When I became a teacher, after a long career doing other things, one of the veteran teachers surprised me with this little tidbit. "One thing I never get used to," she said, "was the loneliness. Teaching is a lonely profession."
I was somewhat taken aback by that. Lonely? I'm surrounded by 25 kids all day. Constant interruptions. Library. Gym. Art. The occasional assembly. Who could be lonely?
She was right. It is a very lonely profession. But not lonely in the sense that you are "alone" such as a hermit might be. But you are very much alone despite being surrounded by a sea of young faces. You are pretty much on your own after your initial training. You get a curriculum guide, a few reference books and then have at it. Figure it out on your own. And, after a while, you do. Or at least you think you do.
But the loneliness persists. You don't have much adult conversation during the day. And after school, you are busy copying or grading or having mandatory meetings to do anything other than just packing up and going home. As far as professions go, other than an undertaker, I think teaching is a pretty lonely profession.
But the loneliness doesn't end in the classroom. Not any more, at least. No, the loneliness continues outside the school now. For I'm finding that being a teacher is not only a lonely profession, but one that is clearly the scapegoat for everything that is wrong with America today.
Don't believe me? Just look at the newspapers for proof.
Here in New Jersey, we have a tremendous budget deficit. And our illustrious governor has decided that it's the teachers who are at fault. If we could just find a way to have schools with teachers that would work for NO money, things here in New Jersey would be paradise, to listen to his rhetoric. Teachers make too much. Teachers have tenure. Teachers have summers "off" (which is complete bullshit, by the way. Just ask any teacher how much real "off" time they have during their unpaid vacations and I think you might be surprised). Teachers have a pension. Teachers get health benefits.
Nobody ever asks what teachers give up to be teachers. Like the right to work in a building that is less than 40 years old. Or computers that actually have an operating system newer than Windows 98. Or the ability to take a vacation when everyone else ISN'T on vacation. Or the ability to pee when you have to, instead of on a schedule. Or heat in the winter. Or air conditioning in the summer. Or overtime. Or a bonus.
The reality is that teachers perform a valuable service and expect to be paid. We don't expect to become millionaires. None of us got into this gig for that. But after a number of years, it would be nice to be able to have a few nice things.
The truth is that during boom times, nobody wants to be a teacher. They all want to go into private industry and make big money - myself included. But these are not boom times. And, the nerve of it all, teachers are actually working while other industries are not. But that's not our fault. We didn't tell American manufacturers to outsource all of their work. We didn't tell the banks to make all those bad loans. We didn't tell GM and Chrysler to make all those shitty cars (who really needs the Pontiac Aztek anyway!!) All we did was decide that education was the calling we had. And now we are the bad guys.
And to those that think we're the bad guys, let me ask you - just who do you think is paying all the income taxes in this state while everyone else is unemployed? The teachers, that's who.
But I digress. It's not only the teachers making too much money. No, now the federal government wants to revise the shitty No Child Left Behind law with still another half-assed attempt to "fix" American schools. Hey - I have an idea. Let's figure out just what's WRONG with American schools and fix that. Because all this fixing isn't doing a damned thing. Oh, and did anyone ask a teacher to help "fix" the schools? Look at who's doing the writing of the law and let me know what you find.
And, while they are at it, let's not just fix the law, let's rewrite the standards so that we have national standards - across all 48 states. Oh, wait a minute, there are still 50 states aren't there. At least there were when I looked at my flag this morning. But Texas doesn't want to play nice in the sandbox. And if Texas won't play nice, the textbook makers won't play nice. And if the textbook makers won't play nice, you can bet your ass there won't be any national standards.
Did anyone ask a teacher about this?
Just when I'm ready to pitch this whole thing and return to Wall Street with the ridiculously high bonuses, free-flowing coffee and the ability to pee when and where I want, something happens to draw me back in.
Tonight, it was "To Sir, with Love", the great movie with Sidney Poitier. This movie always reminds me that there is more to this lonely profession than the bullshit that you read in the paper. There is the dedication to the students - to making a difference for them, to being a role model for them, to being "there" for them. That is why we accept the sub-standard working conditions and the wrath of the public and the interference of the politicians.
Because, at the end of the day, when a former students stops by to say hello, or when you run into a parent of a former student and they say "Thank you. You made a difference for my child" it makes you feel better than any six-figure bonus check ever did. That's why I stay in the lonely profession. Because, despite what everyone else seems to think about teachers in public education, we DO matter and we DO make a difference.
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