A letter from a teacher
Dear Taxpayer,
I first went into teaching because I believed that I could make a difference. If I had gone into it to get "summer's off," I would have long since picked another career choice. With the first CBEST, CSET, or first aid test, I would have checked out. I jumped through many hoops in order that I may put myself in a position before children to exemplify the significance of education.
I want to influence children to be better. I want to encourage them to make a difference in this world. I want them to have access to opportunities that they did not believe they could. My goal is to ensure that students believe in themselves. And whether they receive an "A" or an "F" in my class, I want them to leave with a better understanding not only of the curriculum I teach, but also of their own capabilities.
I have noticed that many of you have lost hope in public education. Class sizes are going up, and reports in the news of travesties in school, that I would rather not mention, are infiltrating our media. I hope to use this opportunity to encourage you that I am doing my best to cast a shadow over the horrific events that you hear about.
My students enter my class as I anxiously await at the door for them daily. Whether I give them a high five, or hand shake, or a smile and a "hello", they walk in, knowing that I care about them. I want them to be successful, so as they sit down, they look up at the white board with announcements, home work, and state standards written down so that they understand what they are going to learn that day in my class. On the walls are quotes from Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain, Socrates, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, and John Wooden. I want my students to know the lessons that the great men and women of the past wanted them to know. They should sit in my class enlightened, and encouraged.
As we start the day, I take attendance. I want each student to know that their attendance is significant and important. I want children to know that when they are there, I am pleased. Their presence is valuable. If they are tardy, or absent, they will be missed. And my hope is to instill the significance of being places on time. Every day. As John Wooden says: "It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." When you are on time, you show not only that you are interested, but you build a repertoire of good character and success.
When I teach lessons that are required of me, by the state, I implement my own charm and creativity. I try my best to make learning fun, exciting and challenging. I spend evenings and weekends preparing the best possible activities to allow for my students to understand what they need to know. I get that sometimes, you might question my initiation of such activities because your child did not receive a high grade. Please know that even if they received a 60%, that they learned something. Even if it's 10%, it is 10% more than they learned before. I know it is difficult to understand sometimes, but failure is not a bad thing. Sometimes, we need to let out children fail. If we let them get up, and show them that they can, we are only creating real, honest human beings. My job is to not give students an "A," but to grant an honest calculation of a child's knowledge. I want to guide them in the content. I want to encourage the best possible work, not give a falsified bubble of knowledge. Eventually, that bubble will burst, and the child will find that they have no skills to get up on their own. By the time a child leaves my class, I don't want them to leave with an A if they don't deserve it. I want them to leave with the skills that are necessary to live in this life. If I guide them, and allow them to struggle, and let them feel pressure, they hopefully will know how to get past the stress and learn how to succeed. One of my responsibilities is to teach problem solving skills; so rather than doing for them, I show, then give opportunities for them to find out how to do things on their own.
Teaching is no walk in the park. I need energy to keep up with little ones; to be ahead of the game. My day means that I use my voice for 8 hours. I am on my feet, I am walking around. If I am not encouraging, or lecturing, I am making sure that all 25-40 of my students are behaving. I have eyes in the back of my head. I don't want to be disrespected, nor do I want my students disrespected. I instill lessons of love and respect, daily. I am on my toes to ensure that no one is yelling out, talking out of turn, or bullying others. When I see that this is happening, I stop class, to calmly encourage behavior that opposes such negativity. I am fighting a constant battle of "he said this to me" and "why do I have to learn this" and "she stole my boyfriend." Children are learning how to behave socially, so much of my day is spent teaching lessons of respect.
When I am not working during the 8 hours of paid teaching, I spend my evenings planning, and grading 160 essays, 40 poetry notebooks, and many more short answer quizzes. Instead of having dinner with my family, I am at a school basketball game. Letting my students see me present outside of the classroom lets them know that I care. And that is important to me. I know all of the popular music, because 5 times a year, I am chaperoning a school dance until way past my bed time. And when all of the kids are gone, I am cleaning up balloons, and confetti.
Summers are spent preparing. Planning the year. Weekends are spent tweaking the plans I made in the summer, because I noticed that I have gone too fast or too slow for the kids. I put my own kids to bed, and get online to answer emails and phone calls. Some are kind, others...condemning. I try to ease the mind of the parent. To put myself in their shoes. I use words of love and kindness to let them know that I have the best of intentions for their child. And that I will let Charlie take the test again. Yes, they can re-write that essay to get a better grade. I want your child to be successful just as much as you do, and I will do what I can to ensure that you child learns what they need to.
