately though, as many already commented, this isn’t our current reality. But I remain optimistic!
I’m a Special Education teacher in my 4th year of teaching as a 2nd career (needed the same schedule as my kids and health insurance after my husband passed away). What I wish people understood is that we don’t “only work school hours for nine months”. Yes, per my contract I am paid for only 188 days, but if I don’t work nights and weekends, I can not be successful during the week. If I don’t take classes and attend workshops during the summer, my pay is impacted. If I don’t go in a week before school starts, the students won’t have materials and desks with chairs. I knew taking on special Education would require additional paperwork, but my current caseload is almost double the national average, which requires more of my unpaid time. I also knew the money wasn’t great, but when there is no adjustment for cost of living inflation, We are making less each year.
I went into teaching to have the same schedule as my kids, and I find I'm actually having to work far more than I ever imagined.
1
I have the honor of working with over 75 personalities daily. I offer them much, including my time, expertise, and respect, but they reward me with more. In what other profession would I witness the spark of a new idea or the development of a project that may lead its creator to a lifelong passion? I see these events occur every day and therefore am proud to call myself an educator.
But, when you love something deeply, you cannot help but strive to improve it, strive to make it worthy of your love. There are many aspects of working as an educator that are screaming for closer examination. We must be experts in our subject areas as well as experts in curriculum planning, discipline techniques, differentiating teaching styles, accommodating special needs, adapting learning for non-English speakers, integrating technology, identifying physical or mental deficiencies, and, these days, conflict management. To be proficient in all of the these responsibilities, we must engage in continuous learning and training. This takes time - time that is rarely provided during paid working hours.
Before the teaching profession can improve, it must be treated with respect. I teach alongside some of the most dynamic, intelligent human beings I have ever encountered. Many of us have been teaching for our entire careers. All of us continuously engage in professional development. Yet, we are perpetually branded as “those that can’t do” or not being able to make it in any other field.
2
I’d like people to know how saddened I am by the state of today’s educational system. I’ve been teaching 14 years and I’ve watched a career that I once LOVED be completely destroyed by state exams and tons of unfounded mandates. My work load has more that tripled in size, while my pay is staggeringly close to my year one salary. I used to be able to have fun with kids, provide a happy learning environment, connect with students, and watch them grow and develop a love of learning. I’ve watched as more and more testing has made them completely devoid of any motivation or desire to be in school. Relationships have suffered, learning has suffered. Teachers and students are BEYOND stressed and can’t possibly jump through all the hoops that the system requires today. When I think of how my career started, I cry; I miss it. At times, I actually feel like I’m mourning a death. I hope we can increase teacher morale and allow them to have the professional autonomy that they were hired for. We have many struggles, from excessively low wages, to lack of support from administrators and parents, to high benefits and a depleting retirement. If we could at least make our work conditions more enjoyable, that would be a start. We are not the bad guys.
1
I wish more people knew that teaching is not an 8am-3pm job and we do not stop working when the school year is over. I am a middle school special education math teacher. I am in my 3rd year of teaching and am exhausted.
I am on campus usually by 6:30 am (school starts at 7:55 am) and on a good day I get to leave campus around 4pm. Once I get home I eat, spend time with my family, then the laptop comes out and I start working again. Grading papers, writing Individual Education Plans (IEP), answering emails, and writing 2 sets of lesson plans (7th and 8th grade).
Many days I have to decide if I am going to stay up late or get up early to finish everything that did not get done during the school day. I wish the weekends were all mine and I did not have to share it with work. Educators do work 10 month out of the year (that is a true verified fact). The 2 months I get off I take some personal time to recharge my over drained battery. Then I am right back at it. I am taking professional development classes to learn new/improve on teaching strategies. When I am finished taking PD classes I am at home working on lesson plans for the upcoming school year.
I became a teacher because I want to make a positive change in student’s lives. I want to be their cheerleader and let them know they can achieve great things even with a learning disability. I love what I do and that’s why I am still an educator. I wish educators didn’t have to keep defending their profession to the public.
