Maybe teaching is like a marriage, and this was my 7-year itch. Or maybe, I’m just too old and frustrated to continue working in a system that seems to be failing our students. Whatever the reason, I must express an enormous amount of relief that I am not returning to my current teaching position.
It’s not the administration or my colleagues who are all dedicated to their mission of educating all students at our schools. In fact, I really feel that educators have our hearts in the right place across the board. No one becomes a teacher thinking, “I can’t wait to order people around,” or “That’s where the real money is,” or “I get a high from failing kids.” We all want to make a difference or to emulate an inspiring teacher from our past.
Unfortunately, school of today is not at all what I remember. Now I’m not one of those that says these kids today are much worse than they were in my day. I’m not that old!! However, times have changed, and so has our culture. Education is not a respected profession; in fact, we have become a scapegoat in our field. There is so much wrong with how we are educating our children, and there is blame to share. With few exceptions, though, teachers are really part of the solution, not part of the problem. Or, we would be, if anyone bothered to ask us, or visit our classroom for longer than a walk-through.
As I contemplate my own career change (I’m not leaving the profession, though I am changing to an independent school), I am thinking about the focus on teacher responsibility. Like I said, with a few exceptions, every colleague I have had in education, has been focused on what is best for the student. In fact, we are the ones worrying, staying up late, waking up in a panic wondering how, when, and to what extent we can reach our students and teach our objectives at the same time. We are so overwhelmed by what we need to do: lesson plans, documented EL forms and IEPs, written daily objectives and activities, grading, providing feedback – a hundred things that don’t involve our primary objective – that there is limited time for what we should do, which is classroom instruction.
So what made me leave prior to my ten years that were necessary to be vested in our retirement system? There is no one answer, rather numerous combined frustrations, that were changing me into a different teacher, really a different person than I wanted to be. First, there are the students. Either I am getting older and crankier, or they really are getting more disrespectful and inappropriate. Maybe it’s both, but this year was more than I could take, more than I should have to take as a teacher. I don’t allow my children to speak to me in a disrespectful way, nor do they speak to other adults that way; yet, these kids think they are grown and that they don’t have to do as requested. There are so many special needs within one classroom, and one person is challenged to meet them all while teaching certain standards that all students should achieve. Whoever said class size shouldn’t matter if you are a good teacher obviously is more concerned with the bottom line, or hasn’t been in a classroom in the last 20 years. More and more parents have handed responsibility for their children over to someone else, until it comes to disciplining that child, and then we are picking on him/her. I don’t want to get bogged down in this issue, but student behavior is a key source of stress each day.
Another reason is limited time and resources. I’m going to focus on the time issue, because teachers are notorious for being able to stretch a dollar, craft a needed item, or reuse and re-purpose when we are not begging or borrowing needed resources. This year, I had 30 minutes of planning per day. That time had to cover making copies, planning lessons, calling or meeting with parents, documenting behavior issues, completing forms, meeting with administrators, and let’s not forget grading papers. Actually, I won’t include grading papers since I never had time to do that during planning anyway. Also, that was my only time during the day to use the restroom without getting someone to watch my class. So more and more responsibility is expected, all while providing teachers with less time to accomplish it, and less money too. I’m gotten great at hoarding copy paper, that’s for sure.
My third reason is less of a local than a national issue. Testing, testing, and more testing! We have to focus on these kids in the middle- the almost ready kids- since the ones at the top are already at the ready level, and the ones at the bottom are not likely to move up. As a parent myself, I was becoming increasingly upset that my children who were already at grade level, were not being challenged, and were being forced to sit through all the same lessons, and were being pretty much ignored, at least when it came to moving them beyond “ready.” Let’s add to this issue making teachers accountable for their students’ test scores. I am here to say I am not a proponent of tenure, and I am not a member of any teacher’s association lobbying group because of some issues I don’t agree with. So I am not a supporter of the status quo in terms of those issues, but there is no way anyone with half a brain (maybe that’s the problem) would say as a teacher I am responsible for my student’s standardized test score. Have you ever administered one of these tests? Every year I have to wake kids up multiple times during one test. I have had students complete a reading comprehension test with several excerpts in 10 minutes. I have seen students making pictures on their bubble forms because they don’t want to be bothered to read and follow the directions. I don’t believe I need to go on – ridiculous!