I differentiate. I scaffold. I use Blooms Taxonomy. I believe in bettering myself as a teacher. I read books to better my craft. I want to learn how to reach the English Language Learner, the child living in poverty. My children come from broken homes, haunting pasts, and disheartening story lines. I understand this, and try to reach out to the broken-hearted. To not give them a pass, but to understand where they are at. I have all types of cultures, backgrounds, and education levels in my classroom, and I do my best to teach to every one.
The state demands that all of my kids are proficient. I do not take this demand lightly. My governor, my President, and all tax payers have high expectations of me. I feel the weight on my shoulders. I want to make the best of the future of America, and I promise that I am doing all that I can. Every initiative, change in policy, and furlough day is taken in stride. I will test my students. I will get them ready. My students know that I expect them to go to college. To better themselves. And whether they accept my challenge or not, I can honestly promise that my days are spent teaching them that they are capable of being better. My lunches are spent tutoring, I implement note taking skills, organizational skills, and college readiness. I teach about scholarships, and take my students on field trips to college. After school, I meet with them to help with home work, and accept re-write of essays. I meet with parents. I go to conferences. I work to know all of my students, and help to guide the students with special needs.
My administration asks that I get up early in the morning, or stay after to participate in a particular duty. I keep your children safe by watching all areas of the campus. I am a security guard at it's best. Rather than spend the extra half hour before school to write on my board, I am out weekly in the quad making sure that students aren't using profanity, aren't bullying one another, and that they are behaving the way that their parents and grandparents would expect them to. My job is to protect all students and keep them safe.
I meet weekly with other teachers to share and grow, and talk about your students. We come at them as a team. We want to make our school the best. We plan together, we grade together, we change together.
My hope is that you know I care. I write this so that you understand that I am a hero. I don't say this pridefully, because it is important that I understand the depth of my role. I work to make your child better, and I work to make a difference in this world. When you trust me with your children, I understand the magnitude of my position.
Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to thank a teacher today.
With Love,
Teachers
I first went into teaching because I believed that I could make a difference. If I had gone into it to get "summer's off," I would have long since picked another career choice. With the first CBEST, CSET, or first aid test, I would have checked out. I jumped through many hoops in order that I may put myself in a position before children to exemplify the significance of education.
I want to influence children to be better. I want to encourage them to make a difference in this world. I want them to have access to opportunities that they did not believe they could. My goal is to ensure that students believe in themselves. And whether they receive an "A" or an "F" in my class, I want them to leave with a better understanding not only of the curriculum I teach, but also of their own capabilities.
I have noticed that many of you have lost hope in public education. Class sizes are going up, and reports in the news of travesties in school, that I would rather not mention, are infiltrating our media. I hope to use this opportunity to encourage you that I am doing my best to cast a shadow over the horrific events that you hear about.
My students enter my class as I anxiously await at the door for them daily. Whether I give them a high five, or hand shake, or a smile and a "hello", they walk in, knowing that I care about them. I want them to be successful, so as they sit down, they look up at the white board with announcements, home work, and state standards written down so that they understand what they are going to learn that day in my class. On the walls are quotes from Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain, Socrates, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, and John Wooden. I want my students to know the lessons that the great men and women of the past wanted them to know. They should sit in my class enlightened, and encouraged.
As we start the day, I take attendance. I want each student to know that their attendance is significant and important. I want children to know that when they are there, I am pleased. Their presence is valuable. If they are tardy, or absent, they will be missed. And my hope is to instill the significance of being places on time. Every day. As John Wooden says: "It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." When you are on time, you show not only that you are interested, but you build a repertoire of good character and success.
