Her reasons are:
#1: We are tired.
#2: We are in complete control for 8 hours a day.
#3: Our job is violently important.
AMEN, SISTER.
Me being a psycho teacher expressing complete joy on the last day of school 2012.
Teacher friends: What would you add? Here are some additions I'd like to contribute.....
#4: We are told what to do (by administration, the county, the district, etc). Then, the next year, once we're finally getting in a good groove, we are told to throw that out the window & do the complete opposite thing. IT'S MADDENING.
#5: We deal with kids. All kinds of kids. All day long. Nice kids. Smart kids. Mean kids. Angry kids. Sad kids. Silly kids. Playful kids. Talkative kids. Kids who can't tie their shoes. Kids who can't sit still. If you're a parent, think about how crazy your kid(s) can make you at times (when they're whining/arguing/defiant...or when they can't sit still for dinner out at a restaurant....or when they're embarrassing you in Target). Now imagine dealing with 20 OF THEM every weekday. And imagine not just "babysitting" them (ie: keeping them alive), but trying to teach them all sorts of new skills that they'll need to succeed. Now that I think about it, reason #5 actually relates to #1, 2, and 3.
#6: We deal with parents. Happy parents. Angry parents. Confused parents. Worried parents. Slack parents. Not-so-honest parents. Overly protective parents. Parents with questions. Parents with demands. Parents who must not realize that we actually went to college for 4 years and happen to know what we're doing. Parents who must not realize that we have 19 other students (and parents) to handle. All kinds of parents. All year long. Once, I had a parent ask me why I didn't wipe her son's bottom after he pooped at school. (I'll let that one sink in for a minute). Once, I had a parent who wanted to analyze the wording of every single question on the quarterly kindergarten science test to explain why his daughter did not do well (even though every other child in the class that year and the previous year seemed to understand the questions just fine....). Seriously, though. I've had some AWESOME relationships with parents and some relationships that I wish had never happened. Parents can be more difficult than the 20 kids combined.
#7: Kids don't like boring teachers. You have to be a little bit crazy to keep their attention. I sing. I dance. I read with strange voices. I dress up in PJs. I play games on field day. I wear Dr. Seuss t-shirts. I act like introducing a new Letterland character or adding a new word to the word wall is the most exciting thing I've ever done in my life. This year, I let the top reader in my friend's class throw a pie in my face in front of a whole gym full of students and teachers. My principal kissed a big hairy pig. You do what you've gotta do....and as a result, you get a little crazier each year.
We have an older teacher on our kindergarten team who has been teaching for 30+ years & she always jokes that one day, she'll be sitting in the loony bin singing random songs that she used to teach her students. So hilarious, but I shouldn't laugh because it'll probably happen to me one day. :)
EMBRACE THE INSANITY.
Too funny. Yes, I can totally picture mumbling "Silent E is a Ninja" or Dr. Jean's "Form the Banana" in my old age. I do agree we face a lot more stressors daily than I think the average worker does. I would add that we are never off-duty. You may have to answer an e-mail from a parent in the evening or greet a family you see at the grocery store. It feels like we are always working!
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