A Day in the Life of a Teacher.....

[Heartstrings]

Me: Ok class, today...
Student: This is stupid. I'd rather be playing video games.
Office: *ring* Send (student) to the office.
Voicemail: My kid told me that YOU...
Email: We need you to sub on your prep.
Teacher coaches: Students are experiencing an all time level of trauma. Form relationships with all students and make connections every day.
SRSS: Make sure to incorporate ELA and math into your lesson plan daily, so we can boost our scores for data.
IEP: Implement these modifications and accommodations for these students every hour. Document it.
504: You are legally bound to adhering to these accommodations for these students. Document it.
Pinterest: Every teacher in the universe has a cooler and craftier idea and classroom than you.
Facebook: Omg. Did you hear about what happened in *insert teacher here* class?! Don't they even watch them? It's their job! How did (s)he miss that?! Yeah, and I heard...
Class roster: 30+ kids every hour, 6 times per day.
Student Services: You have 4 homeless students. You need to provide the following daily.
Student Medical alert: These students will die if you don't monitor these medical issues closely.
Professional Development: We're trying something new this year even though we're not ready to roll it out and there's no funding for it. Be sure to document that you are doing it correctly.
Media: Your classroom is going to get shot up any minute.
Surprise observation: Be sure goals are set, reports are finished, lesson plans are perfect, and that you hit the learning target and success criteria multiple times. We need documentation and evidence that you're doing this.
Standardized tests: You suck as a teacher. Also, your rating is based on this, but also, make sure students don't feel defined by their performance on these.
PBIS: Teach students the expectations in the hallway, cafeteria, classroom, and outside. Take students in the bathroom and reteach how to wipe, flush, and wash hands. Be sure to only reward positive behavior. Check in and check out with these specific students daily.
MTSS: We have 3 tiers of support. What about your gifted students, pull out students, intervention students? Why aren't you providing enough differentiation? You need to provide documentation.
Door: Keep me locked, so that students are safe. Yes you will be interrupted to open me 10x per hour.
Papers/Grading: Say good bye to your evenings and weekends.
Lesson plans: Are they aligned with school, state, U.S., and world wide standards? Be sure to document that.
The Powers That Be: What can we do to help?
Teachers: Please take something off our plate before adding something new.
The Powers that Be: Sorry, no can do. Btw, you also need to...
Tech Dept: We are working on correcting today's issue as quickly as we can.
English Language Learner: *crying, speaking a foreign language, feeling alone and scared*
The Powers that Be: Sorry, there's just not enough funding for those students.
Department Heads: I've been told we need to align all of our curriculum, assessments, and daily lesson plans. Be sure to document that.
Staff Memo: Be sure to attend the following meetings this week: staff, grade level, core subject, tech, school climate, school improvement.
Counselors: We saw 500 of the 900 students on our caseload, this month.
Social Worker: Yes, I filed that CPS report and the other one. Now we wait on the state to act.
Student: My step dad got arrested last night for beating up my mom.
Tornado Drill: Surprise! Make sure all students are safe. Now go back to teaching.
Fire Drill: Surprise! Make sure all students are safe. Now go back to teaching.
Internal Threat Drill: Surprise! Barricade your door and make sure all students are silent for 45 minutes. Go back to teaching.
External Threat drill: Surprise! Make sure student are silent and out of the funnel of potential bullet spray. Now go back to teaching.
Tutoring: Provided before school, after school, and during lunch.
Technology: Must be implemented into all lessons but also make sure to monitor all 30+ students at all times and make sure they're not doing anything inappropriate.
Data: You suck as a teacher.
Administrators: *literally being pulled in 20 directions at once, everyday, while fielding discipline, making multiple teacher observations, fielding staff, breaking up fights, keeping us safe, performing investigations, cooperating with police, meeting with students and parents, and attending all after school and extracurricular activities*
Employability grade: Be sure to document when students are tardy, not following directions, unprepared, and not collaborating well. Document this for all 175 students.
Academic Grade: Document all accommodations, modifications, retakes, and rationale for grades for each of your 175 students. No we will not provide district time for you to enter these into your grade book.
Special Ed State Dept: You must mainstream all students regardless of behavior, cognitive function, and/or potential violent episodes. Sorry, there's just not enough funding for
additonal support in your classroom.
State: Make sure you are highly qualified, but you must pay for all of your professional development, student loans, grad classess, conferences, hotel stay, food, travel, and substitute teachers out of pocket. And you need to update your certification. You'll need to pay for that too.
Bladder: You haven't peed in 7 hours, you're going to get another infection.
Heart: *racing*
Stomach: *in knots and anxiety coursing*
Brain: You're not enough. You'll never be enough.
Chest/Lungs: I can't breathe.
Eyes: *leaking tears*
Me: *smiles* (Tells self) Stop. Just suck it up. You're fine. You have 30+ students eyes on you right now. Do NOT let them down.
Society: F*ck respect for authority, including your teachers. Must be nice to get your summers off.
Parent of a student: You make a difference.
Student: I know I'm special and have value, because of you.
My own kids: Mom, why are your crying?
Me: *sets alarm for tomorrow to do it all over again*
-Written by Amber Guerreiro (middle school teacher) And posted on Facebook