When I teach lessons that are required of me, by the state, I implement my own charm and creativity. I try my best to make learning fun, exciting and challenging. I spend evenings and weekends preparing the best possible activities to allow for my students to understand what they need to know. I get that sometimes, you might question my initiation of such activities because your child did not receive a high grade. Please know that even if they received a 60%, that they learned something. Even if it's 10%, it is 10% more than they learned before. I know it is difficult to understand sometimes, but failure is not a bad thing. Sometimes, we need to let out children fail. If we let them get up, and show them that they can, we are only creating real, honest human beings. My job is to not give students an "A," but to grant an honest calculation of a child's knowledge. I want to guide them in the content. I want to encourage the best possible work, not give a falsified bubble of knowledge. Eventually, that bubble will burst, and the child will find that they have no skills to get up on their own. By the time a child leaves my class, I don't want them to leave with an A if they don't deserve it. I want them to leave with the skills that are necessary to live in this life. If I guide them, and allow them to struggle, and let them feel pressure, they hopefully will know how to get past the stress and learn how to succeed. One of my responsibilities is to teach problem solving skills; so rather than doing for them, I show, then give opportunities for them to find out how to do things on their own.
Teaching is no walk in the park. I need energy to keep up with little ones; to be ahead of the game. My day means that I use my voice for 8 hours. I am on my feet, I am walking around. If I am not encouraging, or lecturing, I am making sure that all 25-40 of my students are behaving. I have eyes in the back of my head. I don't want to be disrespected, nor do I want my students disrespected. I instill lessons of love and respect, daily. I am on my toes to ensure that no one is yelling out, talking out of turn, or bullying others. When I see that this is happening, I stop class, to calmly encourage behavior that opposes such negativity. I am fighting a constant battle of "he said this to me" and "why do I have to learn this" and "she stole my boyfriend." Children are learning how to behave socially, so much of my day is spent teaching lessons of respect.
When I am not working during the 8 hours of paid teaching, I spend my evenings planning, and grading 160 essays, 40 poetry notebooks, and many more short answer quizzes. Instead of having dinner with my family, I am at a school basketball game. Letting my students see me present outside of the classroom lets them know that I care. And that is important to me. I know all of the popular music, because 5 times a year, I am chaperoning a school dance until way past my bed time. And when all of the kids are gone, I am cleaning up balloons, and confetti.
Summers are spent preparing. Planning the year. Weekends are spent tweaking the plans I made in the summer, because I noticed that I have gone too fast or too slow for the kids. I put my own kids to bed, and get online to answer emails and phone calls. Some are kind, others...condemning. I try to ease the mind of the parent. To put myself in their shoes. I use words of love and kindness to let them know that I have the best of intentions for their child. And that I will let Charlie take the test again. Yes, they can re-write that essay to get a better grade. I want your child to be successful just as much as you do, and I will do what I can to ensure that you child learns what they need to.
I differentiate. I scaffold. I use Blooms Taxonomy. I believe in bettering myself as a teacher. I read books to better my craft. I want to learn how to reach the English Language Learner, the child living in poverty. My children come from broken homes, haunting pasts, and disheartening story lines. I understand this, and try to reach out to the broken-hearted. To not give them a pass, but to understand where they are at. I have all types of cultures, backgrounds, and education levels in my classroom, and I do my best to teach to every one.
The state demands that all of my kids are proficient. I do not take this demand lightly. My governor, my President, and all tax payers have high expectations of me. I feel the weight on my shoulders. I want to make the best of the future of America, and I promise that I am doing all that I can. Every initiative, change in policy, and furlough day is taken in stride. I will test my students. I will get them ready. My students know that I expect them to go to college. To better themselves. And whether they accept my challenge or not, I can honestly promise that my days are spent teaching them that they are capable of being better. My lunches are spent tutoring, I implement note taking skills, organizational skills, and college readiness. I teach about scholarships, and take my students on field trips to college. After school, I meet with them to help with home work, and accept re-write of essays. I meet with parents. I go to conferences. I work to know all of my students, and help to guide the students with special needs.
My administration asks that I get up early in the morning, or stay after to participate in a particular duty. I keep your children safe by watching all areas of the campus. I am a security guard at it's best. Rather than spend the extra half hour before school to write on my board, I am out weekly in the quad making sure that students aren't using profanity, aren't bullying one another, and that they are behaving the way that their parents and grandparents would expect them to. My job is to protect all students and keep them safe.
I meet weekly with other teachers to share and grow, and talk about your students. We come at them as a team. We want to make our school the best. We plan together, we grade together, we change together.
My hope is that you know I care. I write this so that you understand that I am a hero. I don't say this pridefully, because it is important that I understand the depth of my role. I work to make your child better, and I work to make a difference in this world. When you trust me with your children, I understand the magnitude of my position.
Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to thank a teacher today.
With Love,
Teachers
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