Think back to a time when you had to get up in front of a group of people and give a presentation. Maybe it was for a class project, a work meeting, a performance, etc. Now imagine having to do that presentation for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 9 months in front of a group of 30-40 kids who many times are not interested in what you have to say. It really takes a lot of energy to stand up in front of people all day long and share with them something about which you are passionate, yet they may not even give a hoot about. Public speaking is the #1 fear in the United States, but teachers speak publicly all day every day, to a group of people who are still learning how to function in society. For me, sometimes it takes a lot of energy to interact with people all day, but to rarely have the opportunity to interact with adults.
Every single individual brings with them a certain amount of positive and negative energy, which many times is determined by what is happening in their personal lives, and oftentimes affects their performance in school. As teachers, we really have no control over what type of energy the student brings into the classroom. A student who is dealing with homelessness (and yes, I have had several homeless students in my very short time of teaching) is not thinking about how to get an A in Spanish class. A student whose parent abuses him is not trying to be the star student. A student who is being bullied could probably care less about where Honduras is. I can preach all I want about how important it is to do your homework and do well in school, but for many kids, it's just not the most important thing they're dealing with at the time.
In situations like these, the teacher then becomes the counselor, the confidante, and, often times, the parent. Good teachers care about their students. When a teacher finds out that their student is going through something tough, it can actually be hard on the teacher as well. We want to help and give support, and sometimes we are powerless (or at least that's how we feel).
If we just had to teach, for many of us, the job would be a cakewalk. We know our content area; imparting that knowledge is not necessarily the hard part. It's all the other stuff that surrounds nurturing and forming individuals into functional adults that many times sucks the energy right out of us (not always the case, but many times it is). It is no wonder that I can sleep 10 hours on Friday nights, take 2 naps on Saturdays, and still be able to sleep Saturday night.
My hours for week 6:
| Day | Date | Start | End | Total Hours |
| Sun | 9/23/2012 | 5:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 2.5 |
| M | 9/24/2012 | 7:45 AM | 6:45 PM | 11 |
| 8:00 PM | 9:15 PM | 1.25 | ||
| 9:45 PM | 11:00 PM | 1.25 | ||
| T | 9/25/2012 | 7:15 AM | 6:00 PM | 10.75 |
| 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 0.5 | ||
| W | 9/26/2012 | 7:45 AM | 5:30 PM | 9.75 |
| 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 0.5 | ||
| Th | 9/27/2012 | 7:30 AM | 7:00 PM | 11.5 |
| F | 9/28/2012 | 7:30 AM | 5:30 AM | 10 |
| Sat | 9/29/2012 | 5:00 PM | 5:30 PM | 0.5 |
| Total | 59.5 |
This reaffirms that I am NOT supposed to be a teacher. Oh, wait. I actually am one. Oh well. You know what I mean. Being married to one is bad enough, but today, as I explained to Paul some stuff I learned in my daughter's second grade history lesson I said, "I'm actually home schooling just so I can finally teach YOU new stuff." What can I say, it's a sophisticated program.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite an insightful post. Have you taken up an insane amount of coffee habit yet?
ReplyDeleteI have not taken up drinking coffee, mostly because I bike to school, which means I can't bring it with me, and I never have enough time to finish a cup in the morning before I head out. Although tomorrow I'm gonna need it. I just put in a 15.25 hour day today, and since I have a meeting tomorrow at 7:30 and have to make copies, I have to be out the door at 6:45. I'm wiped out just thinking about it.
ReplyDelete