Thread: I hate this attitude

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" 8) Willy Shake

I met some engineers while working in Saudi Arabia who suggested the same thing. They basically inferred that as an elementary teacher, I was nothing more than a glorified baby sitter.

I thought about it and finally responded, "Yeah ... but look gets to work with all the cute single female teachers."

Given a single male:female expat ratio of something on the order 100:1, I had the satisfaction of seeing these guys wince.

Originally Posted by Mark

I met a person this past week, during intersession, who informed me, after they found out I was a teacher, that It must be nice to only work part time and get paid full time. :evil: We only work until 3 or 4, get summers off, week vacations in the spring, 2 weeks in the winter, and then have the gall to complain about our salaries. This person was lawyer.

It took a lot of self control to NOT deck them.

UUURRRGGGGHHHHH! :x

They simply do not undersatnd what it is we do. They don't know that I wake up at 2 AM with a brilliant idea for class... or that I get up at 4:30 to prepare for the day... or that I can spend the entire weekend on "schoolwork." They don't know that in our leisure time, we are here talking about school and how to become better teachers or taking classes or going to workshops. They don't know that it is hard work and they certainly don't know we do it out of love.

They think we work six hours a day. It always amazes me that the "real world" thinks we somehow walk into the class and teach without ever doing anything to prepare for it.

As frustrating as it may be, they really don't know any better.

The following poem is by Taylor Mali...he is a slam poet and a teacher. I saw this on Def Poetry Jam a few years ago. Reading it doesn't do it justice, hearing him perform it is so much better. You can go hear to hear him perform it. [url="http://www.taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=9"]http://www.taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=9[/url]


What Teachers Make, or
Objection Overruled, or
If things don't work out, you can always go to law school

By Taylor Mali
[url="http://www.taylormali.com"]www.taylormali.com[/url]

He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"
He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about
teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the other dinner guests
that it's also true what they say about lawyers.

Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.

"I mean, you¹re a teacher, Taylor," he says.
"Be honest. What do you make?"

And I wish he hadn't done that
(asked me to be honest)
because, you see, I have a policy
about honesty and ass-kicking:
if you ask for it, I have to let you have it.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won't I let you get a drink of water?
Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why.

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
I hope I haven't called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today.
Billy said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?"
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.

I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely
beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you got this (brains)
then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a goddamn difference! What about you?

If he would leave out the (*&^* words, I would like to play that at a staff meeting ......

I know, we are suppose to be "adults" but some still have lace on their drawers

.

Perhaps you could type it up as a handout and just leave out the profanity? I'm not much for censorship, but I think in this case, the message is more important.

CR

In this case I am not sure if those with sensitive natures would not mind. This voices the feelings I think we all have, very well.

When I was first around DH's family--at a reunion--I said something about being tired. Someone actually said, "Yeah, it must really wear you out sitting behind a desk all day giving homework." Another added a comment about "few hours" and "weekends and summers free".

I think I gave them "the look" because they did hush. I've since taken to entertaining them with stories from my school day. They generally look horrified. :wink:

When people say this to me, depending on my mood, I'll say one of the following:

"If you think I have it so easy, come in to my class and do what I do. I'll even give you a detailed lesson plan. When would you like to come in?" and I pull out my calendar. No one has ever taken me up on it. Mostly, they shuffle their feet and stammer and then suddenly remember an appointment.

"I can't stand it when lay people try to tell me how to do my job simply because they were in school, what, 25 years ago? (that can be a bit of a slap because some of them graduated high school 10 years before--heh heh) and of course, since you've BEEN in school you OBVIOUSLY know what you're talking about. But really, unless you've done my job for 5 years, you can't possibly have any idea of what I do."