Reflections on Teacher Appreciation Week

I enjoy teacher appreciation week. This year, I received several emails from parents and kids. One of my students shared a very sweet card with me, and another loudly announced “Ms. Case, I appreciate you!” just before the first period bell rang. Our principal brought in delicious treats and coffee.

I’m thinking now about another meaning of appreciate, that which involves understanding. I have a few recurring conversations with non-teachers that reveal some misunderstandings about the our profession. Perhaps this post can help foster a greater appreciation of what it’s like to be a teacher.

 

What’s it like to manage a classroom?

It’s like a birthday party! Every day! No, seriously…remember that birthday party you threw for your kid a while back? The one where you invited the entire class? The final count was four minor injuries, three kids in tears, two exhausted hosts, and one mom who still won’t speak to you because you served food that wasn’t organic. An elementary school teacher I know uses this analogy to describe what her day is like; every day is that birthday party, except instead of treats and games, we serve up math and reading. Of course, unlike many neophyte birthday party hosts, we are trained to manage groups of children, but the challenges are pretty much the same.

What’s it like to communicate with parents?

Most of my interactions with parents are positive; we are on the same team. There are two kinds of conversations that drive me a little batty, though. One is when parents fully believe something outrageous has occurred in school based on their child’s account before consulting with a teacher or other adult who was present. A preschool teacher I know turns the tables with this quip, which works at any age level: “I won’t believe everything I hear about home if you don’t believe everything you hear about school.” Sometimes unacceptable things do occur, whether at school or home, and students’ accounts should never be taken lightly. A respectful inquiry is always warranted; impassioned accusations are rarely a good starting point.

The other response I get from parents that frustrates me is  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I often want to say (but never do), “this is me, telling you.” Keeping track of students’ grades is like being responsible for dozens of active checking accounts. We have a pretty good idea of which ones we need to keep an eye on, but we can still be caught off guard.

As a parent myself, I understand that many of these reactions are driven by love and concern. Sometimes, however, the urge to protect can shelter students from a developmentally appropriate level of responsibility critical to their academic and emotional development.

What’s it like to work teachers’ hours?

Few people envy the fact that I spend most of my working day with twelve to fourteen year-olds (they should, though — it’s a hoot!). By contrast, nearly everyone envies my work day and year. There are a lot of great things about a teacher’s schedule; vacation time and compatibility with kids’ school schedules do rank pretty high. There’s still a lot of work, though; few teachers go home empty-handed, whether for the evening or the summer. And our days are packed. Teachers are more likely than others to develop bladder problems because we can’t leave classes unattended. I laugh at statistics about how much time people spend on email or Facebook at work; I spend my day either directly interacting with students in the classroom, plowing through assessment, or assiduously preparing for classes ahead. My short answer to people who think I’ve got it made is this: why didn’t you become a teacher? There must be some reason you decided the trade-offs didn’t outweigh the benefits.

Here’s my longer answer. Most teachers are paid for about thirty-five hours of work per week, forty weeks a year, a fairly light schedule by American standards. The veteran teachers I know clock in at about forty to forty-five hours of actual work per week, not including preparation or professional development during vacations. My second year of teaching, I took a break from grading papers one long Sunday afternoon and grabbed a calculator. By a conservative estimate, I worked over 2000 hours my first few years of teaching, which is the equivalent of working 40-hour weeks with two weeks of vacation time. Now I know that many people might respond with calculations of their own hours in excess of these. Consider, however, that there is no financial incentive for teachers to work extra hours — no overtime, no bonus, no commission.

I don’t claim to work longer or harder than many other professionals. I don’t begrudge construction workers or farmers their off-season, or other professions’ flex-time, bonuses, or overtime. I choose teaching, I devote myself to it, I love it. All I ask is a little appreciation…

 

Teachers Unions & Professional Organizations

The Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association got me thinking about the importance of unions. It’s Labor 101; pay your dues to the organization that negotiated your pay, your benefits, and your working conditions. One of my earliest observations as a new teacher was that unions were the only side interested in protecting teacher preparation time during the school day, time I still find essential to delivering creative, high-quality lessons that reflect timely assessment of students’ work. Teachers in the United States have significantly less preparation time during the school day than teachers in other comparable nations.

Organizations created and run by and for teachers should play a key role in teacher leadership movements. Teachers, through these organizations, have a voice in public and political debates, where we can advocate for adequate educational funding (including teacher pay and benefits), reasonable working conditions, and fair evaluations of teachers and students.

Watch NEA president Lily Eskelin Garcia recount helping a fellow airline passenger *appreciate* what it’s like to be a teacher.

Here’s the Massachusetts Teachers Association Teacher Appreciation Week Page (I like the bookplates!)

Check out NSTA’s guiding principles for an idea of how teacher-led organizations promote high expectations regarding the professionalism and performance of their members.

Here’s Dan Meyer’s recent blog post on his vision for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

 

If you are a teacher, stock your lexicon with simple, friendly rejoinders to comments which reveal the kinds of misconceptions I’ve written about here. A complaint about vacation time could be answered with “it sounds like you would really enjoy a teacher’s schedule; have you considered becoming one?” The key is to be friendly and professional while making clear that the the demands and rewards involve as many trade-offs as any other line of work. Use these conversations as an opportunity to promote better understanding (and appreciation) of what we do.