Let’s talk about the elephant in the room….. a new school year is right around the corner. Our school system is on a balanced calendar, and our first day is July 31. I know that it is only one day away from August, but July sounds so much worse! This post is dedicated to all the wonderful teachers out there. Keep up the great work. Know that you are loved an appreciate even when you don’t feel it. Keep doing the holiest of work to prepare young minds.
1. Your kids become “our kids”.
When we get a fresh batch of students every year, we take ownership. We love them like our own, worry about them, and truly want to help them be successful. And just because they leave our classroom and move on to a new grade doesn’t stop them from being “our kids”. Once “our kids”, always “our kids”.
2. We don’t have an expense account.
This may surprise many of you, but we do not have an expense account as a teacher. I would say on average, teachers spend around $2000 of their own money every year in their classroom. While many things we need are supplied by the school, not all things are. But we want our students to have a fun and meaningful time while in our rooms. And while it may be silly to you to buy all those supplies at the beginning of the school year, we have thoughtfully planned what tools will be used throughout the year to help everyone be successful.
3. We can’t just be sick.
While in most jobs, if you are sick, you just call in and say you are not going to be in to work that day….. teaching is so not like that. If we are sick, we still have to come to school to get our rooms ready for a substitute teacher. If our kids are sick, we still have to come to school to get our rooms ready for a substitute teacher. If we have a doctor’s appointment….. you get the picture.
4. Sometimes we make mistakes.
While we truly to want what is best for our students, sometimes we make mistakes. We might make a wrong call from time to time because, after all, we are just humans. Occasionally, we may make a grammatical error in a newsletter or email – it’s true. Offer us grace and understanding.
5. We love breaks
When you hear a teacher say how excited they are about an upcoming break or even a weekend, it in no way represents a dislike for teaching or your child. We just enjoy a break from work as much as the next person.
6. We don’t get paid over summer break.
One of the most common things we hear as a teacher is, “Oh, you are so lucky! You get your summers off!” And while, yes, we don’t have to work over the summer, we don’t get paid for that time we have off. Most teachers I know are contracted for 185ish days. And those are the days we are paid for. Drive by a school right now, and you are likely to see it full of cars. You see, we don’t get paid to work the few weeks before school starts. But those name tags won’t put themselves on those desks! 🙂
