Teacher appreciation week was celebrated the second week of May this year. I teach in an elementary school and it seems we do get some creative gifts. The week started off business as usual and I thought I might make it through without having to smile and say “thank you so much” for a bizarre gift given with love from one of my students.
Wednesday, I saw my odd gift in the eyes of my student as he walked excitedly down the hall. Similar to the pace of my toddler anxiously walk-running to the bathroom, I knew he had something he was terribly excited about. I put on my best game face in anticipation of the inevitable “best teacher” gift.
“Teacher Toad! I have a present for you!” And gently he removed the gift from his tattered backpack and with open hands presented his gift, as if presenting me with the key to a city. It was in a pink box wrapped with a single pink ribbon and through the clear plastic window in the box I could see it contained a cosmetic product sample. Upon closer examination I determined the box contained an eyelash curler, small bottle of make-up remover, and a tiny tube of anti-aging eye cream. I put on my best smile and gave my student a big hug. “Thank-you soooooo much! This is exactly what I needed.”
Now, let me fill you in on a little information about myself. Wrinkles are not really on my list of concerns. When I look in the mirror I am not sure I have ever really thought, “wow, I really need to do something about those wrinkles…” As a matter of fact, I don’t even wear make-up. But I guess when the wrinkles do begin to set in, and as a teacher I am assuming that will be sooner rather than later, I will be prepared. Who knows, maybe they already have. Maybe the anti-aging cream was actually a hint.
My gift though amusing did not compare to the gift a fellow teacher friend of mine received this year. She is an ESOL teacher who works specifically with students who have limited English proficiencies. One of her students gave her a beautiful card and a basket of candy. The card said “I am sorry for your loss. In your time of grieving, my thoughts and prayers are with you.” The student asked her to read it in front of the class. Not wanting to embarrass the child, she quickly made something up.
Proving once and for all, we as teachers must be ready to improvise at all times.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Teaching Myths
This is not so much a story, but a formal apology and explanation for those of you who visit my blog regularly. (Hi Mom) I must apologize for the delay in posting additional stories to my site. It has been a very busy couple of months both as a teacher and parent of three hoodlums myself. Let me just clear one thing up. For those of you who are not teachers but may be thinking about joining the ranks one day here are some myths you may encounter.
Myth #1: The hours are great! Monday through Friday, six-hour days! Summers off, plus vacations in December and April!
We as teachers spend a great deal of our time not only at school and in the classroom, but also at home late nights and weekends. Yes it is true, I do get the same vacations for the most part as my children, give or take the occasional teacher work day, but I bring a lot of work home. I do most of my lesson planning, and paper grading in the comfort of my own home. I do this so I can at least be with my own kids, instead of them being at daycare late while I work in my classroom.
Myth # 2: The pay is great! You only work 180 days a year and you make 30k + per year.
This kind of ties to the working more hours than you realize. Yes we do get summers off, but I will spend a great deal of that time preparing for the up-coming school year, so I really am still working. As for the 30k + per year, that sum is generous for some areas. I am fortunate to work in an area that pays their teachers well, but if I moved to another state or county, I would be looking at a significant pay cut. The school district I work in starts their teachers off around 35k per year for a certified teacher with a bachelor’s degree. I actually have my master’s so I started off a little higher, however as I look at school districts in neighboring states, I would have to take a significant pay cut to move. In addition to the pay, we spend a great deal of money on our classrooms and our students. You can only write off $250 per year on your taxes, and I have spent a great deal more than that this year. Take for example the twenty t-shirts I bought to tie-dye for field day next week. And yes, I spent two hours last night dying them, plus an hour or so last week rubber-banding them up in preparation. My point is, it does add up.
Myth # 3: It is so rewarding!
This one is not so much a myth because it is a rewarding profession. But as with any rewarding career, there are also stressful encounters. We as teachers spend so much time and energy trying to ensure our students have every chance to succeed. We provide our students with opportunities to enhance the way they learn. We give them lots of encouragement. And in the course of a school year we fall in love with each and every personality in our classroom, because without them, our classroom would not be the same. But, there are things that happen with our students that tear us apart. For example, another first grade teacher I work with had a saddening event this year. She has been teaching for many years. This year she found out one of her previous students had been sentence to life in prison. So no the job is not always rewarding. It can also tear us apart.
Myth #1: The hours are great! Monday through Friday, six-hour days! Summers off, plus vacations in December and April!
We as teachers spend a great deal of our time not only at school and in the classroom, but also at home late nights and weekends. Yes it is true, I do get the same vacations for the most part as my children, give or take the occasional teacher work day, but I bring a lot of work home. I do most of my lesson planning, and paper grading in the comfort of my own home. I do this so I can at least be with my own kids, instead of them being at daycare late while I work in my classroom.
Myth # 2: The pay is great! You only work 180 days a year and you make 30k + per year.
This kind of ties to the working more hours than you realize. Yes we do get summers off, but I will spend a great deal of that time preparing for the up-coming school year, so I really am still working. As for the 30k + per year, that sum is generous for some areas. I am fortunate to work in an area that pays their teachers well, but if I moved to another state or county, I would be looking at a significant pay cut. The school district I work in starts their teachers off around 35k per year for a certified teacher with a bachelor’s degree. I actually have my master’s so I started off a little higher, however as I look at school districts in neighboring states, I would have to take a significant pay cut to move. In addition to the pay, we spend a great deal of money on our classrooms and our students. You can only write off $250 per year on your taxes, and I have spent a great deal more than that this year. Take for example the twenty t-shirts I bought to tie-dye for field day next week. And yes, I spent two hours last night dying them, plus an hour or so last week rubber-banding them up in preparation. My point is, it does add up.
Myth # 3: It is so rewarding!
This one is not so much a myth because it is a rewarding profession. But as with any rewarding career, there are also stressful encounters. We as teachers spend so much time and energy trying to ensure our students have every chance to succeed. We provide our students with opportunities to enhance the way they learn. We give them lots of encouragement. And in the course of a school year we fall in love with each and every personality in our classroom, because without them, our classroom would not be the same. But, there are things that happen with our students that tear us apart. For example, another first grade teacher I work with had a saddening event this year. She has been teaching for many years. This year she found out one of her previous students had been sentence to life in prison. So no the job is not always rewarding. It can also tear us apart.
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