I really enjoy teaching well.
I like to reach for the best possible work and program.
I wish there was more support for the work that teachers do.
I wish that people would regard our questions with care, and spend time talking about how to make things better.
But to many beyond the walls of the school or the learning team of students, parents, building leaders, and colleagues, we are merely conduits, robots, and doers--they don't regard us with respect or care. They don't answer emails, respond to questions, or share ideas. Silence is the mainstay--which doesn't feel good or match the current information related to building dynamic organizations.
There's little outreach to understand what's really going on or to value the work educators do in the classrooms each day. There's little effort to build, develop, and make better when so much promise and potential exist.
I suppose I should be satisfied. I work with nice families, children, and colleagues. I have all the supplies I need to teach well, but I know to really do a good job, we need more consistent support--we need a sense of team that goes beyond our building, a sense of being apart of things and an opportunity to use voice and choice with regard to the work we do and the way we are evaluated.
It's always in May that multiple new mandates and surprises come our way. Last year I had to wait for about eight weeks to have our new model approved. It was a painful wait. The year before I had to wait multiple weeks to find out about my grade-level placement, and now this year there's a long wait with regard to evaluation issues that were left incomplete until this time of year.
I don't know why we can't plan ahead so that there aren't these painful waits every May. I don't know why we can't have a sense of team and good communication so we know what's happening and we can build a program together. I don't know why we can't sit down and really talk about the work with truth, research, and vision in mind.
I so wish that teachers were valued in ways that matter. I wish systems were organized, timely, and respectful, and I wish there was a fair situation with regard to so many matters that happen. In many ways, it's been a very difficult day--one that has left me demeaned and devalued.
But, this has happened often throughout my tenure as an educator, and I know it happens in many work places. It's too bad that we can't all work with a little more respect for one another and for the systems that truly impact and develop the good work possible.
Yet, perhaps those that don't agree with me would simply say that it's my fault for staying a teacher and not moving into another role. But, I still believe that teaching is an important role, and I wish that teachers were more valued by the many that undervalue, disrespect, and don't support the role.
