Have you ever met someone that juggled more than four jobs at one time? Have you ever met someone that has sustained more than four rewarding jobs at one time? Actually, you have! They’re called teachers.
As a teacher myself, I have learned that my role goes beyond making red marks on papers. The following are just a few of the jobs that teachers hold:
1. Teachers are Mediators.
As a fifth grade teacher, my kids were passing through their preteen years; by the third month of teaching, there wasn’t a day that passed where I didn’t catch a girl blabbing about another student behind her back. I would spend my lunch period conferencing with gaggles of girls who after five minutes of telling their side of the story, ended their argument with a hug.
2. Teachers are Technology Gurus.
Technology has become an integral part of the modern classroom. In my class we utilize iPads, a SMART board, Youtube and Google. Unfortunately, my projector doesn’t come with a technology assistant. Every second counts in a classroom, and I have realized that when my presentation shuts down, kids will begin to shred crayons and chuck pencils across the room within 10 seconds of my tech issue. I have had to adapt quickly and now proudly call myself an ed tech expert.
3. Teachers are Counselors.
In my classroom, it isn’t uncommon for students to have a sibling in prison or to have a parent walk out the front door on a Monday morning and never return. My kids are strong, but they're still kids. Through negative actions they perform, I can usually figure out when something is wrong in their home lives. When a student punches a peer on the playground, or talks back to a teacher in the hall, I know that it’s Counselor Ann time. If I have formed a relationship with them, their issues eventually spill out. Sometimes for them, talking is the best therapy.
4. Teachers are Actors.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has made an appearance in the classroom…sort of.
To my kids, it doesn’t matter if I have been up until 3 in the morning working on lesson plans and can barely peel open my eyes. They expect entertainment, which, it turns out, has to stay fresh. I've provided by hopping, shouting and mastering about 10 different voice imitations that included Arnold Schwarzenegger and an alien from planet ‘no-no don’t do that’.
Teachers are more than just teachers.
What I can conclude from my experience as a teacher, is that we do way more than what I ever imagined when I was a wee 10-year old rolling my eyes as my mom lectured me about listening in class. Back then when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I never thought the answer would be: whatever my kids need me to be!