I am excited about my new job for another reason – I get to talk about God and Christ during class. After all, Jesus was the ultimate role model for teachers. It is difficult to speak about building character without speaking about the teachings of Christ. I won’t even limit it to Christianity, though, let’s bring some type of faith, family, and meaning back into the lives of our students.
Additionally, I want to work in a truly collaborative environment where my input is valuable or at least considered for issues affecting my students. I’m tired of being told, “That’s just the life of a teacher. A good teacher spends her own money. If you don’t like the way things are run here, you know where the door is.” You expect to hear that last one in many places of employment, but good leaders don’t treat their employees that way. When will our schools get tired of the turnover and training new teachers? I guess when the pool of employees is no longer as deep, maybe someone will listen to what we have to say.
There is more, and this entry is getting long. I’ll try to condense some information. Budgeting and resources are another problem facing our students. I am a supporter of science and technology – I think this is integral to our future. However, creative thinkers come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and fields of interest. We must stop cutting funding for the arts. Music, dance, art, drama – these are all important for teaching students how to think, how to collaborate, how to plan and find creative solutions. That’s another reason I am leaving, and have moved my children as well. The opportunities available in their old schools for creative expression are being eliminated within the classroom. Students aren’t even exposed to a foreign language until 10th grade. Art and drama is no longer offered until high school. To me, this is another thing that will widen the achievement gap. Families who can provide their children with these experiences though camps and summer programs will have children who develop more of these creative skills that are needed for any job, including problem-solving and collaboration. This will make the gap between the haves and the have not’s even wider.
Well, I guess I have said enough for now. I am truly excited about my new position at St. Luke School in Columbus. I know that this will not be a “perfect” job; there’s no such thing. But I know from my son’s experience this year, that I will be able to do more instructing and less “babysitting.” I will spend more time doing activities and having discussions and less time handing out pencils and papers and attempting to keep kids from throwing them across the room at each other. I will spend less time yelling and correcting behavior in an attempt to maintain some type of learning environment in the classroom. I will have more time to plan meaningful learning activities, the kinds of things that I haven’t had time to do in recent years, the kind I envisioned when I chose to return to school to become a teacher.
Let me be clear that I am blessed by the experiences I have had because I know I have touched the lives of some students who have come through my classes, just as they have touched mine. The last seven years have given me a unique perspective, and I am thankful for each year (especially thankful to have survived this one). I know that God is leading me in the direction that I am headed. I pray for all those working each day to make the lives of our students better. I pray that the rest of the country will recognize the value of the teacher and of education in general, instead of our current culture of hailing celebrities and athletes.
I hope to achieve MLK’s idea that “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and critically. Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” Another favorite, though this hasn’t been substantiated as having come directly from the great leader Winston Churchill himself, though I like to think so: It was once suggested that he cut funding to the arts to pay for Britain’s war, to which Churchill responded “Then what would we be fighting for?” Public education is essential for our society. I have always supported taxes and funding for education, but when the system isn’t working, and I am not able to be part of the solution, I must make decisions for the best of myself and my family.
Which brings me to this, the main reason I am leaving my current job. I like the idea that independent schools are more able to be mission-driven instead of politics, funding, or data-driven. I am hopeful that some day soon those who make decisions about education and funding may actually have been teachers themselves in this century. Finally, one of my favorite high school teachers who inspired me on this pathway, taught me on my first day of Latin class, Ipsa scientia potestas est, which means Knowledge itself is power. I truly believe this, and send my prayers to all those in education throughout the world. Never stop believing in the power of knowledge.
landreaulanguage 