I spent the last few months reading social media and listening to people in real life talk about teachers. These people, none of them teachers, were saying things like,
"Breaks over teachers, time to get back to work!"
"You are an essential worker, get over yourself and embrace it!"
"You just had five months off, what are you complaining about?"
"Why are teachers so lazy that they don't want to work?"
And this is what I did- I listened to these words. I absorbed them. I internalized them. And I allowed these words to hurt me. I allowed these people to affect my perception of myself and allowed these people to make me angry. I allowed myself to respond to their comments. I allowed myself to spend my precious energy on this negativity.
And then I realized something that a dear friend has been saying to me for over a year. She says something to the affect of, "People don't understand what we do. We have to get our validation from each other, and if other people want to appreciate us, that is just a bonus."
I was reading "Teach Like a Pirate" by Dave Burgess, and he basically said the same thing. And after hearing it from two different sources, I had the great "Aha!" moment.
In teaching, as I'm sure in most professions, there is a reason you do it. There is a "why". Obviously, in teaching, the why is not for the money. My personal "why" is for the children. I believe that every single child deserves to have someone believe in them and encourage them to be their best.
I am a teacher
I would jump in front of a bus for one of my students
I would stand between them and a gun
I would run through fire to get them out of a burning building
(We practice these things and real teachers do them)
Every day, I check that they are clean, fed, and rested
Every day, I make sure their medical needs are met and check for signs of illness
Every day, I check for signs of neglect or abuse or trafficking
Every day, I protect their privacy
Every day, I teach them skills like shaking hands and looking in my eye
Every day, I make sure each child's individualized plan is followed
Every day, I engage them
Every day, I say their name
Every day, I make them feel safe
and loved
and wanted
and special
Every day, I teach them
I listen to them
I speak to them
Every day, I advocate for them
Every day.
And now I teach full-time in person learning
full-time virtual learning
and some hybrid version of these two
I am learning a gazillion new acronyms and how to use more technology
how to teach from 6 feet away
wearing a mask
unable to hug these children that I love
teaching them without even seeing them.
From now until it ends.
Every day.
And after all of this, some people are going to complain. Judge. Hate.
But do you know what?
I don't have time for haters.
I don't have time to even read the comments.
I have students to teach
and a world to change.
Image credits:
1. https://www.economist.com/international/2020/03/19/how-covid-19-is-interrupting-childrens-education.
2. Me
