Don't give up or give in in the face of patronizing ridicule, amused disdain, or being ignored.
- Meryl Streep
A heartfelt letter was penned and then ignored. From my position, ideas are seldom given any attention beyond the school building. I work with children, and similar to the children I work with, many feel that I should be seen, but not heard. Hence when I feel strongly and share ideas, those ideas are typically ignored.
Others might say that I need to better my advocacy. Make the time to sit down to talk it out with the many administrators that lead my work. If it matters, why wouldn't I do that. I've tried that route before beyond the building level only to be met with disdain and little to no support. Clearly, my ideas and speak are not welcome at that level. Mostly ideas are welcome if they fit the parameters set, but ideas that fall outside those boundaries are generally not well received.
Yet why would anyone take the time to speak about ideas if they thought it would end up on my blog--where's the privacy in that? Yet when ideas stay dormant, unheard, and ignored, they go nowhere. At least on the blog they get a life, and help me with my work.
Blogging began for me when I was represented in ways that were untrue. I needed a place to tell my story. Later when my ideas were used and no credit was given, I was prompted to write again. I love to share ideas, but I also like to get some credit for ideas that I'm apart of. To see your ideas used without any credit is a disheartening experience. Now I blog to figure out this journey of a school teacher at this time in American life. There's so much I truly love about teaching, and there are also many, many roadblocks with regard to doing a good job. I believe the biggest roadblock is the lack of authentic voice and choice teachers experience regularly. Too often our voices are not heard or respected with regard to the work we do.
Fortunately my colleagues, some administrators, family members, and the students are terrific supporters and collaborators. They are the pull that inspire me to come to school each day and do my best work. I love the challenge of teaching children well, and truly enjoy most of my time in that pursuit. I find it to be meaningful work.
It seems that some of the biggest challenges are not going away. They occur again and again and I just have to resign myself to those at the time being and instead work on the parameters I am able to have some control over. It's disappointing, but there's other paths to explore that may bring more light and joy as I do my work to teach well.
