Hey teachers out there...one of my pet peeves is hearing, "I'm just a teacher." I was at a conference once, and the lady in front of me was having trouble adjusting her badge and was fidgeting with it. After struggling with it for a few minutes, she gasped and said, "you know...I'm just a teacher." I looked her in the eyes and said, "don't ever say that about yourself! You are a teacher, and you should be proud of that."
Why has our society put such a low rating on teachers? Now this doesn't apply to everyone, but I can't tell you how man times I've heard, "must be nice to have a break," "best thing about teaching is June, July, and August," or "those who can't teach!" In response to these comments, I say that the breaks that we have are not always breaks.
Do you know how many hours I spent yesterday (on a Sunday...my day off...the Chiefs were playing...) on a puzzle site, creating fun puzzles on teacher content so that my students could start out after break with something rather fun? Would you like to see the transcripts I created over the summer months during which I not only planned teaching in all modes: in-person, remote, and hybrid...because there was no telling what mode we would be in come the Fall beginning of the new school year? And, lastly, would you like to see my college courses and transcripts? I CHOSE to go into teaching. Could I have been an engineer? Yes. I lived with four over my life...I could have done it. Could I have been a medical doctor? Yes. I earned a PhD in 3.5 years. I could have been anything. I CHOSE to go into teaching.
I work with students who also have a passion for working with students. It is not fair that they have to rack up expenses for a 4-5 year college education and come out of school and earning less that many and then try to survive college loans. No...that is not fair, and these are some of the most bright, compassionate, and able people I know.
Come on people...let's give teachers the credit and the respect they deserve. As I tell my students all the time...I never remember or contact the person who set the interest amount on my bank accounts and tell them that that rate just enriched my life...I never go back to visit my mechanic to tell him or her that the new muffler made me a better person...but I ALWAYS remember and go back to visit teachers who have been such an inspiration to me. Thank you, Teachers!