I wish people knew just how much love is poured out by teachers. I love teaching high school English, but beyond that, I love my students. I love them enough to care about their well-being (social, emotional, and physical). Being a teenager is hard in 2018, and teaching nearly 400 of them in a single school year gives me the opportunity to peek into their daily lives. I wish people knew the worry I have some nights when I am trying to sleep but I can't stop thinking about a student who told me their mom lost her job; the one who has been really, terribly sad all week; the one whose father just died of cancer; the one who tries their best but still only reads at a 6th grade level; the one who has missed 3 days of school this week because they have to care for their siblings; the one who is looking for love in all the wrong ways; the one who has worn the same clothes for 4 days in a row. And I wish they knew the time and investment it takes to create a safe classroom environment in order to even know these details about these kids. I wish people knew I am teaching future doctors, nurses, lawyers, business owners, mechanics, politicians, and activists. I wish they knew that before we can teach them, we have to meet them where they're at and love them where they come from because without the respectful and trusting relationship, learning does not happen. I just wish they understood that we truly pour 100% of ourselves into every single student every single day.
5
Well said Ms. Thompson. I couldn't agree more and only wish that more support services could be provided on campus for our students and our teachers. We could all benefit from additional nurses, counselors and psychologists that can give both students and staff much-needed therapeutic support.
I wish people knew what the classrooms their children sit in day to day would look like if their teacher had chosen not to spend their own money. We teachers are buying furniture, books, updated curriculum, supplies, food, and sometimes even clothing for our students. We work countless hours unpaid. Teachers have been treated terribly for years and when we speak up we don’t get a “thank you” we get “well you should have chose a different profession.” Are we not valued? Do we not matter?
I teach high school chemistry in Phoenix. Arizona loves its charter schools. It loves its rankings even more. This is what I want: transparency. Schools "rank" for select reasons -- and if you want to send your child to one of the allegedly best schools in the country, you deserve to know what you are signing up for. You may be led to believe that schools founded on excessive standardized testing are "better" than public schools, but the stress placed on students and teachers to maintain these statistics can be overwhelming. Teenagers may even miss out on opportunities to grow socially when they spend more time preparing for AP exams rather than having time (or even offerings) for sports, developed music programs, or off-site extracurricular commitments. What the public is not always told is that charter schools are run as a business. Charters can be highly successful, but as a business, they can lose sight of what it means to prioritize the needs of teachers over test scores, or the growth of students over statistics. Arizona schools are desperate for teachers and funding. Rankings, even if misleading, can be a great determinant in how a school/business will succeed. But when teachers are underpaid and classrooms are underfunded, is this really success? Teachers and students are more than just a test score -- and it is time for Arizona to step up its game and invest in the future by prioritizing its students and teachers over money.
2
I find myself frustrated by many of these comments. I teach high school English, and every time I tell someone that I teach, or what age I teach (10th grade), the unanimous response is, "Oh...wow... that must be tough" or "I don't know HOW you do that" or "I wish teachers in North Carolina were paid more!" I find this general response to be exhausting and disheartening. It doesn't make me feel like people understand my profession or empathize with the "struggle" of being a teacher; it makes me feel like they've never thought critically about my profession or why it might, in fact, be incredibly fulfilling. I'm tired of people (teachers included) acting like teaching is the only thankless, over-worked job in this country, and it's annoying that salary, student discipline, and long hours are the most common things related to the profession that people want to talk about.
So instead of asking my opinion on vouchers or apologizing to me (or thanking me) for doing a job that I chose and that I love, let's talk about something I actually think about and do all day. Let's discuss the varied opinions on cell phones in school, or where creativity fits into the level of control we have over our curriculum, or how we build relationships and trust with our students while maintaining a clear teacher-student relationship.
I'm not sure we'll ever be taken seriously for what we do every day until we ALL start treating teaching like a profession and not a sacrifice or a political debate.
1
What do I wish that people knew about being a teacher:
1. My contract states that I am a 10 month employee, but I work far more hours than people thing. I do work through the summer on lesson plans, and I'm back in my classroom a full two weeks before I see my students: contacting all of my parents (I teach band), getting things set up, and preparing my classroom ahead of when I see students. I have no time to do this once school starts up. I don't take a lot of vacation time during our "Break" since I try to do all of my continuing education during that time, plus a lot of reading to be up on the latest ideas in education.
2. I don't get paid during the summer - they give me a lump sum check at the end of the school year, just when we get into the heat of summer and my elelctric bills go through the roof.
3. I can't take time off during the school year for any appoitments, We have a major shortage of substitute teachers in our state and I have to plan all of my doctor's appointments for any time off we get.
4. We have lousy benefits with huge copays and expesive premiums - which we have to pay.
5. As a music teacher at a K - 8 school, I see 9 sections of classes, and I see all of the kids. Yet, I still have to assess everyone of them and keep track of their growth.
6. Our teachers' pay doesn not keep up with the cost of living. i have not gotten more than a 1% pay raise. We don't get the huge steps increases in education anymore.
