When summer vacation is over and I walk back into school with my colleagues for the first time, we are filled with excitement. We know that we are about to embark on a new journey with a new group of kids. There will be highs and lows, ups and downs, but we are all ready to take on every challenge that we face. We talk about our summers and the time with our family. Many of us talk about classes we took or workshops we attended. Others talk about having a great time to refresh and get mentally ready for another year. I get invigorated when I see my fellow teachers and the energy they bring into the school.
I believe that most teachers love their jobs and live for helping kids. They love learning and want to share it with the next generation. They work hard, and, often, many hours after work is officially done. Unfortunately, this is not always portrayed through our posts on social media. How many of us see posts bemoaning the start of another school year? Posts that complain about going back to school, followed by a sad faced emoji? Don't get me wrong, I love my summer vacation. I think it is a chance for me to do the things that I am unable to do working long hours during the school year. I am able to leave on vacations, an impossibility during the school year. I can take courses or workshops and focus on them completely. I can visit my lesson plans and make changes for the next school year. I can read a book for fun. I can just relax and do absolutely nothing. So why do I think it is a big deal to post about dreading the start of the school year?
One of the biggest problems I face as an educator is the view that teachers are lazy and do not care. I was a part of my school's negotiation committee for our last contract, and boy, did it bring some ideas to light. Many people do not think that our job is difficult. Most people think that we are already lucky to have so much vacation time and feel that lower pay is justified. They often feel that teachers do nothing during the summer except sit by the pool. If you don't think people are negative toward educators, simply look at the comments on any online article mentioning education. Unfortunately, many people think that teachers are in it for the "easy" hours and the nice summer vacation.
So, while people can post how they feel (they certainly have the right), I wish they would consider the perception that they are leaving. When we say that we hate that we have to go back to work, we look like we do not care about our jobs. Countless parents see posts showing that a teacher is dreading going back to work with their kids. Will they trust us as professionals if they think that we don't care? I understand, that is not at all what is intended by these posts, but we teachers need to consider the message we are sending. Teachers may not think what they post matters, but often, this is all that the public sees from teachers. It sends the wrong message. There is a difference between dreading the end of summer and dreading the return to our work.
Teachers need to focus on creating positive imagery about our profession. Post a picture of you setting up your classroom for the next year. Show the supplies that you purchased for your incoming students. Talk about the time spent on lesson plans. Most of all, share your excitement. We are hard workers who constantly put the needs of our students first. We work long hours, and we do it because we love our students. We are wonderful, kind people, who are grateful and that is the message that we should send to the public.
No comments:
Post a Comment