I Love My Job

 

The last 10 months have been crazy for everyone, no matter their industry. As my husband reminded me at the start of the school year, everyone is at their wit's end. Schools are in a very difficult position these days, possibly more so than most other industries because of competing concerns regarding online learning vs. returning to buildings. 

Many students are learning less of the curriculum designated by districts, states, and the country. Most parents are more responsible for helping their kids with learning those prescribed curricula. Teachers are dealing with students not showing up to Zooms and getting little to no response when they send messages or make phone calls trying to chase work or offer assistance. Everyone wants kids back in classrooms.

But teachers and school staff are understandably nervous. COVID numbers are much higher than when schools shut down in March.  Many people who are making decisions about re-opening schools are still working remotely and will continue to do so. The science has progressed and we know more now than we did when everything shut down, but there is still so much we don't know. We don't know how well kids carry the virus even if they don't show symptoms. But most of us work in old buildings with ventilation systems that are in various states of disrepair.

I'm back in the classroom, four days a week. I am excited to be back. Someone posted to one of the teacher groups on Facebook this weekend this question: "If you consider yourself a pretty 'happy' teacher, what's your secret?" This is a common theme in these groups, even pre-pandemic.. Teaching is a hard job, and often thankless. Parents send emails at all hours of the day and night, and a few of them act like they expect immediate responses. Questions that have been answered over and over again are asked again and again by students and families alike. Outside of planning, teaching, and communicating with parents, the number of job requirements seems to be climbing. In the best of circumstances, it's a lot. With the demands of providing a hybrid learning model and the increased stress of society as a whole, this year has taken the expectations to a while new level.

Still, I had no hesitation answering the question posed to those who consider themselves "pretty happy teachers." I love what I do. It helps that I have a supportive husband. Another factor that I believe has saved me from teacher burnout is the number of times I have moved to a new school and a new grade level. I have made the choice to leave schools twice and was pushed out twice. I have taught every grade level 4-8 and worked on teams that value my input and with those that seemed to ignore me. I have also worked without any real team, at a school that was small enough to have only one class per grade level. 

Moving between schools, teams, grade levels, and subject areas has been challenging and stressful. But it has kept me actively, continually choosing to do this this job. When I try to imagine myself outside of this profession, I can't. It's a part of my identity and a source of inner pride. I love my job.