The Life of a Teacher

Teachers are no longer "master of their domain".  We are silenced by the Superintendent.  We are degraded by the administration.  We are reprimanded by parents.  And we are subservient to the students.  This is more oppressive and depressive than any other occupation there is.  Plus the politicians do not make it any easier.  And most of the time the Union is only caring about their political friends or going to Honolulu for their annual conventions with all of our union dues.  When does the teacher actually get to be a part of their classroom? Professional development days, staff meetings, evaluations, contract negotiations, paper work, committees, state tests, fights/classroom management, conferences, community participation, re-certifications, IPDPs, IEPs/504s, lesson plans, fire/tornado/emergency drills, grading papers are just part of our days that add stress.  Not to mention the other things we have to put up with such as threats, ...

This could have easily had been called stuck between a rock and a hard place but I chose this instead because it is a little more accurate.  Either way one of the worse things teachers have to deal with is the fact that they have to be careful about everything they say, watch, do, comment, post, look, feel, express, and even teach. As a professional teacher I am not arguing for letting someone do any of the above list anytime they want.  For instance we should never say or do anything that ever harms a child, period.  But that is not what I am referring to in this post. As a teacher we should still be allowed to give our opinions about the way the schools are being ran without any kind of fear of repercussions.  And we all know where those come from.  A child says something to me I can be the adult and try to guide the child into a better way of thinking about the situation or deescalate a situation.  A parent comes in with an issue, in most cases we ca...

One major obstacle in a teacher's life is administration. Most would probably say that state tests, lack of resources, or the community they are a part of are the biggest obstacles. But in reality it's the administration and their plans. Administrators, let's just be upfront---principals mostly, feel that just because they have the position that their plans are the only ones that are viable. They feel that others have no opinion that really matters. None of this is to say that principals are not deserving of respect or that just because you don't agree with those plans that you should not listen to them. But, as I learned from Star Trek (ha-ha but true), this is the greatest set of tips for a leader I have ever heard, Learn from Jean-Luc . Number 7 on the list is big. Listen to suggestions. Picard always heard from his leaders and then made rational decisions, not flying off the handle making rash decisions. Just because he was captain did not mean that he a...

One of the worst things anybody can say to a teacher is "Those who can, can.  Those who can't, teach".  It's degrading and insulting to the people who try their hardest to raise generations of people who hate them just because they are a teacher, who try their hardest to train the generations for a world that will not treat them right, who try their hardest to listen to lives that are destroyed.  It's not fair to judge those who become teachers by saying they can't do anything else in life.  Teachers have to put up with what most people in this world will never have to deal with. Yes, they get "9 months off".  But those 9 months are the most grueling anyone can have.  You spend 7-8 hours a day arguing with people who show no common sense, who have to get the last word, and who think they know more than anyone else.  And then you have the children... Yes, their pay is not really that bad, don't let anyone fool you.  But pay is not even in the ...