A Commerical with a Lesson

I saw a commercial today that showed a teacher reading a letter at her desk. The letter was from a parent telling the teacher "thank you" for taking time with her daughter. Then, it cuts back to a scene where the teacher is helping the little girl with her primer. The next clip is of a student standing in front of the class reading, and now it is time for the little girl to read from the primer. She reads beautifully. The teacher, sitting at her desk, smiles sweetly.

I'm not sure what the commercial was promoting. It might have been a church or something, but it gave me the feeling of "I want to be a teacher!" Of course, that's what all people who are in teaching want. We have an inate desire to mold children and guide them into the best they can be.

I had to remember that this was a commercial--and not reality. In reality, a teacher would not be sitting at her desk. He/she would be pacing up and down the rows checking for weapons (okay, maybe too extreme, but not always!). The teacher wouldn't have been able to meet alone with a student for tutoring for fear of some type of accusation or lawsuit. The parent's letter would more likely have read, "Please excuse Susie from school. She was tired, so I didn't make her go."

Yes, I am giving worse case scenarios. I'm sure there are those of you with beautiful moments. And others with far worse scenarios than I described. It is such a tough job. If you have any friends that are still in the trenches, please encourage them. If you have children who are in school, please teach them to respect their teachers and speak positively about the teacher in front of them. Our schools need so much help.

Teacher Drop Out Rates

Why do most teachers jump out of their careers? I have several different answers that I give in my own personal testimony. If you are a new teacher preparing to jump out of your profession, get ready. You will be asked the classic, "So why don't you teach anymore?" It sounds like a really bad pick-up line, but it's a common question. Be prepared with an answer.

Here's my list of responses:

1. I love kids, but they were starting to drive me nuts.
2. Testing. School is all about testing now. No teaching, just testing.
3. I didn't make enough to pay my bills (when in North Carolina, not Texas).
4. All I do is discipline. I don't teach, just discipline.
5. There is no discipline in schools anymore. Kids have no fear. There is no authority.
6. The stress was too much. The pace is constant, and it completely wore me out.
7. I wanted to have a life. My entire life was teaching.
8. Did I tell you about my student and his parole officer?
9. It was frustrating being expected to solve so many problems and going home realizing that not even the tip of the iceberg has been reached.
10. Have you ever had a 20 minute lunch in which you had to walk a line of 30 fidgety, whining ten year olds down a hallway and a stairwell; use the restroom; make copies for your afternoon lesson; warm up your Lean Cuisine; call a parent at work to inform her that her son was using Crayola markers in an obscene fashion; eat the half-frozen dinner; and then pick up the line of children so you could read Harry Potter aloud for 20 minutes? Did I mention that this lunch scenario repeats in a similar fashion for 184 more days?

Unite.

This blog is about you. You are a former teacher, like me. You served your time. Your hair turned gray, and you're still try to sue Oil of Olay for not making your wrinkles disappear.

For one reason or another, your heart was drawn to the teaching profession. For many reasons, you left the profession. Perhaps you retired. Maybe your blood pressure got too high. Maybe it just drove you crazy.

This blog is meant to be a place to share stories, memories, and hope for the future of education. The legislature doesn't quite get it. I know you've seen and experienced some hard things. Welcome to the land of sharing and caring about a profession that we once called our own.