So, Leon--of stuffed animal fame--is pretty good for a laugh, or five, on a daily basis. He's pocket-sized with an elf's voice, five years behind socially, but also has a finely tuned sense of humor that goes beyond his years. Lately, his mornings have gotten exceedingly more difficult in terms of focus until around lunch time when the, er, "necessaries" as we ED teachers code them, kick fully into the bloodstream.
While this has been a source of frustration for work production, it has been quite the blessing on the comic relief side. If I had a journal nearby at every minute of the day, I'm sure I would have logged hundreds of quotes or notable events by this point, but I think the last 3 days of the school week were really the most worthy of mention.
Wednesday
Not surprisingly, homework has been a major issue for the crew lately. Leon seems to be the one exception who rarely misses an assignment. I attempted to make an example of him this week in Resource class by engaging him in a conversation in front of the whole class about the positive effects of following through with student responsibilities.
Me: "Leon, how does it feel that you get your homework done every night and turn it in on time?"
Leon: "Um, okay?"
Me: "As a result, what do you think your grade is in Resource?"
Leon: "I would say a 1...2...3?"
Me: "What? No, no. Your letter grade. You know 'A', 'B', 'C'..."
Leon: "....ABC...It's easy as 123...oh, oh God. I can't believe I just sang that."
Me: "Okay, Leon focus, here. I asked you what you think your grade is in Resource."
Leon: "Um...an A?.. ABC...It's easy as...oh, God. I did it again!"
Me: "Nevermind."
Thursday
Since he had nothing to work on in Resource, I let Leon start a game of Yahtzee with the substitute aide for the day. I heard him throw the dice into the cup and begin to shake it.
"Shaken or stirred?" he cried to the aide. Imaginably a little taken aback she didn't answer. "Shaken it is!" And he tossed the dice onto the table.
Friday
Already quite revved up for the morning, I was surprised when Leon went to the bathroom a few minutes into class. This is not part of his typical routine. I should have known. Two minutes later he returned, without a peep, a foot of toilet paper wrapped around his head in a ninja-style headband. All the adults in the room silently cried tears of laughter, Leon merely smiled and returned to his seat. Class went on.
The kid had a pretty solid 3-day streak going. I'm almost sorry the weekend interrupted it...Almost.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
The Teacher Haters Club
Last weekend I traveled to a pub with a friend to meet up with some of her old friends, and immediately engaged in some conversation with one of the attenders who had clearly had a few prior to our arrival. When he found out I was a teacher of yet another district with contract agreement woes, he began an assault on the teaching profession, informing me that most teachers make $80,000 a year, and that when a teacher gets his/her masters, he/she immediately makes $60,000 a year. "Nope, don't make $80,000...Nope, don't even make $60,000 with my masters," I attempted to calmly interject as he went on telling me how teachers have it made, and ultimately spewed out the core issue of the problem (as an ED teacher, I've become quite versed at getting past all the verbal vomit to arrive at the real problem) which was he is miserable in his current job in finance. I knew there was no point in attempting to defend the long hours, emotional stress, parental strife, etc. because the guy had "ALL ABOUT ME" scrolling across his forehead at that moment. So, I went for my little back pocket trick reserved for just such moments when friends or acquaintances start whining about teachers' summer breaks and 3:30 PM releases: "So, why don't YOU become a teacher?"
My conversation partner stumbled for a second before sharing that he had actually thought about just that, becoming a professor or something, but nothing below seniors in high school. If I had been a real snot, I would have prodded him as to why he wouldn't be able to teach younger children until he submitted to the fact that teaching is a difficult job that deserves some rewards.
As it was, I don't think I would have time, because seconds later others at the table had joined in on the mob action to whip the teacher. "Blah blah blah teachers make over $100,000 a year...if they're a gym teacher they don't even do anything...so on, so on." I was starting to get a bit heated at this point, but I managed to calmly throw out that conversation ending, "So become a teacher if it sounds so good!" Finally, I managed the victory of silencing the conversation after the second round.
But I was steaming for several minutes after the whole exchange, and I had to admit that my pride had been hurt just a smidgeon. While I feel very blessed by my salary, I'm not exactly living like a queen. Furthermore, I know plenty of teachers who make far, far less than I do to perform the same job, perhaps even a harder one. Also, while I know firsthand that I have a difficult job, I lay no claim to my job being any more stressful or time consuming or unpleasant than anyone else in the working world (except maybe dolphin trainers. I mean, that is a sweet deal right there.)
So, when did this nation decide, amongst all its many economic ills and struggles, that teachers were the greedy, ungrateful, lazy bottom feeders behind it all? Yes, the wave of teacher strikes in recent months seems like an understandable reason to begrudge teachers if one does not know what they are fighting for, but these strikes have not been the catalyst, rather the backlash to the nation's finger pointing.
I don't need to have people lauding me for my career choice, and I don't need my name or the teaching profession in big bright lights. But I also make an effort not to roll my eyes and baulk when someone else shares with me their line of work, and I would expect the same from other strangers I happen to meet.
Please be kind to your local teachers, everyone. It's very likely they've already plenty of abuse from an ill behaved child or two that day while simply trying to help and care for him. They don't need another dose of ungrateful and disrespectful whining.
My conversation partner stumbled for a second before sharing that he had actually thought about just that, becoming a professor or something, but nothing below seniors in high school. If I had been a real snot, I would have prodded him as to why he wouldn't be able to teach younger children until he submitted to the fact that teaching is a difficult job that deserves some rewards.
As it was, I don't think I would have time, because seconds later others at the table had joined in on the mob action to whip the teacher. "Blah blah blah teachers make over $100,000 a year...if they're a gym teacher they don't even do anything...so on, so on." I was starting to get a bit heated at this point, but I managed to calmly throw out that conversation ending, "So become a teacher if it sounds so good!" Finally, I managed the victory of silencing the conversation after the second round.
But I was steaming for several minutes after the whole exchange, and I had to admit that my pride had been hurt just a smidgeon. While I feel very blessed by my salary, I'm not exactly living like a queen. Furthermore, I know plenty of teachers who make far, far less than I do to perform the same job, perhaps even a harder one. Also, while I know firsthand that I have a difficult job, I lay no claim to my job being any more stressful or time consuming or unpleasant than anyone else in the working world (except maybe dolphin trainers. I mean, that is a sweet deal right there.)
So, when did this nation decide, amongst all its many economic ills and struggles, that teachers were the greedy, ungrateful, lazy bottom feeders behind it all? Yes, the wave of teacher strikes in recent months seems like an understandable reason to begrudge teachers if one does not know what they are fighting for, but these strikes have not been the catalyst, rather the backlash to the nation's finger pointing.
I don't need to have people lauding me for my career choice, and I don't need my name or the teaching profession in big bright lights. But I also make an effort not to roll my eyes and baulk when someone else shares with me their line of work, and I would expect the same from other strangers I happen to meet.
Please be kind to your local teachers, everyone. It's very likely they've already plenty of abuse from an ill behaved child or two that day while simply trying to help and care for him. They don't need another dose of ungrateful and disrespectful whining.
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