Teaching

Recently, I read a comment on Facebook, which really struck a nerve with me. It stated something along the lines of never hearing about a teacher doing his or her job.

Now, I will be the first to say that teachers, including myself, make mistakes. We are human, and some are better at our jobs than others. However, it seems ludicrous to me that there are parents out there who think teachers don't do their jobs.

I thought I would elaborate here on what, in my experience, are the responsibilities of a teacher.

1. Teach. We must engage upwards of 25 students at a time with material they may or may not have any interest in. In doing so, we must relate to each student's unique prior knowledge, adjusting for the advanced student, the learning disabled student, the physically challenged student, and the ADD/ADHD student. We must do this without obviously treating any student differently. To do this, we spend hours after school planning, organizing, and reconfiguring activities to best fit our students, while ignoring our own families.

2. Communicate. In any given day, a teacher must communicate with students, colleagues, parents, administration, and, often, the public. This communication varies according to level, but includes written, oral, and electronic communication, and definitely doesn't end with the 3:30 bell. (Think I'm wrong? Has anyone ever gotten an email from a teacher outside of school hours? Have you ever spoken to a current or former teacher in the grocery store? I rest my case.)

3. Parent. This may be the most difficult concept for a child's parents, but it is a crucial part of the school environment. A parent provides love and support for their child unconditionally right? Guess what, in the hours your child is at school, his or her teachers are also providing unconditional love and support. If they didn't love your kid, they wouldn't be teaching. The pay and hours are terrible, the rewards of seeing someone we care about excel are why we do it.

4. Nurse. I realize that the school has nurses who do this, but I cannot tell you the number of times I have served as a nurse. From, "Do you have a bandaid?" to "Do you think this is infected?" and "I just threw up a lot, should I go home?" So yes, we are nurses. And the answers? Yes. Ew, gross, yes. And Dear God, please go call your mom. And I teach teenagers. I can not imagine what kinds of nurse things elementary teachers deal with.

5. Confidant. Again, this is another thing that worries parents. It happens all the time. Students spend so much time with their teachers, that teachers can tell at a glance if something is wrong. Students also have so much trust in their teachers, (as they should) that when asked, "Are you okay?" They spill. We then have to determine what is appropriate as a response, and if necessary, who to turn to next with the students' problem. I guess that's why we have to take psychology classes in order to get a license.

6. Disciplinarian. Teachers at all levels have to enforce rules. Every student at some point must be disciplined. Teachers must do so regardless of the support of the parent. Many parents are extremely supportive of the rules. Unfortunately, some parents blatantly allow their children to break rules. For instance, at the high school level, students are generally not allowed to use their phones. It varies by school, but as a general rule, phones are supposed to be silent and away at al times. I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I heard a student discussing something their parent had told them via text during the day. To be more specific, I emailed a mom around 10:30 about a question I had. Her daughter came to me 2 hours later with the answer. Clearly that parent blatantly disregarded a rule, which makes it extremely difficult for the school to enforce.

7. Learn. As a teacher, you must constantly learn. We learn names of students, which we are expected to retain for years. (Case in point, earlier this week I was stopped by a former student in the grocery store. I taught her 4 years ago, and she remembered me, therefore I am expected to remember her.) We learn about the students' character and family. We learn new curriculum, only to have it or our assignment changed, sometimes mid year. We learn new technologies and are expected to implement them immediately, despite the plans we spent hours on just last week. We take undergraduate and graduate level classes to maintain our certifications. (Which, thanks to budget cuts, we spend half a month's salary per course on.) We are perpetual students.

Now, these are not all the responsibilities of a teacher, but they are a large portion. Next time you feel frustrated by your child's teacher, think about this list, and remember that their line of communication is always open. Try talking, try offering how you can help, most definitely, try to encourage your child to learn!

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

If you can read, thank a teacher. If you can read in English, thank the US Military.