What Every Teacher Wants to Say (But Doesn't)

I'm tired. Not just occasionally, on Mondays, or some of the time. I'm tired every day of the week. I (contrary to popular belief) work all summer and consistently work 12 hours days 5 days a week and frequently at least a day on the weekends.

I live dollar to dollar. This is especially true for a student teacher like myself. Not only am I doing a full-time job for free, I'm also paying an exorbitant amount of money to my university for elusive "credits", aka teaching. My second job's paychecks are small and barely cover buying gas or making my minimum payments on my student loans.

The bell does not begin or end my day. School day hours don't provide anywhere near enough time to accomplish all I have to do. I spend nearly every waking moment at school with my students, which leaves little time to do all the planning and grading for the following days and weeks. That work ends up consuming my late nights and early mornings more often than not.

I've trained for this role. And it's hard. My four year university degree was no cake walk by any means. I spent many a late night with eyes glued to the computer researching and writing arduous lesson plans and papers. For just one lesson I can spend hours thinking through Piaget’s cognitive theory, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, anticipatory activities, appropriate pedagogies, exit strategies, scaffolding techniques, and hierarchically-ordered questioning. Each of these theories is necessary for one effective lesson. Not so easy, and definitely not quick.

I will make mistakes. With coffee and God fueling me most days, I'm bound to make some errors whether they be grammatical, theoretical, or worst of all, grading. I, and no other teacher will claim to be anywhere near perfect. Any given minute at school, I have roughly 13 different things running through my brain. It's a miracle if they all get done, plus paying attention to whatever my students are all doing.

I hate standardized tests. Yes, I believe that student growth needs to be measured. No, I do not believe that a timed multiple choice test is the best way to do this. One of my favorite teaching quotes sums it up best, "Why are we required to differentiate our instruction, but standardize our tests?"

I feel heavily responsible for the next generation's futures. Can you say that about your job? I feel this weight each day when I step into my classroom. For a student, today might be the day he or she wants to give up. Today might be the day that he or she is pushed to the breaking point. Today might be the day he or she decides that nothing can stand in his or her way. I strive to comprehend that what I do every day impacts the lives of 158 people. At the close of each day (and many times within), I ask myself "Am I making a difference?"

I know that my students are worth every ounce of my effort. Even when I feel like I don't have any more to give, my students deserve more. They deserve more just like I deserved more from those great teachers I had. I live to be a part of those epiphany moments when a student moves past that obstacle and realizes they can do anything. Yes, I teach my students English. But every day I teach them much more than just that. I strive to teach them about life. (If you want to read a fabulously articulated article more about this, click here).

I ardently love my job. During those moments when I feel like I may in fact hate my job, I still love it. I love that I get to spend my life making a difference in the lives of my students. I love watching students break down barriers. I love knowing that I play a small part in their lives every day that I can be there for them.