Last Monday, I started back to work. In case you weren’t aware, teachers go back to work two to three weeks before the kid’s first day of school. Why? Because we a have a TON of trainings we go through to ensure the students have a safe and successful year.
There is a misconception out there that teaching is easy. It isn’t. Some think that because we get the summers off, we have a cushy job. Nope. Teachers are, in essence, either always teaching or thinking about teaching. Let me give you an example.
I taught summer school for the first time this year. So, I had a couple of days off and then I was back in the classroom for the next four to five weeks. Once summer school was over, I had about four weeks of a summer break. Now, while I had time with family and friends and did some things for myself, I still spent most of those days at the school preparing my classroom for the new year. On the days I stayed home, I was still working on school related things…looking at curriculum and starting the mandatory yearly training online.
My husband and I got a little used to me be being home more. The dogs definitely got used to it! We both settled into what life looked like during that time and before we knew it was my first day back at work. Training for teachers is very quick paced, can be intense, and is sometimes overwhelming. We hit the ground running hard all to ensure the year will be a great one. That first day back can be a shock to the system not just for the teacher, but also for their family members.
What people don’t seem to realize is that when someone in the household is a teacher, the whole family has to go through teacher life with them. Any change in how things are done on the teacher side of life (different bell schedule at school, duty assignments, etc.) causes a change to occur on the family side of life. Who’s going to take Johnny to school now because he no longer attends the same campus? Who’s going to take Susie to school and pick her up so she doesn’t have to stay in before and after school care? Can we afford before and after school care?
And what about dinner, and the laundry, and cleanining the house, and lesson plans, and grading papers, and preparing for tomorrow. It’s nonstop. A teacher’s job doesn’t always end when they walk out of the classroom because they always need to be prepared for tomorrow and stay current on everything.
I’m not telling you this to rant or complain. I honestly love my job. I love being a part of helping to create better humans. I love getting their minds to think beyond the page. I love all the little teacher gadgets that I intentially use because they super cute. I just wanted to take a moment and explain from the teacher side of things that being a teacher is not an easy, cushy job. It takes a lot mentally, phyically, and emotionally to stand in a room all day and be apart of growing the minds of thirty children that you possibly see more than you do your own family. If we come home a little tired, give us grace and let us breathe for a bit. It’s hard to flip from teacher to family mindset. Let us have the moment so our brain can register where we are and what we need to do next. We chose this profession for a reason and care about the students in our charge. We deserve the same respect as other professions. We are the foundation to those professions. Be our cheerleader. Be ready on the sideline with water as we run by. We are not the parent any of the students in the classroom. We are people working hard to help the next generation make it.
Okay, might have gotten into a little rant there. Our job is a difficult one. Please give us grace. Notice I said grace, not praise. We need grace because we will have times when we need a moment to ourselves to breathe. We will need extra help with ensuring success for a student. We will need a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, and a target to throw at. Okay, maybe not that last one, but I hope you get the gist of what I’m saying. If you are a parent taking your student into a new classroom this year, remember, the teacher does not wear a magic cape or hat. There is no fairy dust to sprinkle around. They are simply a person who desires to help our future by teaching it how to become better as they grow.
