T is for…

A great teacher at work. Notice how excited they are!

T is for Teaching, my profession for the past seven years and my passion for life. I’ve written so much about it over those years that I feel stymied trying to write anything short and to the point on it. So, I think I’ll make a page about it.

I don’t know if I’ll remain a teacher. No one wants to hear you whine about being underpaid and underappreciated, so I won’t. But even if I’m not paid for it, I will always be a teacher at heart. I will always seek to help others learn and grow, and to continue doing so myself. Public education is our last, best hope at truly offering equal opportunity to all children. The odds are always against some and in favor of others from the moment they’re born, but we have one shot at leveling the playing field before they enter the adult world.

Perhaps the saddest element related to the field right now is that I would not recommend any person in college to pursue a teaching career. The job market is brutal, despite reports to the contrary. There are thousands of unemployed teachers across the nation. Every state is facing increased pressure to tie teacher evaluation, and salaries, to students’ performance on standardized tests. Imagine being a doctor and evaluated on how many of your patients develop diabetes, despite you strongly advising them to eat better and exercise more.

To all my comrades-in-arms in the classroom, like Rod and Julie, I sing our collective praises today. Whether or not the general public appreciates us, we owe it to each other to appreciate what all of our profession sacrifices and achieves.