Must Be Nice!

Every teacher has heard this at some point.  "You're a teacher?  That must be so fun.  It must be nice to get off at three.  It must be nice to have your summers off.  It must be nice to get a long break at Christmas."  I know that I probably have misconceptions about the jobs other people have as well, so I try not to get too hacked off by the ignorance of these statements.  However, it might be time to respond to a few of these crazy statements.  Before I do, I want to issue this disclaimer.  Nothing I write in this post is a complaint.  I love my job and wouldn't want to do anything else.  I just want people to have an understanding of how nonsensical their view of teaching is.

1.  Yes, teaching is fun for me, but it would not be for you.  The "you" I am referring to here is the crazy person making the statement, not you the wonderful reader of my this blog post.  The people who say, "that must be so fun" have a belief that teaching is playing with kids all day.  I have taught kids from 0-3 in child care as well as middle school and high school, and I have never spent one day just playing.  Even when I got to play with kids, I was responsible for their safety and the cognitive development that came from that play.  The fun I have at school comes from the love of planning lessons and delivering content and trying to give real answers to crazy, hypothetical questions like, "What would happen if everyone in the world jumped at the same time?" because the student who asked the question wants a real answer.  The person who wants to have fun playing with kids all day would not find that fun.

2.  I have never gotten off work at 3 o'clock.  The person who makes this statement usually works a nine to five job.  They are jealous of my work hours because they believe that I only work when the students are there.  Let me just set this straight.  I get to work at 6AM (because I would set off the alarm if I got there any earlier).

6:00-7:30 - I get the day ready, which involves, writing the objectives and agenda for the day on the board, gather materials for whatever hands on demonstrations or labs we are doing that day, answer e-mails, make a list for the day of what must be done (lesson plans due, meetings to attend, assigned duties, what must be graded today, what games I need to attend for yearbook photos, etc.).
7:30 - 8:00 - I go to either a teacher's prayer meeting two days a week (or door duty if it my assigned month for that - which is sincerely my favorite duty of all, I wouldn't mind doing it every day).  If it is not my assigned month, I set to work on my list.
8:00 - 11:30 - There is no way to explain how exhausting the actual act of teaching is.  Preachers probably get it, and I would think stage actors would as well.  For six hours out of every day, I am on stage.  However, I can't just perform; I have to also gauge the audience because it is more than an act.  They'll be tested on it, and I'll be evaluated on their performance.  They have different learning styles and abilities and gifts and strengths and weaknesses and personalities and home lives, so I am not teaching one class but rather 24 individuals.  When I say this is exhausting, I don't just mean tiring; I mean it depletes you.
11:30-12:00 - If it is not one my assigned months for lunch duty, I will get to sit and have lunch in the teacher's lounge with a few friends.  If it is a duty month, I will eat while walking around a room with 125 middle school students.  I am responsible for their safety, making during no one is eating alone, making sure that any student with a recognized eating disorder isn't throwing away their food, making sure the kids clean up after themselves, and making sure they get back to class on time (oh, and that I do too).
12:00-3:15 - Back to the stage for some more performances.
3:15-4:30 - Depending on the month, I may have door duty.  We have to make sure no one gets run over in the parking lot.  On Mondays, I have faculty meetings.  On Wednesdays, I have help days.  If my club is meeting that week, it is probably on Tuesdays.  If none of those things are happening, I am usually at an athletic event or possibly a play rehearsal to take photos.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the list in a while.  Most of the list gets taken care of in the mornings, and I do have what is called a planning period, so that grading and planning and test writing and stuff might happen then.  Sometimes it doesn't, so that is what Saturdays are for.

3.  Yes, it is nice to have summers and holiday breaks.  You have no idea just how great it is.  Considering that a 70-80 hour work week is normal for 10 months out of the year, you can't begin to imagine how nice it is to have time to do something like clean the bathroom or work out or read a book.  (Reading for pleasure really is the best part of summer.  At the end of the summer, I'll do a post on everything I have read this summer.)  It is great to make repairs that have stayed broken for months because other things took priority.  Don't think that teachers don't do school work during the summer and Christmas and Spring Break. though, because we definitely do.  We do it differently and less under the pressure of urgency than we do during the school year, but we do.  I have read three school related books, started planning a project, and thought about yearbook stuff for next year.  I have also been composing an e-mail in my head to some colleagues about a potential cross curricular lesson.  I am supposed to making a few "flipped lesson" videos for next year, but I haven't done it yet (It's the end of June, so I can probably do that in July).

So next time someone tells you they are a teacher, don't reply like the ignorant.  Say something like, "That's great.  You must be tired."  In all likelihood, the teacher will reply, "Yes, I am; but I love it."