Every day I read about another teacher leaving the profession due to a myriad of issues that we face on a daily basis. Many of these issues are not in our control but many teachers and administrators do not make our job any easier.
I am not a new teacher. I have been teaching longer than three years and although there were times I wondered what the heck I had gotten myself in to, I have never regretted making teaching my second career. I have been supported by some wonderful professionals through my teaching; teachers who went out of their way to help and administrators who were so wonderful, I hated changing schools.
I now teach at a Title I school where many of my students are either ESOL or ESE students. Many have just begun to learn English and many have learning disabilities, some to the extreme and others less noticeable. I went back and received my certification in ESE K-12 to help me better teach the students who are mainstreamed in regular classes.
I also work in a great department (what history department isn't great) where all the teachers are supportive of what we are trying to do. Last year, I approached all the U.S. History teachers and asked them what was the most important thing I could do as a World History teacher to help pave the way for the students to succeed when they arrived in 11th grade. I took their suggestions and incorporated them in my lessons to help the students. Not one of them suggested that to be a good teacher, I should teach them U.S. History lite version while teaching World History.
This year I have a student who has a SLD (Specific Learning Disability) and he cannot read or write. He can understand language but it must be verbal. He uses programs where he can listen to meaning and it helps him understand lessons. Although his grade is not where it could be, we are slowly working towards getting it up.
I had a teacher come to me yesterday to ask about this particular student and to get some suggestions on how to help him succeed. I offered what I knew and his response was he was receiving pressure to not teach so much of the part of his class that could benefit the student, but to concentrate more on other parts of the curriculum because then the teachers' job would be easier when the students arrived next year.
I immediately asked him how long he had been teaching and sure enough, it was the 3 year mark. I wanted to tell him to teach HIS kids the way THEY would learn, not because next year the teachers wanted it easier. I tried but as most new teachers, he doesn't want to upset anyone or make anyone angry. He has not learned to have a voice in his students' education.
He will end up leaving the profession. I could just about bet money on it. He doesn't feel he has a voice or is worried if he uses it he will be chastised, even though he loved my ideas for this student. They won't be implemented and this student will probably fail this class.
We are faced with challenges like these every day, on top of the pandemic, on top of parents who think we indoctrinate children or parents who can never be reached and could care less about their students' education. We have students who never come to school or students who come to school and sleep. We have paperwork and paperwork and more paperwork. Throw in evaluations and meetings to make sure we are good teachers and it is incredible they stay as for as many years as they do.
I love teaching and I am good at it. I normally form great relationships with most of my kids. They continue to stay in touch long after I have ceased being their teacher. I wish all new teachers had that. I wish the bully teachers would go away. I wish administrators would listen instead of shrugging off concerns. I do know that no matter how hard I try, I can't save all the students. I wish new teachers were as outspoken as I was. I think the students would be the beneficiaries of that.
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