What I wish you knew about teachers

In a previous life, many incarnations of Lana ago, I was a primary school teacher. Not a “big school” teacher but an infants teacher – I loved (still do) little children and could think of no finer way to get paid then to spend all day with small kids.

Young kids are so much less complicated then their adult counterparts, they are innocent and honest, mostly loving and kind and so open to the world. Being a teacher seemed like the perfect occupation, if I got to avoid the staff room drama I would get to spend time in the company of really good people.


But the reality is never quite like the glossy brochure. I loved “my” kids, with a strong, unwavering love – I loved listening to them talk, I loved sitting on the carpet with them and playing games, I loved the atmosphere in the classroom. But I didn’t love teaching them as much as I loved just hanging out with them and I didn’t love the stuff I took home with me every afternoon.

And I’m not talking marking and classroom preparation. That was a cinch compared to the emotional stuff I took home in the afternoon. Maybe it was just because I am possibly over sensitive, but every afternoon I would go home and start to worry about each child in that classroom. Did they learn the number 4? Did I go to fast? Were they happy? Did everyone have someone to sit with during lunch? Xyz seemed sad, should I speak to his parents? ABC played out is everything okay at home? And round and round it went in my head.

Soon my husband hated my job. Soon I couldn’t cope with the worry. A story for another day but I stopped teaching.

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Kyle Schwartz is a third grade teacher in Denver where 96% of her students live below the poverty line. Recently she asked the kids in her class what they wish she knew about them. She shared the notes on Twitter so you too can see some of the reasons teachers like Kyle have a hard time letting go of their kids long after the school bell has rung

Thank you Kyle for opening up such an important conversation and allowing us to see what these kids are really going through but more than that, thank you for reminding us that teachers are awesome, and the people who do the job should be valued, not just for the hours they spend with your kids, but for all the time they spend thinking about them.

Comments

  1. Such a great idea and what a wonderful teacher! (as are so many – as the daughter of two retired teachers – mostly Year 11 and 12s, so slightly different issues – I am well aware that there is still a lot more than just ‘teaching’ involved in being a teacher).

  2. Lana, one key thing about teachers in this country especially, is they are not truly respected. Teaching is not looked upon or valued as a profession. People say teachers are payed too much and have too many holidays and have an easy life working from 9 to 3 with all these breaks during the day. That’s so far from the truth its not funny. How about days from 7 until 5 no lunchbreaks because you are looking after students, late nights correcting and preparing, answering emails and phone calls from students, especially final year students and then having all the worries you talk about as well.

    People need to forget the idea of teachers as portrayed in movies and television. They need to think of teachers as the most important person their children will interact with after themselves. They need to see teachers as the engineer who designs the foundations of the tallest skyscrapers. They are the foundation builders for our children. Their teaching sets our children up for life. Without their dedication and care for our kids what future will they have.

    We as parents need to support our teachers especially when there are classroom problems. I’m not saying every teacher is an angel but when performance issues arise to bring them up discretely and respectfully so that no one is disadvantaged, the child, the teacher and the school.

    Ok rant over.

    Thanks for sharing your feelings with us all again.

    Cheers,

    Patrick

  3. Thank you on behalf of all teachers Lana. I know my very first year of teaching Grade Two I dreamed about them every single night. It was weird. I don’t do that now but I still think about them all the time. You spend 5 hours with them every day for most of the year, you can’t help but form a close relationship. Even the older ones!

    • Of course. As a teacher you would know that actually teaching them is just one part of a very big role you play in their lives

  4. So moving and thought provoking. A poignant reminder that just because kids are little and don’t have the adult worries and pressures of life that we do, that they too have very relevant things going on that affect them and their quality of life greatly. x

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