Ok, so yesterday I was in a thrift store near my parents' house. I had just carried in a huge stack of books to donate (most of them left-over from college) and had then proceeded to wind my way back to the little bookroom to search for suitable books to take back to my kids. In case you didn't know, most thrift stores have these supplies of used books (some of them in really good shape) for amazingly low prices! I just learned of this truth last summer, and it has changed my life (or at least my book-shopping habits in the summer). Where else would you find an in-great-shape copy of The Silmarrillion for $1? Mind-blowing!
Anyway, after collecting a tower of books that may or may not have resembled a Jenga tower, I wound my way over to the register. Incidentally, the lady who checked out the books had been the same lady I had given my pile of donated books to. She was a little mystified as to why I would proceed to buy all these other books if I'd just gotten rid of so many.:) She decided to give me a great deal, for which I was super excited! However, I digress. While I was standing there waiting for her to ring up my books, this older lady beside me asked if I had seen any A-Z Mysteries while I was hunting through the room. Though I hadn't we still struck up a conversation, and I quickly learned that she was a Kindergarden teacher who, "never met a book she didn't like.":) I couldn't agree more!
"Oh, fun!" I said, referring to being a teacher.
"No," she replied very matter-of-factly, "it's not fun. We don't just sit around and play games. They learn to read and write, and we work really hard."
Now, that statement may not mean anything significant to you, but it nearly blew my mind. Teaching isn't fun? Slightly taken aback, I proceeded to attempt to draw out of her something that she thought was positive about teaching. Isn't it fun when they all get it? What about those days when everyone is just "on" and learning and working together? For each of my suggestions, she had hard-nosed answer. Basically the only thing that she seemed positive about was the fact that when the kids get it, they get it, and they're ready for first grade.
Huh.
Now, please don't misunderstand me. Teaching is a lot of work. Many of the issues that this teacher brought up really do make teaching hard, and there are many teachers (some whom I have worked with, and even myself occasionally) who have shared this teacher's sentiments. Kids have bad days, and when you have a classroom full of them (she had 30 kids), there is often at least one that's having a bad day. There are parent issues. She explained that she has kids who aren't supposed to see one of their parents or whose parents ended up in jail. Add to that paperwork, grading, teacher-meetings, parent-teacher conferences, school/government expectations, differentiated instruction, the "he/she-did-_______-to-me" intervention sessions, and about 9,000 other things that need to happen during a school year, and you end up with a very tired teacher who is as ready for summer vacation as the students.
But. . . and this is an important "but" that can easily be lost in the daily grind of teaching. . . there are the kids!:) There's the fun that comes from living life together, from laughing at a silly joke or something funny someone said. There are those days (or class periods) when everyone is "on" (or at least the kid who is usually "off" is on). There are hugs in the morning or before a kid goes home. There are silly stories and goofy art projects. There are times when kids comes up and says they love being in your class or they wish you would teach them next year. There are pom-poms and googly eyes. There are times when a kid accidentally calls you mom, and then looks at you with a huge eyes, horrified to have made such an error.:) There are dirty hands and wonder-filled eyes over watching a plant sprout and grow. There are books!
There are moments when the proverbial light bulb goes on and the kid finally gets it. There are kids learning to do and think things they've never done or thought before.
So, at the end of the day (and this post), despite the work and dysfunction and mess, I'm thankful to be a teacher and that being a teacher is fun.:) I'm thankful for the kids that I have taught, and the ones I will teach. I'm thankful to have the privilege and responsibility to teach and learn from kids. I'm thankful for summer vacation, but I'm even more thankful that at the end of the summer I'll have the chance to return to the whirl-wind world of Baku and the kids that I love, to do the things that I love.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, my Jenga tower of books cost just under $14.:)
Anyway, after collecting a tower of books that may or may not have resembled a Jenga tower, I wound my way over to the register. Incidentally, the lady who checked out the books had been the same lady I had given my pile of donated books to. She was a little mystified as to why I would proceed to buy all these other books if I'd just gotten rid of so many.:) She decided to give me a great deal, for which I was super excited! However, I digress. While I was standing there waiting for her to ring up my books, this older lady beside me asked if I had seen any A-Z Mysteries while I was hunting through the room. Though I hadn't we still struck up a conversation, and I quickly learned that she was a Kindergarden teacher who, "never met a book she didn't like.":) I couldn't agree more!
"Oh, fun!" I said, referring to being a teacher.
"No," she replied very matter-of-factly, "it's not fun. We don't just sit around and play games. They learn to read and write, and we work really hard."
Now, that statement may not mean anything significant to you, but it nearly blew my mind. Teaching isn't fun? Slightly taken aback, I proceeded to attempt to draw out of her something that she thought was positive about teaching. Isn't it fun when they all get it? What about those days when everyone is just "on" and learning and working together? For each of my suggestions, she had hard-nosed answer. Basically the only thing that she seemed positive about was the fact that when the kids get it, they get it, and they're ready for first grade.
Huh.
Now, please don't misunderstand me. Teaching is a lot of work. Many of the issues that this teacher brought up really do make teaching hard, and there are many teachers (some whom I have worked with, and even myself occasionally) who have shared this teacher's sentiments. Kids have bad days, and when you have a classroom full of them (she had 30 kids), there is often at least one that's having a bad day. There are parent issues. She explained that she has kids who aren't supposed to see one of their parents or whose parents ended up in jail. Add to that paperwork, grading, teacher-meetings, parent-teacher conferences, school/government expectations, differentiated instruction, the "he/she-did-_______-to-me" intervention sessions, and about 9,000 other things that need to happen during a school year, and you end up with a very tired teacher who is as ready for summer vacation as the students.
But. . . and this is an important "but" that can easily be lost in the daily grind of teaching. . . there are the kids!:) There's the fun that comes from living life together, from laughing at a silly joke or something funny someone said. There are those days (or class periods) when everyone is "on" (or at least the kid who is usually "off" is on). There are hugs in the morning or before a kid goes home. There are silly stories and goofy art projects. There are times when kids comes up and says they love being in your class or they wish you would teach them next year. There are pom-poms and googly eyes. There are times when a kid accidentally calls you mom, and then looks at you with a huge eyes, horrified to have made such an error.:) There are dirty hands and wonder-filled eyes over watching a plant sprout and grow. There are books!
So, at the end of the day (and this post), despite the work and dysfunction and mess, I'm thankful to be a teacher and that being a teacher is fun.:) I'm thankful for the kids that I have taught, and the ones I will teach. I'm thankful to have the privilege and responsibility to teach and learn from kids. I'm thankful for summer vacation, but I'm even more thankful that at the end of the summer I'll have the chance to return to the whirl-wind world of Baku and the kids that I love, to do the things that I love.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, my Jenga tower of books cost just under $14.:)
Your kids are certainly blessed to have you as a teacher! :) Glad to see you're back blogging again. Hopefully we'll get to see you this summer!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aunt Gwen!:) I hope I get to see you too!
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