I am an 8th grade ELA teacher. I was told, “It is crazy what is happening with Arizona teacher protests, but you knew that the pay was low”. This is frustrating! Yes, I knew teacher’s pay is low, but I never realized that I would have to scrounge around for change to put gas in my car. I never realized that there would be times where I would have to decide if I should buy groceries or toiletries because both are not possible. I never realized that going to seek medical help would leave me with medical bills that I struggle to pay. I never could have realized I would be 31 years old having to live with 3 other teachers in low income housing to make rent.
Also, I get we are not lawyers or doctors, but who enabled them to become these things? Teachers. While these people make millions, those who taught them to be successful struggle to make ends meet. Those who taught them the fundamentals as far back as preschool. There is something wrong with that and people justify this injustice by saying “well you knew what you were getting into”.
We should be raising up educators and recognizing them properly. Governor Ducey decided that anyone can teach as long as they have experience in some way, shape or form. A plumber can teach science. Our college degrees in Arizona mean nothing now. Instead of fixing the teacher retention issue in this state, Ducey has decided to put non-highly qualified people in the classroom. He has given up on our kids instead of fixing the problem.
1
Long story short....
I am in my first year teaching. I actually started the year student teaching when a teacher at our school (19 year veteran) got fed up with her large class size, lack of support staff for her “challenging class”,up and quit in the middle of September. I chose to leave my student teaching and take over this class. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done. It was a very hard transition and I spend many hours after school to make sure my students have their lessons prepared and engaging as possible. At the expense of my family and my little income, to create an environment that takes these broken students and gives them an environment conducive and enriched for learning. I made sub pay for the first few months til I got my teaching license, hoping I would see a change, not so much. A licensed teacher with a four year degree and I make the same as a sub?!?! And I have loans to pay back?! Believe me I know what I was getting into but didn’t realize what a toll it would have on me, my health, and my family. The lack of supplies, funds, and support needed for our schools has been a shocking reality for me. I have already spent hundreds of dollars in my class. Our students deserve the world and so many of them lack support at home, and maybe if we can change their environment when they come to school each day, we can give them hope for a greater future.
1
Being a teacher today is a challenge because you are expected to do more with less. We wear lots of hats throughout our work day and we are expected to do all of it without question. I love kids but I don't enjoy being disrespected on a daily basis. Kids are not disciplined by parents so they say and do whatever they want. Then when you try to have a conversation with the parent, they are upset with you that their child doesn't have it together when that is their responsibility. I will always do what I can for the kids because that is why I'm there but it is frustrating when schools are now expected to raise other people's children. We are there to teach them and get them excited about learning, not baby them and do everything for them. The children need to learn independence and responsibility and those values start at home and we are here to support that. Teachers are not valued like they used to be but we are entrusted to do a lot for others. We get taken advantage of because we are caring people. We are trained professionals with degrees and should be compensated for that. And we also have our own families to take care of and our own lives and those things should be respected. We should have livable wages and not have to sacrifice ourselves in order to be a teacher.
I have taught 6th grade for 10 years. I teach at a school with 97% free or reduced lunch. My job is difficult. I have students struggling with things outside of the classroom I couldn’t begin to describe here. I am a counselor, parent, mediator, protector, and I love my students and love what I do. Every year is getting harder and harder to stay financially even though I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. I bring home $942 a check after I pay $252 a check to cover my children’s health care. I have student loan debt for getting my masters that only gives me $500 each year, but I’m paying $375 a month for my student loans. My base pay is $41,000 after 10 years. As stated above, I have my masters, ten years in the classroom, been named a Rodel Exemplary Teacher, ESL endorsed, have had articles published about my class, train teachers to earn money during the summer, and facilitate programs at my school because I am a passionate professional.
I work at a school and district I love and grew up in but I’m struggling paying daycare and other bills. My son is going to preschool next year and my mom is going to cover the cost because we can’t afford it. Crazy that a teacher can’t pay for her own child’s preschool costs. I love my students, stay in touch so I can go to their graduations six years after having them, they are who I do it for but my own children are suffering in the process. We need funding and pay we deserve as professionals so that I am not another statistic.
I am a middle school teacher. I love my students. It’s hard to see (or not see) completely uninvolved parents as much as it hurts to see parents who will not allow students to learn through consequences before consequences are too great. It’s hard to have to deny my own children family time because I spend three of my spring break days working. It’s hard to deny my own children experiences because I can hardly afford groceries.