[demmiblue]

1. K&R

[tavernier]

2. I'm a nurse. Similar, but mine had blood and internal organs involved.

Still, I wouldn’t have your job. Way too much stress.

And I’m being stone cold serious.

[marlakay]

3. Sigh, my cousin a great science teacher

In Seattle just retired. She used to have parents beg to have their kids in her class because she was strict but fun at same time.

By the time she retired she hated teaching because of all the rules, they forced her to grade immediately certain tests that she would do during class while kids were taking next quiz or test and she ended up sitting there with nothing to do during tests after staying after class day before to input grades.

[mcar]

4. Big kick for this

It is absolutely true. Signed, wife of a teacher.

[tblue37]

5. + a brazillion. nt

[Coventina]

6. That's exactly it. And I teach in college.

The job is nothing like what people imagine.

This is a much fuller picture.

Thanks for posting.

[skylucy]

7. I'm a retired teacher and I can relate to 99% of this!

[iamateacher]

8. So true

I retired early....

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. reminds me of my wife's 27 years teaching

I still don't know how she did it.

[Dave in VA]

10. 37 years of this

finally retired.

Thanks for posting.

[kimbutgar]

11. I am a substitute and get offered full time teaching jobs all the time and there is no friggin way I

Would take a full time teaching job because of what is in your post. I feel so much for the teachers they have so many burdens put upon them and minimal support. In the classroom when I sub I spend half of my time teaching and the other half dealing with misbehaviors, children who are not up to the task academically and disrespectful children. I can ignore misbehaviors for a while but then I have to clamp down. I try never to yell at the kids but when I pass other classrooms I hear teachers yelling at kids. My method is more making the children understand what the misbehavior is and give them a chance to ratify that behavior. If they don’t them I make them sit next to me for 15 minutes. When I release them I ask do you know why I put you next to me? They apologize and are pretty good the rest of the day.

[BigmanPigman]

12. Every word is correct!

I would add at least 10 sick days a year if you teach in Elem. School. That is more work too ( prepare sub plans, etc) and while you feel sick.

[SWBTATTReg]

13. God, I am so glad I stayed away from teaching...and it is a shame, that the respect and honor...

that teachers should have isn't there as much as it should be. These people are the true heroes.

[flibbitygiblets]

14. This brought me to tears. Mad respect for those who do this critical work.

The situation is shameful and untenable. My stepdaughter has been toying with the idea of being a teacher for a few years. I can't decide whether I'm rooting *for* or *against*. Leaning against, but what a shame.

[JCMach1]

15. What Quant Administrators and Politicians have made of it... essentially to kill it

[MyOwnPeace]

17. Don't be so quick to blame

administrators. They have rules to follow also, imposed by "board members" (usually non-educators), community leaders (also non-educators), and of course, politicians, some of whom may have been educators at one point but usually have a different "idealism" driving what they do.
Remember, until politicians started changing the requirements, opening up "administration" jobs to non-educators, all administrators were once teachers.

[JCMach1]

18. The testing/data obsession is pathological and the way it is implemented is the equivalent of a dog

chasing its tail...

College and HS Administrator and Teacher/Professor for more than 30 years...

[dchill]

16. K&R.

[Books_Tea_Alone]

19. This is my life..every single day

Perfectly described..just about coming up for air now that it's November. But I love it and always have despite all of the nonsense of the last 20 years. My daughter is a brand new teacher and I don't know if she will survive the year. Trying to give her advice but as a fresh college grad facing what is described above it is tough.

[Books_Tea_Alone]

20. Oh yes- and forgot the $1000 I spend on supplies each year n/t

[Heartstrings]

21. You're welcome, everyone!

Although I was never a teacher, per se....(does operating a child care center count? 🤔 My parents were both educators in both public and private schools. Mom was K-3, Dad was high school math. I can attest to the mental and physical tolls that honorable job took on them both. But, their hearts were in it....my mom always said one of the greatest thrills she received was when a little light would go off in a 1st graders mind, their eyes would twinkle and they’d exclaim “I can read!”. ❤️

[mfcorey1]

22. Been there! Done that!