Yesterday I posted the featured image above on twitter and it was one of my first posts that seemed to be really popular on twitter with lots of retweets and favorites. I wanted to reflect on why this quote resonated with so many people. The quote is “I teach. What’s your superpower?” It is often said about teaching, “It’s the hardest job that everyone thinks they can do.” Sometimes our friends/family/spouses respond about the difficulties of teaching by saying, “well, my job is difficult too,”… or “well, you have summers off.” Why is teaching such a difficult job? How can I do justice and explain to others why successful teaching is a superpower? I’m going to try my best to put into words — although, it may not do it justice. I think it’s because there is such a delicate balance that must be created in order to be a “good” teacher and unless you’re a teacher you just “don’t get it.”
- You have to be likable, but also be a disciplinarian.
- You have to have fun, but still maintain focus.
- You have to have the end goal in sight, but still be willing to go off course every now and then.
- You have to be relatable, but still maintain your professionalism.
- You have to make the work challenging, but not unattainable.
- You have to create activities that are exciting and engaging, but still be prepared and organized each and every moment.
- You have to make copies, but also save paper [maybe that’s just my district ;)]
- You have to be enthusiastic, but not so enthusiastic that it’s annoying.
- You have to use technology, but not overuse it.
- You have to get involved at school, but still keep up with your life outside of your work.
- You have to follow-up with parents when students aren’t successful, but still put a positive spin on the situation.
- You have to come in early/stay late for a student who needs help or to make something up, but not get frustrated when the student doesn’t show up.
- You have to use ungraded formative assessment, but still motivate students to complete it.
- You have to make the lessons relate to students lives, but still prepare them for standardized assessments.
- You have to meet the needs of struggling students, but not let it take away from the progress of the rest of the class.
- You have to make sure students are behaving, but try to do it without severe punishment.
- Be flexible, but hold your ground.
- This list could go on and on…feel free to add to it in the comments section below.
We get up when it’s still dark out. We bring work home with us. We think about our job and wake up thinking about what we could have differently/better or what we will change about this lesson/assessment/activity to improve it for the future. We research/read/discuss/use social media to professionally grow on our own. We are passionate about making a difference in the lives of our students. We are “on” at 7:25am and remain “on” until that bell rings at 2:30pm signaling that we can finally take a deep breath. We rarely have any “down time” during the school year — if we do, we use it to grade, update lessons/activities, contact and communicate with others, prepare for tomorrow’s lab, share ideas with coworkers, attend meetings, coach/mentor/oversee a club or sport…………
Our work is never done.
One of the most frustrating things (despite the daily challenges of creating the delicate balance I outlined above) is that we often feel unappreciated, undervalued, and our work goes unrecognized. The fact that so many people think they could successfully teach adds to this frustration. I went to college for 4 years, and attended graduate school part-time my first 3 years of teaching, to be able to learn and master this career. I spend hours in meetings, conferences, and talking with coworkers and administrators to find ways to improve my craft.
The best learning experience though, is actually teaching. I’d love to put people who think they could teach in front of my classroom of 10th graders for a week and then ask them their thoughts after that experience. For the people making decisions in our government, I’d love for them to spend a semester observing my special education students in practical biology and their faces/attitudes after they take the state-mandated keystone assessment in Biology. 
As teachers we have to be lifelong learners. Someone important in my life (who will remain unnamed) made fun of me in a discussion about applying to school for my PhD, saying “You just like being in school.” There is some truth to that statement, which was an epiphany I had recently — I love school. I love learning. But, furthering my education is the one way to grow my career, which is not the case for many other professions. Before I went into teaching I knew I wanted a career that would “make a difference” in others lives. I knew I would never be rich in this career, but I also never had any financial intelligence because my parents took care of everything and I received an athletic scholarship to college. I knew there would be few/no financial incentives in terms of paid vacations/bonuses, etc… but verbal incentives are hard to come by in a career that is constantly under attack and scrutiny from the public. I think hearing “good job, thanks for what you do,” is probably the best incentive of all — be it from parents, students, administrators, supervisors, or anybody else for that matter. I got the email below from a student a year or so ago and whenever I am having a particularly frustrating day I try to re-read it and remember why I do what I do. Please disregard the grammatical errors; I wasn’t his English teacher lol!
If someone were asking me about going into this profession I would want to be honest with them and not sugar coat the reality/challenges of teaching. Sometimes it is a thankless job. Especially in secondary education when students have multiple teachers there will be few times that we hear thank you — but when you do hear it, savor it, remember it, and don’t ever forget that is why you do this job. It’s not for the free vacation or the bonus you’re going to get in January (that won’t ever happen). You will be attacked. You will have to go to meetings to defend yourself. Continue to work hard everyday. Remember that not everyday is going to be perfect. Some of your lessons will suck, and students will probably call you out on it. Be willing to listen to criticism and use it to be better. Stand by your values. If you make it through your first year of teaching, you can make it the next 34 years — that first one where you’re trying to juggle everything, create all of your lessons, and you don’t have a foundation/reputation is the most challenging. Don’t be too sensitive or take things too much to heart (this is one I sometimes struggle with). If you have a bad day remember that tomorrow is a new day. Rest, reflect, refresh and go into the next day with a positive attitude. Have 1 on 1 conversations with students that are giving you a hard time — ask them, “why are you acting this way (acting out/sleeping/not completing work)?” Don’t assume the answer.
The science supervisor for my district just retired to go teach at the university level. What I’m going to miss most about him is the fact that at every single meeting we had — he thanked us. He made me feel like I was the best teacher in the world. He made me feel like I made a difference. I know that I make a difference — but knowing it, and hearing it are 2 very different things. So today, I thank you for what you do. You are a superhero. I see friends posting about how they have to “drink” every day until the end of the summer because they are spending so much time with their own kids — and I think to myself, I spend 8+ hours a day with teenagers from September-June… and that folks, is why teacher’s need a summer. Enjoy the cartoons below and enjoy your summer my friends! You deserve every minute of it!
SciTechSurfer 