Any teacher that says summers off wasn’t a HUGE draw for becoming a teacher may not be telling the truth. It was for me.
I was absolutely, positively certain I was not going to be a teacher. I tried earning an education degree in college, but I didn’t have great experiences. I graduated with a degree in communications, and I was going to be a famous writer. Fast forward three years, and I was married and had my first child. My sisters, all three, and so many of my friends were teachers and were hanging out by the pool and boating all summer while my child was in daycare, and I was at work.
Needless to say, I gave in and enrolled in an alternate route teacher program. On Monday, I was working at the Isle of Capri Casino, and on Friday, I was standing in a classroom filled with 10th and 11th graders. I thought, now what have I gotten myself into.
That first year was, well, exactly how you would expect a first year to go. It was a revolving door with calls for help to the principal’s office and the teacher next door along with lots of tears in the evening. Within two weeks, I had decided that I had made the wrong decision and would flip burgers before going back to the classroom. I was proving my daddy right when he said I was too tenderhearted to be a teacher.
That was August of 1994, and today, I am a retired educator having more than 30 years of public education, administration, adult education and informal education under my belt…and I would say I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I taught more than 3,000 students in my classroom, and my years as a principal gave me the opportunity to work with another 1,500 students and educators. There isn’t a day that goes by that memories of my school days don’t run through my head. And it doesn’t matter where I go, I always run into former students, teachers or parents of students.
I have had the opportunity to work with former students, serve as a mentor teacher for new teachers, prepare alternate route teachers for life in the classroom, and have been responsible for a school building and everything under the roof and beyond.
There is a stigma that is associated with the career of teachers…it is a lesser career. I had a college classmate who was in education, and she was super smart. Someone once told her that going into education was a waste for someone as smart as her. Really?! Without teachers there would be no other careers.
I challenge anyone in any career to spend one week, or even one day, as a teacher. You wouldn’t survive. Some days it is like herding cats, and other days, well, more cats or squirrels. You make plans, and then they change. You juggle lessons for the students in your room and then make arrangements for those absent. And then you justify their grades to your supervisor, their parents, and the students. And in the end, you take it home with you, and it weighs heavily on your heart.
Career Discovery was one of my most fun courses to teacher because we got to do a lot of exploration, but my heart is in teaching English. Oh, the ability to read, write, speak, and create is just amazing. It is also a curse, as well, because I want to take a red pin to Facebook and anything else I read and hear. The downfall of being an English teacher is grading essays. Traveling to and from my in laws for Thanksgiving each year, I graded essays for 6 hours straight.
And my work extended outside of the classroom as student council sponsor, Beta Club sponsor, newspaper and yearbook sponsor, cheerleader sponsor, team leader, curriculum chairperson, soccer coach, and PTO president, and at the same time, my other titles were Mom and wife. I earned certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards twice, and then a Master of Education in Educational Leadership.
I have lost many students and teachers to illness, tragic accidents and poor choices. I have met my very best friends in the world throughout my career, and I have made many poor choices myself. I have been a listener and have heard of some of the worst living conditions ever.
There are also those stories that you can’t make up. Remember the “Pascagoula Squirrel” song by Ray Stevens. Well, that song came to life at Colmer Middle School. Picture it, students are all ready to take state tests on Chromebooks, and the power goes out. Not completely, but half of the campus was without power. Upon inspection, it seems that squirrels had gotten into the power box and chewed various wires.
And in the end, I can truly say, I never had a summer off…and I wouldn’t change a thing.
*All photos provided by Susan Stachowski