I am a high school dance teacher in the Phoenix area. I am 29 years old and recently married. When my students ask if I am going to have kids I laughingly reply "I have you guys!" But the truth is I cannot afford a child now or in the foreseeable future. I know how important the arts are to students to keep them interested in school, to keep them coming to school every day, to give them an outlet that gets them out of a desk for 50 minutes a day. However, the reality is that I will need to exit teaching in favor of a sustainable salary before I can think of having kids. There is no hope of raises for teachers - ever. Any nominal raise passed by the state is negated by simultaneous increased health insurance costs. "Raises" are given as stipends, in lump sums, and therefore taxed higher because they are bonuses - not rolled into our actual salaries. Name any other profession, that requires a degree and high qualification, that expects employees to remain at entry level pay for the entirety of their career. Also, the state requires continuing education, often at our expense for recertification. I'm in my third year making the same as many teachers in the state with a masters degree and many, sometimes 10 or 20 years more experience than me. My contracted salary is less than $37,000. Students deserve to have all their teachers to be dedicated, passionate, educated and experienced. People with those qualifications are worth more than $37,000 a year for the rest of their lives.
Being a teacher is tough. I am a music teacher in Phoenix and every year I get less money for my classroom and more students to teach. As a teacher in the arts I see 700 students a week and somehow am viewed as “less than” by my colleagues who teach “core subjects”. I live in fear of my program being cut due to budget constraints. That’s not even mentioning the fact that I get paid less than 40K a year even though I have a masters degree.
Being a teacher is also rewarding. Every day I see kids fall in love with music. I see amazing singers, instrumentalists, dancers, and artists pass through my room. My students get to express themselves in ways other teachers could never let them. Everyday I am touched by the way my kids share themselves with each other using music.
2
I am a junior high school computer technology and yearbook teacher. I have a second job teaching college students who are getting their teaching degree. I’ve been teaching for 20 years and have a masters degree. My district has frozen our salaries due to budget issues, and our state does nothing to help retain qualified teachers. The governor’s plan is to give anyone with experience the ability to teach. This is wrong, and needs to change.
2
Teaching is a profession that exists in extremes. It is joyful and frustrating, empowering and debilitating, energizing and exhausting. Today, teaching is so much more than discussing a discipline. It’s also crisis management, counseling, and character building too. Every day requires enormous responsibility.
The general public misunderstands what teachers have to balance in their work. Teachers must navigate the following: interpreting policy and rewriting curriculum; enhancing the student experience by coaching sports, planning field trips, volunteering, and chaperoning weekend events; engaging in continuous learning through professional development; communicating with parents, social workers, counselors, and psychologists; improving school climate through formal mentoring, observation, and establishing community partnerships. Somehow, we find time to use the restroom and grab a cup of coffee. By and large, teachers pour their souls into their work. Our own needs are often in last place.
Teachers are some of the most highly educated individuals in our country with the longest career commitments. We should applaud this! Instead, we underpay our educators and import prepackaged curricula from politicians and corporations who have no understanding of individual school contexts. As a society, we need to listen to our teachers more and reform education from the ground up.
3
Being a teacher in 2018 is incredibly difficult. The generation of kids today is not only entitled, but their parents do not want to hold them accountable for anything. Teaching feels like a constant battle of pleasing parents who want for their child to never feel any sort of discomfort; whether that discomfort is a bad grade, a late work penalty, or a behavioral consequence. A lot of this ties in with the fact that even young kids today have access to far too much information (in my opinion) with smart phones. If a kid gets in trouble at school, the immediately text their parent, who then emails the teacher or calls the school. This disconnect between parents and teachers allows students to get away with a lot.
The technology piece also makes teaching difficult as much of the drama that is started on social media is brought into the classroom. We constantly are communicating with parents about Instagram posts/comments that happened outside of school, but involve students at school.
As a teacher, I feel like I have my hands tied behind my back and I'm being asked to catch apples being launched at 100 mph using only my mouth. There are so many things distracting me from actually teaching. I love kids and I love the subject I teach (math). I love interacting with the students. Unfortunately, because of what teaching has become and the lack of support I feel from parents, administration, and counselors in my school, I've chosen to make this my last year in the profession.
2
I think there's a myth out there that teachers have a pretty cushy job: work until 3, get summers off as well as a week in the spring and at Christmas. I would want people to know that teachers may not be in the classroom teaching during those times, but they're definitely working; whether they're grading papers, preparing lessons, or engaging in professional development to improve their craft, teachers--in my experience--are either working or learning even when class is out. I teach high school English, and I love my job. I love my students, and they inspire me to try to be my best every day. I want people to know that the vast majority of us chose to teach, not because we couldn't "do," but because we love learning and instilling that love of learning (and in my case, literature) in our students.
