What is a Teacher

To me, what it means to be a teacher in the state of WV

What is Teaching

            We see a lot now in the news about teachers. Teachers who go above and beyond, and teachers that do the bare minimum. We see teachers who are caretakers, but we also see teachers who are exploitive and manipulative. The teaching profession is one that seems strangely shrouded in mystery. We know what the stereotypical view of a teacher is. The sweet thin lady with her hair in a bun that sits in front of the class and talks to the kids about things like arithmetic and English. If we take it from students, many times teachers are hideous monsters that assign homework and yell at them. There is a large range of different thoughts on what a teacher is and does. All these thoughts lead me to a question, what does it truly mean to teach?

            Teaching is the denial of self. It is telling friends that you cannot hang out this evening because you must write lesson plans or because you have papers to grade It is watching your family go to bed while you stay up reading papers. It is not going on date night with your significant other because little Johnny needs tutoring. It is skipping your lunch because of faculty meetings, IEP meetings, or because a student needs to talk with you. It is the taste of cold dinners and constantly saying “I’m sorry I am late. It is burning the midnight oil to reflect on the previous day's lesson so that you can do your job effectively. It is putting yourself last, in hopes that maybe your children will be first.

            Teaching is breaking stereotypes. It’s the male teacher stepping into the elementary to teach, not just coach. It is shouldering the weight of comments like, “Isn’t that usually a woman’s job?” or “Oh so your wife will be the breadwinner, that's embarrassing.” It’s being the only man in a room of mostly women studying theorists and philosophers such as Erikson, Vygotsky, and Piaget. Talking to parents saying, “No sir, there's a lot more to it than that, the classroom is different than what you see on television.” It's knowing that many people think they know more than you, that they can do your job better than you because teaching Opie Taylor seems easy. It’s remembering that many people look at your occupation as a joke, an easy job. With all these comments and negative thoughts, teaching is pushing on, and teaching, because you know those kids need you.

            Teaching is knowing that especially in the state of West Virginia, the government looks down on you. It's trying to figure out how to budget your minuscule paycheck because you know that you need to buy supplies for your classroom. Johnny has a troubled home life and cannot afford supplies, and you cannot just let him go without. It’s the taste of the dollar menu for lunch because truly that’s what you can afford. It's fearing to go to the doctor because you know your insurance can not cover the visit. Teaching is praying that you do not get sick, and if you do get sick, it's praying that it does not kill you because your family could not afford to bury you because of the minimal benefits of your insurance. It is going to the pharmacist, hearing the price of your medicine, and walking away because you cannot afford it. It's the depression that comes when you see that once again there are budget cuts being made to education, but strangely there is enough money for a 32,000-dollar couch for the supreme court. Worst of all, it is being expected to accept these things with no question because you are a servant of the people, and to raise too much of an issue could cause problems for your students.

            Above all, Teaching is caring for students. It is dealing with all these issues because you know that little Jimmy needs you. He needs you to teach him how to read, and how to write. He needs you to teach him how to count, and how to add numbers. It is being a mentor to your students, building a relationship of trust with your students, and helping your students to become what they dream of being. It is the joy and release of sitting in an auditorium in late May. It is watching all the minds that you have helped form walk across a stage, receive a ticket for their success, smile for the camera, and walk off the stage and into their future. These last things are what makes teaching what it truly is, the greatest profession on Earth. 

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

I fully embrace what you've said here. When I was young, a wrecked, dysfunctional family provided me with no real role models. At school, then, I looked at teachers and said to myself, "See--that's how I'm supposed to behave. That's an adult." One of the most important jobs in the world isn't given anywhere near the respect or salary that it should. That needs to change--now.