Dear Teachers,
In this era of Common Core and parents who don’t fucking get it and testing pressure and all the other bullshit that makes your job really frustrating and thankless and oftentimes, nearly impossible, I just wanted to let you know something.
We have six kids attending public schools this year. We have a kindgergartener, a first grader, a second grader, and fifth grader, a sixth grader and a high school senior.
And last year, one of the kids really had a hard time with school.
Not academically. But just wanting to go.
It was boring. It was long. It was not fun.
And every day was a battle. Every morning, the first words out of my child’s mouth were “I don’t want to go to school” and “How many days until the weekend?”
That’s no way for a young kid to start off the day.
The beginning of the school year this year was no different.
There were tears and protests and pleading and begging on that first morning.
I was a little nervous to see what the end of the day would be like. What I’d be faced with when the bus pulled up to the driveway.
Much to my surprise, my child came home from school with a smile from ear to ear.
“MOMMY! SCHOOL IS SO MUCH FUN! I CAN’T WAIT FOR SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!”
Holy shit.
I couldn’t believe it.
The kid who dreaded school the year before couldn’t wait to go back for the second day.
“Mommy! We get to play with the bins as soon as we get to school and we do math but math isn’t paper math it’s math on the mimio board!!! I love school, Mommy!!!!”
I had to choke back the tears.
And I have no idea what the hell is in those bins. But I don’t care.
My child loves school this year.
I know my kid wasn’t suffering last year.
But to know your child is spending his or her day at school not just counting down the minutes, but rather being engaged and feeling enthusiastic and happy is, well… it’s awesome.
Being Labor Day, we had the day off from school. I know many kids have already started the school year. I know some don’t have their first day until tomorrow after the holiday.
As teachers head back into the classroom tomorrow, I want you to know I understand teacher burnout. I really do.
I was there once. And when I got there, I knew it was time to leave. Burnout wasn’t only affecting me, it was also beginning to affect my students.
And that’s not fair.
I know there are many parts of teaching that fucking blow these days.
But we trust you with our children. And we are counting on you.
I try to deliver a kid to you who isn’t a total asshole.
And on those occasions when they decide to ignore everything I’ve ever taught them, I’m on your side.
Since being on the other side of the teaching equation as a parent, I’ve also become much more involved and much more informed with what’s going on in our schools.
I vote for you to have the highest budget the town comes up with and the most resources available to you.
I don’t believe you should be judged solely or largely (or even at all, really) on standardized test scores.
I’ve got your back.
But when my kids walk into your classroom tomorrow I expect you to have theirs.
You are doing so much more than teaching my kid how to read and write.
You entered this profession (hopefully) because you wanted to make a difference.
Please don’t forget that!
You are instrumental in determining the first words that come out of young children’s mouths the moment they wake up in the morning, Monday through Friday.
That is a big fucking deal.
And to all of the teachers who realize how influential you are, to all of you who continue to make learning as fun as humanly (but reasonably) possible, to all the teachers who make it and keep it exciting, who keep the kids engaged, even with all the bullshit you have to deal with in this day and age,
and to the teacher in particular who turned one of my children from a kid who dreaded school to a kid who can’t wait to go there tomorrow,
THANK YOU.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
For being (and remaining) committed to taking care of my WHOLE child, I thank you with my whole heart.
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