Things You Should Never Say to a Teacher

Alright folks, this blog post has been long overdue. Over the last months of my student teaching experience, I've been compiling a list of things one should never say to a teacher. While yes, I do intend to be at least a tad humorous, what follows is quite serious stuff.

1. "You're so lucky to have summers off" (or some variation of this): I hate to break it to you, but teachers do 12 months of work in 9 months, and then spend our summers doing professional development, continued education credits, seminars, workshops, trainings, and SO MUCH MORE. Even as a student teacher, I've already signed up for some of these, and I haven't even stepped foot inside my classroom yet.
2. "When I retire I might do some teaching on the side": Teaching is not a hobby. Its not really even a profession. Its a calling. And in all honesty, it will probably make your job look and feel like a cake walk after week one. 
3. "It must be great to just work from 8am to 3pm everyday": JOKES. I leave for school at 7am every morning and seldom, if ever, return home before 6pm. Once I arrive home, I quickly whip something up for dinner (or don't) and then continue to work well into the night planning and grading. 
4. "They're just kids, how hard can it be?": Let me share with you one word that sums up the majority of my battles each and every day- apathy. Students today have high senses of entitlement and low intrinsic motivation. For example, when beginning a review game (note, GAME), I lacked almost any participation from my students. When I said the winner would receive a piece of candy, one student exclaimed, quite seriously, "this just got real". Extrinsic motivation, like candy or extra credit, have become so commonplace that students don't even feel the need to play a review game. 
5. "Don't you just tell kids what to do everyday": No, I do not. Rather, I encourage kids to figure out how to do things. I don't tell them what to think, I teach them how to think. There's a big difference. 
6. "Have you ever thought about making your class more fun?": Well gosh, why didn't I think of that?! *evident sarcasm* Surprisingly, it is not my main goal in life to make English class as boring as possible. I would love to have fun everyday just as much as my students! That means an environment of learning must already be established, so fun is not just for the sake of fun.

This is sadly just a cursory example of comments I've heard first-hand. Teaching is something I chose to do, not because of the pay (clearly) or the really great respect I get, but rather because I know that what I do everyday is helping pave the way for the future of one of my students. Every day I make a difference, and that is why I teach.