Those who CAN, Teach

I grew up in a county where educators were revered with respect. As an adult, and a sacrificial teacher, I soon learned that was not the case as not everyone in the world outside the school walls held the same bit of respect.  "Those who can't, teach." I heard.  Well, this post is to shed some light on what it REALLY means to be an educator in TODAY'S world.


Teachers are managers of many things all day long. We catch the brunt from both ends: The administration and the parents. We have to please everyone and all the while assess our kids to the tee in every subject to know them inside and out in order to meet their learning needs and help them reach goals we set for them and they set for themselves.

MYTH: Educators only work 9 months out of the year and so they shouldn't be complaining about their jobs.
TRUTH: We do work only 9 months out of the year if we work in a public school that doesn't participate in year-round school (Home school moms can choose to do year round school). However, that simply means we don't have students during those three months. We still work. We design lessons and units that are so complex with so many different attributes and characteristics to meet all the learning needs of all the 20 something children in our classrooms we are solely responsible for.

MYTH: You do cutesy things all day and babysit.
TRUTH: Some teachers like to do some cutesy things, but those are mostly appropriate for kindergarten and even kindergarteners now do what was first and second grade work (called curriculum) when we went to school. All students learn a far greater volume of concepts, vocabulary and skills than we did and on a far deeper level. School is not fluffy.

MYTH: All teachers do is follow a text book that says what they're supposed to say.
TRUTH: Nope. Far from it. At the last school I taught, I researched, collected, designed and wrote all my lessons for 7 subjects. I integrated differentiation strategies to meet the needs of English Language Learners, special needs kids and even excelled learners that needed a challenge. I had several levels of math groups and reading groups. I used technology called a smart board in the classroom and trained my students to use it. I integrated and made units using quality children's literature. I chose guided reading books about hundreds of topics throughout the year leveled just right for my small groups and let's not forget- I taught my students to read. Not just read the words, read them fluently, recognize context clues, find main ideas and use details in their writing (four genres to be exact), compare and contrast non-fiction text concepts from trade books (those are real books about Science and Historic content), draw conclusions, visualize, gather and research for facts, write a five paragraph essay from what they read and these were 8 year olds. Let's not mention all the concept vocabulary these kids learn.

Oh, and Babysitting? Far from it. Teachers motivate and engage learners all day long. We create behavior charts and guide students who need help in choosing correct character.  We are the steady face in the mornings kids see who are from broken homes, the comfort of a listener and someone who cares. We are mentors and counselors. We are a hundred things to a child. We are INVALUABLE.

Tony Campolo said, "It doesn't matter what the course is-learning at the feet of a great scholar marks a student forever. ...the influence of a memorable instructor stays with you for a lifetime."

Maybe you had a teacher who inspired you, believed in you, was tough on you to get you in line, or just helped you get through a tough time. If so, THANK him or her who gave sacrificially for you.