4
I've been an educator most of my life--45+ years. Although I haven't worked in public schools, I have many friends who do or have.
All say the same thing: teaching has lost a lot of the "teach," as teachers are buried in paperwork and regulations.
Teachers should be honored and should earn fair wages for their hard work. Instead of respecting them, as citizens of most other countries do, we expect teachers to raise our children and pay them very poor wages for their expertise.
JC
2
I wish more people had a chance to experience the joys of teaching. It can be exhausting and frustrating to teach at times, but the joy of sharing something you love with young people every day is always present in this work, and therefore there are many special moments in this profession that help you transcend the tough ones.
Each day, I have the chance to work with a kaleidoscope of personalities and interests, and I bring my own enthusiasm, insights, and creativity to the table. When we read and write together, I enjoy seeing how students can see something new in a text that I never noticed or create something that surprises and impresses me. These simple joys of teaching do not change over time, even as schools and technology change, and since teaching involves so much giving and sharing on the part of both students and teachers, it is, most of all, a profession of generosity.
This also means, more than ever before, teachers are sharing their work and ideas freely on blogs and social media and schools can develop and adapt ideas from faraway much more easily and quickly than in the past. Many times I tweak an idea I learn about on Twitter and apply it in the classroom within the next few days. Teachers are increasingly flexible in applying new ideas in their classrooms.
2
I teach adults at the college level. Many of my students are former educators and some are adults transitioning from one career to another. My primary focus is to provide students with the tools to become lifelong technology learners. Technological change is inevitable and everyone must constantly adapt their skill set to learn a basic level of technological skills for the workforce of today. Digital technology literacy for educators at all grade levels is a must. Today's primary and secondary students are digital residents from day one. I also am no longer the "Sage on the Stage" like most of my current professorial colleagues. I have had to adapt and become a facilitator of a student's continual learning by becoming a "Guide on the Side" for their educational journey. This changing role as an educator is required. I no longer view students learning progress as a singular defining event at the "end" of a grade level or course. Mastery of a given skill or subject area has become a continual, evolving acquisition of knowledge over a lifetime. This new educational journey also has different training modalities, both in residence and virtually. What parents, students, educators, administrators, and policy leaders at all levels must understand is that this is the new educational systems "normal". We must adapt our educational focus and delivery to these new realities or we will fail to prepare students to become productive adults in the workforce of today and tomorrow.
1
I would tell people that teaching is the rich marrow of our collective possibility. The work is an art: a professional practice, always becoming, of kidwatching (Goodman) and observing, of reflecting on and reflecting for, and of participating with our students to unfold, trouble, and enrich this great living struggle.
I would tell people that teaching today is about being a bridge between oppression and liberation. It is about offering time, space, and tools to riddle out new, responsible ways of sharing thought. In my classroom of fourth graders, for example, we puzzle around how to hold conversations about tough topics while remaining kind and open. We practice listening, not simply to respond, but to welcome perspective. We write daily and create podcasts; we publish graphic shorts, narrative poetry, and essays on issues of great importance, and my job? As facilitator? As teacher? My job is to listen to THEM because my fidelity, my one allegiance, is to these humans in which I share my space.
Despite the political banter on TV, at professional development, spouted in the teachers lounge, or whispered in the dismissal line, there will never be one single package, product, or tool that "fixes" our students; they are not broken. They are beautiful and capable, and squeezed between some dominant ideal and their own story, they are fighting to grow. Slough off the factory model and the intensive mono-pedagogical lens, and we'd see this garden bloom.
14
I wish that people knew that teachers love their jobs and are actually capable of doing it without constant oversight. There is a strong myth about the "bad teacher" and the teachers who "don't teach". The number of negative comments I see or hear daily is disheartening. My students come to my room believing that their learning happens solely based on my performance. They have no ownership of the results they get. There's no connection between their effort and the score earned. We're told we put too much emphasis on test scores but condemned for our scores being too low and not rising fast enough. We're pitted against environmental odds with limited tools to address the issue (hunger, hygiene, security-both emotional and physical) and given inconsistent backup ("Well s/he doesn't do this at home?" or "If you would do <insert random opinion here>, then s/he would do better.") from parents and communities.
We already know and advocate and strive to help our students on their levels daily. We're not incompetent or ignorant or callous. Let us design the tests you measure us by so the terminology is accurate or include us in the planning of the assessment and provide us with the definitions you're using so we can align our instruction to your expectations. Better yet, give us your support as a parent and community member. Ask us how to help your child succeed. And just let us teach.
