Fourteen Things Teachers Want You To Know

Fourteen Things Teachers Want You To Know

1) We don't think our job is harder than yours. All jobs are challenging in different ways.

2) We only get paid for ten months of work. We do not get paid over the summer, but some of us choose to have our ten months of pay spread out so that we can pay the mortgage and life expenses.

And yes, we do work during the summer (although not as much as we do during the school year). Most of us teach summer school or do professional development during the summer. But even if we didn't, that doesn't make us lazy.

3) We are professionals. We are trained in pedagogy. We have college degrees. We know what we're doing. Trust us, please.

4) We don't mind being held accountable. What we DO mind is our time and effort being wasted in the name of "more accountability." Because then that means our kids suffer.

5) We love our kids. We can comment on their ignorance and weirdness. But don't you dare insult them. We'll usually stand up for them and defend them.

6) Getting breaks around the holidays is nice, as are snow days. Sometimes we need those breaks to keep from going insane, or to grade papers, or to revamp a lesson. You know, things we don't get to do during "planning" time.

7) No, just because we're not new teachers anymore does NOT mean all our lessons are just ready to go and that we just walk into school, lecture, and walk out. A good teacher constantly updates lessons, projects, assessments, and activities to meet the needs of each year's students or to incorporate new teaching techniques.

8) All these "education reform laws" will not get to the root issues and fix the broken system or the faulty attitudes surrounding education.

9) While none of us teach for the money, it is discouraging and demoralizing to know that you can work your tail off for years and years in a row and still never get a raise (even though we're supposed to).

10) Things that don't seem like they take a long time (making copies, tutoring, allowing kids to make up tests before and after school, calling/emailing parents, IEP meetings, etc.) add up and take time away from our ability to do what we do best: teach.

11)  We leave teaching not because we don't like teaching anymore. It's because we don't get to teach because of ALL of the other crud we have to do.

12) There's much more to learning than grades and test scores. We want our kids to learn to think for themselves, problem solve, and be able to teach themselves anything. But...we are judged based on our kids' grades and test scores...so we have to find balance in the classroom, and it's hard.

13) Almost all of us coach or sponsor a club in addition to teaching. Many of us do multiple clubs or sports. We do not just work 8-4.

14) We like to be involved in our school community. We love to make a difference. It's why we became teachers. 

We want to leave the world  better than we found it.


Teacher friends, what else would you add?