As a pre-service teacher, I haven't had the pleasure of having my own classroom and students just yet. But I have spent enough time in classrooms and working with students to know the rest of my life in this career is going to be an adventure. Here to share your everyday teacher problems with us is everyone's favorite teacher and Vice Principal, Jessica Day.
Shiny, happy, rainbows is how I imagine teaching some days. Before you ever step into the classroom you have a perfect image of the ideal lesson with ideal students. You believe it's going to be the smoothest most productive day ever, until you walk into the classroom and the students... well, they decide to be students.
It'll start out as a small problem. You've heard it, you've said it, and will continue to repeat it, "Remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question." But really, sometimes there is. Like during a lesson about the ocean and a student asks, "The Loch Ness monster lives there too, right?"
Sometimes students think that you live, eat, and sleep behind that desk, they can tend to forget you're a human with real life problems. The power went out, you had to take a cold shower, you lost your keys, pulled into school late, got yelled at by the principal, and then your students will not pay attention. Yet, you have to still act completely sane and put together to educate those young minds when all you wanna do is stand on the desk and SCREAM.
Then you just need to go home and have a good cry. The day was rough, the lesson was a mess, and students ran the classroom. Have a good cry, a full glass of wine, and take on tomorrow with that positive, energetic attitude!
Unfortunately for those in your life, you will bring work home with you. You will correct their grammar and discipline their behavior like seven-year-olds. You can't help it, even adults act like children sometimes, it's not your fault.
But those same friends will have GREAT dinner stories to hear about the student who got an eraser stuck up their nose, or spelled things wrong like mixing up the letters in hose... Sure they'll be "teachered" by you, but oh, the stories will be worth it.
BUT, the day will come when your lesson is a HIT! Students were involved, engaged, and loving learning. You'll be reminded all questions aren't stupid questions and all days are not bad days.
Lastly, there's no one job, not one profession that could ever take you away from teaching those little rascals. You will hate them and love them, be inspired and frustrated by them. There will be tears of joy and sadness, you will wonder why you chose to do this. Then one student thanks you for motivating them, another starts to love reading, and one day a student comes back to tell you they became a teacher
Because. of. YOU.
It's a career of the heart my teacher friends. Take every day for what it is and strive to be a better teacher each new day. Never stop loving what you do because you are educating the future, make it a brighter place. Teach on.