Pt4 (I know...I know...so much to say because I'm so old!)
Teaching in 2018 involves teaching students coping skills. Some students choose to cope by being a regular at after school pot parties and/or weekend binging on Netfliz, videogames, or drinking. Because their brains are so impressionable, these coping techniques could easily become their MO for coping as adults. So, today's teachers need to know about adolescent brain development in addition to their subject content.
One coping skill involves giving students the opportunities to get "outside of themselves" and be doers and fixers, not complainers. Turn them loose to create documentaries about what's right in their world or what's wrong and ways to make it better; interview grandparents and record their love story; create "Middle Ground" videos that help polarized groups come together and talk--all the while hoping that if they can find a passion outside of these school walls that ignites them, they will forget about their cell phones and class rank. If only for a little while.
I don't have children, so I have the time to write this four part saga. But in my heart of hearts, I do have children...lots. I imagine many teachers feel the same. It's what keeps us in the classroom. It's not about the money. That's for sure. It's a big job being a teacher in 2018. Next to being a parent, it's one of the most important jobs in the world.
1
I'm a new teacher, and I got into teaching because I love academics. Knowledge is a power that cannot be taken from you, so I wanted to share that love and empowerment with students. Instead, I help adolescents manage raging stress, difficult emotions, social media-induced anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and an overwhelming desire to self-harm. I support students as they navigate their teenage years being transgendered. I counsel those that deal with perfectionism so powerful it's crippling. I help others realize that suicide is not the only answer. I find a way to reach the Autistic students and try to be patient with the student outbursts driven by ADHD. I assure them all that they will be ok and they are deserving of love. Basically, what I'm saying is that teaching today is not academics. I'd say 25% of my job is academic, and the other 75% is helping adolescents survive is a world that is constantly connected (iGen) and very messed up. (I teach JrH English)
2
I've been a teacher in Maryland public schools since 1992. Positive changes I've seen include greater sensitivity to equity, greater expectations for critical thinking, and inclusiveness. Negative changes that keep me up at night include students' increased needs due to the harmful effects of poverty and other stressors, the unrealistic demands on teachers, and--because of these--the decrease in promising young people committing to the profession.
The fact of the matter is that I am not just a teacher. At any given moment I am a mother, a therapist, a teacher, and a coach. I do not just help my students understand the importance of the green light at the end of Gatsby's dock, I help them to see the ability that they hold inside of themselves. I listen when no one else will and I hear the pain, sadness, fear, and joy that is wrapped up in their fervor as they hurriedly tell me about their personal lives. The average student is dealing with more stress than is even imaginable. They are told from a young age that they must work hard in order to increase the test scores so they can get into the college of their dreams. The one thing we seem to forget is that they are so much more than a number. As a teacher in 2018, we are expected to make our students ready for college, increase their test scores from the year before and make everything we do relevant and rigorous. We are to attend training, staff meetings, get our grading done, and plan quality lessons all while teaching and nurturing students who are in reality "my kids". There is not one of my students that I do not think of as one of my children. This is not just a job, but a calling that has a stress level that can keep me up at night from the worry that I consistently feel for all of my students. There is not a day that goes by that I do not encounter one or all of the following in a typical school day. Laughter, love, anger, frustration, elation, and joy.
5
There is one immutable truth about modern-day teaching that the broader public should know: politicians and academics love to explain (and fantasize about) how education can transform the nation, the culture, and civil society itself, but the everyday classroom teacher knows the reality is the reciprocal—it is culture and civil society that have transformed the American classroom.
Twenty years ago, when I started my teaching career, the faculty meetings before the school year began centered on issues of pedagogy and instruction, tweaking curriculum, and discussing how to integrate new technologies into our classroom routines. Nowadays, these same meetings are about confronting the horrors of our students’ lives: how to report child abuse, how to spot students experiencing debilitating anxiety or who might be on the cusp of suicide, how to survive an active shooter on campus. Schools have been transformed from institutions of learning to comprehensive centers of wellness for students who do not receive the necessities of subsistence at home. You name it and schools nowadays are expected to provide it: three meals a day, counseling for dealing with grief or violence, drug abuse intervention, and the list goes on and on.
Instead of simply educating children, teachers are often responsible for their emotional well-being. We are expected to not only teach, but parent, befriend, and counsel.
