Teacher bashing

I can't listen to the radio or watch TV when it starts....the rantings of uninformed people who think teachers are lazy and greedy. With the teacher's strike into its third day, the public support feels not so strong.

First of all, I think teaching is a great job. We have really good benefits, a decent salary and great vacation time. For myself and most of the teachers I know, those were not the factors that lead us to teaching. It was a love for kids and a desire to teach and impart knowledge. For most of us ( I say most because, yeah, there's some bad apples in the bunch - but really, not too many) we really do care about the kids and what they're learning. I know because I have conversations in the hallway with my colleagues about best practices, about what's working in our classrooms, about a new strategy we've tried . . . that's what we talk about. We dont' spend our working hours griping about our contract or wages.

Here are some things the public is misinformed about:

Pro D days

Yes, for the kids it's a holiday, but for us it's not. Most employees are given time on the job to improve their skills, to learn new techniques, to network with colleagues. We can't because we have 20 - 30 children to teach all day. So, yes, we need time to improve our skills. I don't think it's fair to expect us to do that all on the weekend. We pay out of our pocket for professional development. We have a small fund to pay 1/2, but usually that would only cover one conference or speaker. In the past, I've paid hundreds of dollars for my own professional development. I've never added it up.

Materials

Most parents are quite surprised to find out that I purchase out of pockets all the stickers, books, teaching resources....basically almost everything that's not furniture - actually, I've even bought furniture! I could save a lot of money, but my classroom would look pretty drab and
uninviting. No, I can't claim any of it on my income tax. Every September I spend a couple hundred....and throughout the year, probably a hundred more at least. The school I'm at now has a wonderful PAC who have given us a classroom fund. But that's only because I teach in an affluent community.

Vacation

Oh, yes, the famous summer vacation. What are teachers complaining about? They get two months off! Yes, it's a wonderful perk to the job, I admit. But let's remember that those are two unpaid months. In our district, our last paycheque is June 30th and our next is September 15th. So, we have to budget accordingly...not so bad really. Most of us spend August getting ready. We may not be at school the whole month, but we are thinking, planning, purchasing supplies, maybe doing some pro - d. A lot of teachers spend one -two weeks of August at school, especially if they have a new assignment.

Stress

Teaching is pretty stressful. In years where I've had a challenging class, I've actually had physical symptoms manifest. I know lots of other teachers who've experienced the same thing. In almost all cases, once a teacher has retired and returns to visit, they look 10 years younger. It's a fun, rewarding job but the responsibility is enormous. Sometimes the stress is brought on by unreasonable parents or special needs children who don't have enough support in the classroom. Sometimes we feel stressed by the amount of curriculum we are supposed to cover. Everytime the ministry of education comes out with something new, I cringe.

Modern day classrooms.

I think most people would be shocked to see a classroom today. It looks a lot different from 20 years ago. The behaviour challenges we deal with are different...more complex and more challenging. I know because veteran teachers on my staff tell me all the time. Parent expectations are completely different too. We no longer teach the basics. We are expected to teach personal planning, drama, music, manners, social responsibility.....every year the list grows longer.

Anyhow, this rambling is mostly for me to process. I get stressed when teachers are highlighted on the evening news and daytime radio....especially when misinformation abounds.