Here We Go Again, Teachers

 

Today all over Howard County (and in locations nearby*) teachers will be getting up and going to back to work after summer vacation. Even if they have worked different jobs in the intervening weeks, the Going Back to School day is a momentous shift each year. It is the undertaking of the great task: you will be responsible for guiding young people through a year of their lives while juggling many known expectations and an assortment of variables as yet unknown.

Oh teachers, how I love you and honor you. And not just because I was one. 

It’s also true that I hated school and absolutely never understood why I could be so good at some things and abysmal at others. I now know that I had an undiagnosed learning disability which would’ve explained all of that…had it been recognized and treated. 

The bright lights for me in all that darkness were teachers who inspired me, saw something in me and believed in me. They encouraged me to believe in myself. When I walked into their classrooms they looked at me and did not see failure. 

How on earth did I end up in teaching? Probably because of them.

I’ve seen some online discussions about going back to school and the one that has disturbed me the most is the accusation that corruption is rife in teachers’ unions and that union dues are misspent on illegal activities. These sorts of posts are shared periodically by people who generally claim to care about excellence in education but don’t know the first thing about what happens in a classroom.

When called on the inaccuracies of the claims they always seem to find a way to cling to their falsehoods and slither away to fight another day. Time after time the facts are laid out: 

• This is what teachers do.
• These are the requirements.
• Teachers’ unions work to make the educational experience better for students.
• The issues teachers support through collective bargaining benefit everyone.

What kinds of issues? Reasonable class sizes which promote learning and foster healthy emotional growth. Enough supplies to support the goals of the stated curriculum. Properly maintained and healthy school buildings. Teacher schedules that allow adequate time for planning and cooperation/collaboration between teachers.

“Oh, I don’t mean teachers,” they say. “I mean The Union.” Embedded within that explanation is their insistence that there is such a thing as a Union Thug who lurks around school systems like some dreaded monster under the bed.

Friends, this is as ridiculous as saying,  “Oh, I don’t mean bacon. I mean bacon sandwiches.”

Teachers, whose life’s calling is to help people learn, really, really wish you would learn that. 

So today begins the undertaking of the great task. Teachers will be responsible for guiding young people through a year of their lives while juggling many known expectations and as yet unknown variables. This is what teachers do. They must follow specific requirements. Through the HCEA, our teachers work to make the educational experience better for students. And the issues teachers support through collective bargaining benefit everyone.

Yes, I’m repeating myself. Teachers do that. A lot. It’s one of those things that teachers and parents have in common. We know people won’t always ‘get it’ the first time. 

Here we go again, teachers. We’re rooting for you. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Because, sadly, many teachers can’t afford to live here.