26
People must first understand that teaching it is comedic, exciting, terrifying, and always challenging. The past decade has been transformative. Technology has reshaped the world; teachers are the front lines for the future. My students are interested in learning content from every corner and technology evolved to provide them with more access. At the same time innovation has created new distractions; it is a regular challenge to keep information and instruction relevant to their lives. I am no longer driven to teach based on the information I possess, rather I am driven to teach based on the questioning processes of my students. A perpetual student, together with my students I ask questions and seek out information as we solve the problems of tomorrow.
I wish that more knew that I love learning, I have a desire to serve the future and to innovate; as a teacher I do both. I wish people knew that I have advanced degrees in economics and that I could work in a more lucrative career; I choose to teach because education is where society fosters innovation and economic growth. I wish all policy-makers and stakeholders could understand that the periods of the greatest transformational growth and the highest productivity occur when we put financial, political, and social support into educating our population. My life as a teacher is a choice, one I have never regretted and I wish that in 2018 the world chooses to listen to the voices we empower through our process of instruction.
2
Part 3
Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned the Ted Talk world of The Dangers of A Single Story. Sometimes in the test crazed world, teachers and students can forget that they are more than the sum of their scores. Fifty bucks per AP student who makes a certain score...local schools' test scores published in the paper for comparison...Really? Crazy that the things the adults have control over are part of the problem. But we've missed the point of teaching and learning if we can't see that we as teachers are more than a single story and our students are more than a single story. A timeless apropos quote:. "You see us as you want to see us—in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal."
Students might look like they have it all together, but many are crumbling under the weight fo pressure, anxiety, depression, and stress. On a sunny Friday morning, a teary-eyed sophomore girl asked if I had coffee because she was so tired. Students go to bed after midnight and have a hard time being alert and ready to learn in the morning. They move from activity to activity at record-breaking speed. Stress is induced by parents, teachers, colleges. Stress is self-induced. Students check their gpa, classrank; they fill their resumes to the brim. Some students (and parents) have alarms on their phone that alert when teachers enter grades.
5
Gotta give Breakfast Club a shout out regarding the quote...and please give me a typo pass with the "fo"...
I wish that people outside of the teaching profession who say that our job is not rocket science knew that in fact our job is actually more difficult than rocket science for the following reasons: 1) All of our variables change from one year to the next; 2)Public education still for the most part follows the same calendar model we followed when students had to leave school to help work farms; 3)Public education funding is generally uncertain; 4) Educators are required to get advanced degrees and yet are paid over the course of our careers only a fraction of what other degree holding professionals earn; 5) Public educators are asked to be content experts, counselors, attendance officers, coaches, data analysts, facilitators, friends, mentors, researchers and now navy seals and/or martyrs in the event of a dangerous emergency.
2
Now, to the parts of teaching that really matter. The students. I'm still crazy about them after all these years. They are passionate and compassionate. They want to make a positive difference in the world. They are already making a positive difference in the world.
Example: One student. I'll call him Andrew, was distraught about the Florida tragedy. In the process of sharing his concerns with others, he brought the topic home to us. "Why can't we be more kind?" which led to his reaching out to the EC teacher and inviting her students to spend time with us. Now, students are eating lunch with the EC students. Students made Valentines to nursing home residents and veterans. A few delivered the Valentines and I can't find the words to express the beauty of that day.
I like this quote: "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle." I'm a teacher fighting battles with students fighting battles. I'd like to think we are winning.
Students just want to be heard, to be loved, and to love. And they are worth being heard and loved.
1
Pt1 Wow. What a question. I've been a teacher for 32 years. 1986-my first year...one computer in the school with green and white paper that you have to line up in the side holes just right, ditto machines with the good smelling purple ink, NO CELL PHONES! How did I ever make it? Just fine. I taught in a small mountain town isolated from the pressures that teachers in urban areas daily faced.
For the past 23 years, I've been a teacher at the beach in a laid back town...which can produce laid back students who on a sunny windy day say, in the classic Ferris Bueller style, "Who could possibly go to school on a day like this?" Or during our Azelea Festival, it goes without saying that the southern belles will be absent and present in the beauty salons. Oh, don't get me started on the family vacations during the school year with the learning experience addendums. Disney World is a huge classroom I'm told.
And the computers are in every classroom, often more than one...well, twenty plus if you count the students' smartphones. And they do count to the students. Seriously, I imagine myself stomping on them and throwing them out the window. (I don't, by the way. I'm perfectly sane, said the man in the Tell Tale Heart.) I see students' legs jerk because of those phantom vibrations. If I'd let them, they'd like to leave them on their desks just so they can see them. Like Linus and his blanket.
Now, about the things that really matter. See Pt 2 because I'm out of words...
