Only 5 more days of school until my blissful 10 week summer vacation! One of the best perks of being a teacher is the wonderful schedule and as I've mentioned before after this particular school year I deserve it! After my therapeutic session of writing the 'countdown' post I had an 'anonymous' comment left on the comment section. Evidently my harsh and seemingly insensitive tone struck a nerve with someone. I thought about her comment for a while and had many thoughts.First of all I write my blog in order to chronicle my life as a whole. It started as a way to pass the time during the paper pregnancy stage of the adoption, but later I realized it will include my journey through adoption, my family, my career, my spiritual life, and so much more. After I started blogging I realized it was a healthy way for me to record my feelings about life and where God has lead me, what God is teaching me, and how I'm measuring up...so to speak. I'm not perfect, never claim to be, never will be. I make mistakes and I've made a lot of mistakes this year in my classroom. I'm human.
However, I still believe passionately in my calling to be a teacher in public school. I believe I do make a difference. My students have made tremendous academic, social, and personal gains this school year and will leave my classroom a better person than they were.
I love my kids and I love my students...THAT is why I care so deeply about all of the situations that I wrote about. I know I wrote with a sarcastic tone...sarcasm and humor is how I write and how I speak sometimes. So please don't get offended at how I may describe my students. After this school year ESPECIALLY I don't need to be criticized because I can promise you I've put up with a lot more than what most people could have dealt with.
In her comment she wrote "have you ever considered you are in the wrong profession"...absolutely not! Just because I've had a bad day, a bad week, or a bad year doesn't mean I need to find a new career. Interestingly enough, that is exactly what most teachers do though. They get burned out, feel unappreciated and quit, they move on. Many of them are excellent teachers or have the potential to be excellent, but our school systems and society beat them down so hard they can't get back up.
I am a Middle Childhood Specialist with the highest credentials a teacher can achieve (National Board Certified Teacher). I'm proud of my career, my achievements, and I will continue to teach and hold the bar very high for my students. They need a challenge and they need high expectations. We should not accept anything less that their best.
There is always room for improvement and that is why I'm so glad I get to start each August new and fresh with a different class...a different set of challenges. (Hopefully this year it won't be quite so many challenges!) I spend my summer "vacation" reading and researching the web for new teaching strategies, new behavior management techniques, new and fresh ideas. I never recreate the same class experience from one year to the next.
What I would love to know is who 'anonymous' is and how you found my blog just out of curiosity. Thanks to the two other ladies who commented on that post! Your thoughts are very encouraging! In the future if you don't like what you're reading on a blog, just don't read it. And please don't pass superficial judgements on people because of what they write when you don't know them personally.
1 comment:
You are completely correct. I was a teacher for 7 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. I taught in schools where most wouldn't even consider entering the neighborhood much less the school. With all the problems and trials I went through; I loved teaching those kids. Those were the ones that needed a good teacher the most. I hope you have a wonderful summer. You deserve it!
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