Teaching for no love
Teaching is a rewarding career. Watching children learn things and being excited about their discoveries never fails to thrill. But it's not just that. There is always something more. I coordinate band. Basically my role when it started was collecting notes and chasing up payment. Since we got a new bandmaster and he threw a drumstick in frustration I now spend 2 hours outside class time supervising the band and the band master. He is apparently a trained teacher but he still has much to learn. This in itself is frustrating enough without having a parent come to complain to me because she doesn't think it is fair that her daughter could get in trouble for merely playing her instrument at the wrong time during an after school activity. I patiently explained that while I was supervising, it was in the role as the teacher and therefore I would be following school procedures. I also the patiently explained that her daughter had received a warning because she decided to play with her phone during afternoon tea break and them eat her afternoon tea whilst playing her glockenspiel when the conductor was speaking. Well deserved trouble in my books.
Adding onto my fun this year is swapping my entire classroom to cater for a girl with a broken leg. ( she was playing unsupervised in her parents car). As well as the ominous ' I would like to have a meeting you as we have heard a few things from our daughter that are quite concerning.' I can't really pinpoint what it might be but I get to worry about that one till Monday. Lucky me.
When did the teaching profession become something that people assume any fool can do and any parent can question? I completely support an open relationship with my parents and welcome them to discuss any issues. But it seems that most of the time the issues involve me not placing their child in the right levelled home reader. Me not knowing that their child had no one to play with at lunchtime. Me actually disciplining their child for doing the wrong thing that they believe their child didn't do.
How about this. You do the job parenting your child. You teach them about stranger danger and eating healthy food. You teach them about not taking medicines unless you are meant to and about how to accept responsibility for their actions. Read to your children, cook with your children, talk to your children and play games with your children without letting them win all the time. Perhaps you may even like to take some time out to cuddle your child. If you can do that, then I will teach them the reading, writing and arithmetic. I will also teach them how to interact and play with their peers. While I'm at it, I will share my love of learning and show them how it can open the world to them. I will inspire creativity though music and drama and literature. I will teach good sportsmanship and fitness playing sports and games. I already do this but if I didn't have to be their parent too, I could fit so much more of it in.
And while I am at it, why don't the politicians leave schools to be run people who understand schools. Stop pilfering money from our future society. Stop adding in test, after test after test and remove the overwhelming paperwork that hinders the real teaching from happening. Imagine what I could be doing with these kids if I didn't spend all day assessing them to tick the boxes on your unrealistic database. No wonder teaching has a high burnout rate. No wonder those of who have been teaching for a while get so excited when someone else is leaving to pursue something different.
By the time I get to holidays I am an empty husk. I spend two weeks growing again so I can come back and put in my all again. But I am starting to wonder if all of me grows back. What happens when I became empty and can't grow again?
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