What We Do Matters!

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.  I would line my stuffed animals up in rows on my couch and conduct lessons.  I had my own mini table and chalkboard, and I would read to my cat and my little sister, Jessica.  I actually (quite vividly) remember my fourth grade teacher getting rid of teaching materials and sending some things home with me.  One of the items was a really ancient pea green science binder full of dittos!)  It was like Christmas to me… like the best thing since sliced bread.  I proceeded to play teacher and complete the activities at home for days on end.

By the time I hit middle school, the idea of being a teacher had cemented. We had a career day, and I had the opportunity to shadow my wonderful sixth grade teacher for the day.  I LOVED it!  By high school, I was enjoying teaching cheerleading clinics, teaching volunteer programs for little ones at our local library, and participating in a tutoring program called Ohio Reads through Student Council.  I jumped on any chance I had to work with kids and teach.  So, it wasn’t really a surprise to anyone when I decided to begin looking at programs during my junior year.  I was chosen to attend a special luncheon at a nearby university, and I got to learn all about their education program.  I was SOLD.  I knew what I wanted to do with my life.  I started talking to my guidance counselor during my senior year, and he tried to dissuade me from going into education.  He basically said in so many words, “Amanda, are you sure you want to be a teacher?  You would be wasting your intelligence.”  I replied, “Yes, I am sure.  I believe that the world NEEDS intelligent, passionate teachers.”  That was the end of that.

It’s funny because, looking back, I thought teaching was going to be a lot easier than it really is.  I thought teaching was going to be the perfect family job.  I thought that the summers off would be a nice perk… not realizing that a good teacher is never truly “off” because we are always refining what we do and planning for the next year.  I thought that teaching was going to be like I remembered from my own elementary school experience.  (Insert a nervous giggle here.)

I never realized that I would spend an outrageous amount of money buying my own resources.  I never realized that I would spend every night and countless hours of my weekend prepping for the next week and grading mountains of papers.  I never realized that I would be evaluated and expected to grow my students 200% to be given the designation of an “accomplished” teacher in my state.  I never realized how much work it is to plan, copy, prep materials, teach, grade, tweak, and analyze data.  I never realized how much time I would spend in meetings or replying to emails.  I never realized how much I would lose sleep over my students and how much I would worry about them.   I never realized a lot of things.  I could go on and on and on.

Honestly though, on the flip side, I never realized how much I could love my job, for better and for worse.  I never realized how rewarding it would be to see my students “get it” or go beyond the grade level standards.  I never realized how much I would enjoy cultivating relationships with my students, their families, and my colleagues.  I never realized how blogging about my classroom escapades could open up a whole world of opportunities and friendships.  What I imagined is so far from reality.  In some ways, this job is a lot harder than I thought it would be.  On some days, I wish I had a pause button or 24 extra hours in the day to get everything done.  On some days, I am just plain exhausted and stressed out.  On some days though, I am on cloud twenty-seven…way beyond cloud nine. Why? Because what I do has significance.  Because what I do has the potential to set my students up for countless future successes.  Because I believe that what we do matters… and that all of the hard work is 100% worth it… and that like my blog name implies… one extra degree makes all of the difference.  To quote an old cliche, “Nobody said it was going to be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” No matter how hard it is, it is WORTH IT.

If you are a practicing teacher, you probably nodded your head a few times because once you shake off the glitter and pixie dust, teaching is sometimes a challenging endeavor.  It’s not always a cake walk.  In fact, its rarely a cake walk.  (Is it ever a cake walk?!)  Despite that, what I think is amazing about teaching is how resilient, creative, hard-working, and caring teachers are. We take our profession for what it is, we persevere through the long hours, we shrug off the people who say that our job is “easy” and who trivialize our profession because we get summers “off”, we give and we give and we give because we want to.  Because we are passionate. Because we love our kids.  Because we believe that education is a powerful tool that equips our students for life outside of the classroom…out there in the “real world”.  Teaching is not always beautiful, but it’s definitely a beautiful ride.  It’s something I would not trade for all of the free time or money in the world.  I love all of the perfect imperfections. Teaching is a noble profession.  What we do matters.

So, if you are teaching right now, I say to you, STAND TALL!!!  Keep researching, keep growing, keep doing what you know is right for kids.  Yes, we will always have to battle bureaucracy.  Yes, people who don’t know a thing about education will make decisions for us. Yes, some days when you are sitting at your desk at 8:00 at night with a paper mountain, you are going to for a fleeting moment consider what it would be like to have a 9-5 job and go to a happy hour during the work week.  Then, you will snap out of it and realize that this is your calling.  This is what you were born to do.

Teachers, keep on fighting the good fight.  Keep your heads held high. YOU are appreciated! YOU are somebody’s hero!  YOU are making a difference in the world…one kid at a time!

As a token of my appreciation, I am joining innumerable teachers on TpT in a HUGE Teacher Appreciation Sale.  Everything in my shop will be 20% off on May 6th and May 7th!  It’s a great way to spend the last two days of my twenties and say thank you to the teachers in the trenches who toil day in and day out… giving their students a better start for a brighter tomorrow.  Thank you!!!
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!