Teaching is Hard

I'm have been teaching in some capacity since 2003. I started out as a substitute teacher and did that while I went BACK to school and got my teaching certification through a Career Switchers Program. This is a great way to go if you have already graduated from college, by the way. It took about six months to complete (going two nights per week and every Saturday morning) and I got a job right out of the gate. I interviewed at two middle schools and one of them offered me my first job. 

I started out teaching sixth grade ELA (English and Language Arts) and did that for two years in northern Virginia. Then I got married and moved to Maryland and taught a year of seventh grade ELA there. This brings me to my first beef - it is not easy to move a teaching certificate from state to state. Each state has different requirements for teachers. Moving oftentimes means going back to undergrad to take a history class or something that you did not take that they think you need to take. Ugh. Luckily, Virginia to Maryland wasn't too bad and I could start right away. I had two interviews and got a job offer from one of those.

My husband's job has us relocating quite a bit. We are not military family mobile, but pretty mobile all the same, moving every 3-6 years. After Baltimore, we moved to Bloomington, Indiana. There I went back to subbing because there were no teaching positions to be found. Indiana University is right there and it is a teacher factory. I had a second job during this time as a medical assistant, which I kept for four years - teachers don't make enough money to live off of one job. We often need to work two. I honestly had such a hard time getting back into teaching that I almost went to nursing school. I took more classes and tests, and got my Indiana teaching license. I subbed for two years and then landed a job at a private school teaching pre-K and then kindergarten. I even started a Masters program. Then, guess what? We moved.

To Illinois. For whatever reason, Illinois does not make it easy to get a teaching certificate. I subbed for a year, was an aide for a year and then got a job as a fifth grade teacher, which then segued into a first grade position (big jump here, and not legal to make a teacher do this, but did it anyway). I loved working with a predominantly Hispanic population. The families were as supportive as they could be and the I felt like I was making a positive impact. After those two years, Illinois changed the licensing requirements and I was no longer eligible to teach - after getting a Masters of Science in Education and teaching for eight years. Soooooo, back to school I went, and became a paraprofessional in the meantime. By the way, I was also working at a bookstore and tutoring students to supplement my income during this time. Finally, I landed my dream job teaching fifth grade math and science. Then we moved.

To California. For those of you who don't know, California makes it very difficult to get a teaching license. It was a big move for my girls and so I planned to take a year off to help them acclimate. I joined a gym and signed up for Pilate's. In that class, I met two teachers and they recruited me. I started guest-teaching at their school in February and was offered a job teaching fifth grade for next year. I have my substitute certificate in California, but since it is a private school, I do not have to be licensed in CA. I just have to have a teaching certification somewhere, and my Illinois license is still good. My plan is to apply for my CA certification while I am teaching and get that in place. I'm teaching in a private school again. The people are kind and the classes are small (~20 kids). I mostly teach math and science but have a reading and writing section thrown in as well. I have a teaching assistant and my partner, who teaches mostly humanities and ELA, and she has a teaching assistant as well. I feel very fortunate, and a little out of my element. The families are wealthy and the school provides for everything. Honestly, I have run the gamut in my career.

I have been in this field for 16 years. I have seen many teachers come and go. This is an honorable, difficult profession. We don't teach for the money - we do it because it is a calling. I work through the summer, planning for the next year, meeting with teachers, planning field trips, decorating and organizing my room. During the school year, I work 8-9 hours per day in the building and then work 1-2 hours per night at home. I stay late on Fridays getting ready for the week ahead. If I call in sick, I have to plan out every minute of my day for someone else to (hopefully) teach my students. If someone else calls in sick, I have to use my planning time to cover their class. I get multiple emails per day from parents, who are oftentimes asking questions that would have been answered had they read my weekly bulletin.  I get emails from students asking for directions that I have already given. I go to Bat Mitzvahs, soccer games, community plays, beauty contests, and spaghetti dinners at churches to be with my students in my free time. I go on overnight field trips that take me away from my family for days at a time. I have my own children help me put stickers on papers and my husband sometimes helps me grade.

I have countless mugs, apple themed items, candles and gift cards. I love every gift I get because I know that child was right there thinking of me. I have letters that I have kept for 16 years or less. I have crafts that are homemade and even some jewelry. I love my students and their families. I have held students after they received bad news, I have sometimes delivered that bad news because their parents didn't know how. I have bandaged bloody wounds, held ice packs to swollen eyes, and packaged teeth for the fairy to come that night. I have celebrated birthdays and half-birthdays and am learning about all of the Jewish holidays. I have taught half in Spanish and and now learning (slowly) some Hebrew. Teachers are always learning, so that we can continue to teach.

Love your teachers. We are tired and trying and loving your little people. We are human. We get sick and overwhelmed and sad. We are not paid enough to live on our own on one job, but we keep showing up. We pay for your kids supplies when you don't send them in. We give gifts from our own pockets and plan parties, escape rooms and scavenger hunts. We stay late for conferences and open houses and we miss our own children's school events to be at yours. We give all that we have. It is not a thankless job, but it is a hard one. And you could not do yours without us.