This is my 45th year of being in the school business. I have experience teaching from 4th grade through college and have been a high school principal. If the first 20 years had been like the last 20 years, I would not have made it! Our focus isn’t really on doing what is best for students anymore. We have created a bureaucratic nightmare that is all about the adults. I have taught all my children and my grandchildren, so now I can re-retire, but I will continue to fight for student centered instruction through voting and being a nuisance to my local school board and state legislature. Teachers in the classroom who work with students every day in spite of the chaos that goes on around them—they are the unsung heroes in the lives of students.
2
I am in my 26th year of teaching English in Florida, one of the nation's biggest advocates for education reform. Florida has gotten education wrong in so many ways, but teachers have often made it work anyway. I think I can sum up the contrast between the state's approach and my own very simply. When we look at our most successful students, they are not successful because their parents or teachers skill-and-drilled them to pass the state test; they are successful because people have invested in them. Successful students do well in school because their parents and teachers do things like reading to them from an early age, talking with them, going to plays and museums, and encouraging their interests. Instead of investment, the state focuses on assessment, on the constant monitoring and measuring of students. When they find students lacking, they put them in "intensive" classes that further demoralize and disengage them by focusing on testing skills. We need to change our model from assessment to investment. One of those investments is asking my students to enage in real, meaningful questioning and thinking. I ask my 9th grade English students to engage in a year-long inquiry into the purpose of education. I wish more adults would think about the purpose of education. We've made it all about scores and credits and diplomas. It shouldn't be. To teach well these days,to invest in students, means fighting the system. I wish I could feel supported by it instead.
12
Being a teacher meant that I could inspire and teach impressionable young adults to think for themselves. For the most part this is true. However, nobody explained to me the gut wrenching anxiety that you feel as a teacher. Students need to pass a reading test in order to graduate. I teach those students who do not pass (sometimes multiple times). I have had to explain to students that they are "intelligent, and artistic, and wonderful however they were 1 point away from obtaining a high school diploma." Teaching is emotionally draining and unlike other jobs it's very hard not to take your job home with you. As our school grade and our job security is based on our students test scores, many of my coworkers get stressed out about the upcoming test scores and that anxiety manifests its way to the students. If I had to do it over, I would still be a teacher. I do think we should get paid more and that there should be a different way of assessing students.
3
MaKayland’s spellbinding analysis of Kate Chopin’s use of style, Quron’s heightened discussion of Audre Lorde’s theme of overcoming oppressive patriarchy, WyNechia’s magnanimous annotations of Kendrick Lamar’s point of view—my students’ thinking transforms my teaching and makes me feel humble to be in the classroom.
Looking at my school on a piece of paper—a school with a 98 percent African American population, a 97 percent free and reduced lunch-enrolled population, located in one of the most socioeconomically ravaged areas in the state of Louisiana—one may ponder issues of illiteracy, trauma, gang violence, and addiction. While those issues certainly exist because of the lack of advocacy and agency, our government’s patriarchal suppression on the state of education today, and the effects of No Child Left Behind, my students are overwhelmingly achieving at the highest levels of academia. Exhilarating and rousing, my students fully understand the barriers against them; however, they use those barriers as motivation to succeed. Therefore, I pinch myself every time I enter the classroom—I know what an honor it is to be conferring with tomorrow’s leaders and I am overwhelmed with ecstasy knowing I have the best job in the world! For every classroom to be an environment for change and agency, we must construct them; therefore, this is a call to action to make all classrooms full of justice, mercy, and love.
5
It is hard being a teacher today because there are so many pressures. Teachers are under a lot of pressure and scrutiny to have high achieving students. It wouldn’t be so difficult if we were provided efficient tools to do so, however my reading and math curriculum are out of date. I had to come up with my own writing, social studies and science curriculum. I get $100 to fund all supplies for my classroom for the whole year.
These aren’t the only challenges my colleagues and I face everyday. We also face children who have ADHD, ODD and other mental health disorders who can’t receive any help from school social workers because of low funding. These kids are typically the ones who need attention from their teachers because they lack the attention at home.
I left a well paying job to find happiness and quality of life in teaching, I truly feel it’s my calling. I do it because I love my kids! I call them my kids because they really are apart of my heart. I want to help each and everyone of them. I often challenge myself to find out what makes them succeed. I want to be the teacher that they remember and I strive to find activities and assignments that they will never forget. The part that breaks my heart is I struggle to make ends meet. My own family feels the struggle so I work a second job, my old job that makes good money but doesn’t fill my heart like teaching. With all my passion and commitment, I would rather spend my time on my students and not a second job.