My God, teaching is hard.
I mean...have you checked on your teacher friends lately? We are NOT OKAY.
But Ashley, you get summers and weekends and holidays off! Your job is easy!
First of all, I'm not going to say what I think when people say those things because my mom might read this and she will be disappointed.
Second of all, screw you.
It's been so long since I've written anything that I'm not really sure where to start. This year has been a doozy with big changes personally and professionally. I got engaged to my main squeeze in June and began eagerly planning our wedding. Then, my dad passed away in August. The day before the first day of school. My year started immediately on a rollercoaster of emotions. Happiness and grief can both be overwhelming in their own ways.
Oh. I almost forgot the Cat 5 hurricane we experienced just two months into the school year where we missed about three weeks of instructional time. That was also great.
But. The show must go on, so here we are, eight months into the school year. Less than twenty school days to go of my sixteenth year teaching. You'd think it would get easier after so many years, but it doesn't. As the kids grow and change, teachers stay the same. We expect the same things from students that we've always expected: respect, listening skills, manners. It's not like that anymore, though.
We've been in so many conversations about this lately that we sound like broken records. Social media and technology have such a huge impact on students that it's hard for us lowly teachers to compete. We try! We try so hard to plan the engaging lessons, add in the tech, play games, put on our one-man show. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
It. Is. Exhausting.
I love my job. I will say it anytime I write about teaching. (Which hasn't been very often but I've been busy this year.). I love knowing that I get to make a difference (hopefully) in a kid's life. There is no better feeling than a child taking something you taught them to heart, whether it be academic or personal. We've gotten to have open and real conversations about how to treat each other and what it means to be kind. My class and I have also learned new things together because no matter how distracted they can get, they still love to freaking learn.
Still...it has not been easy. Do the good days outweigh the bad? I don't know. Maybe it's the burnout. Maybe we're all just ready for summer.
Teachers a making a mass exodus and it is so disheartening. With school shootings, shitty pay, no respect from the public...can you blame them?
I don't blame anyone for leaving this profession. It has definitely crossed my mind. I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet, though. I hope you (if you're reading this) stick around, too.
You never know who might need you.
