Teaching is Hard

Teaching is hard. I know there are many who may disagree with me, but I stand by my statement. The physical act of getting up and teaching is easy, but trying to engage students and get them to see the purpose of what you are trying to teach is hard.

It is even harder when you have a family. Right now, my parents are both not doing well health-wise, and so that is taking a toll on my teaching because I am gone a lot with my parents. They feel bad about it. They don’t want to impact my job. They have even delayed health treatment out of the misguided idea of not wanting to inconvenience me, but health and family should come first. I love my students, but I love my family more. I need to be there for them, or I know I will regret it. Besides, the entire reason I left Florida was to help my parents, so I can’t abandon them when they need it most.

I also have kids though. I am incredibly fortunate to be at a school that has a daycare, so daycare has not been an issue, but I have two sons who have some health problems. My oldest son is autistic and my youngest has some back and neck issues. The issues may seem minor right now, but could grow into bigger issues if not treated, so I must take him from doctor to doctor trying to find answers. It is stressful because no answers are found. That is one of the problems of living in such a rural area.

When you have a family, especially situations like mine, you can’t volunteer for extra duty. That also makes teaching hard. They expect you do be there for some extra stuff. In fact, just next week I was supposed to go on a field trip that wouldn’t get home until 9 pm. I wanted to go on the field trip and even pushed to make it happen, but it turns out my boyfriend (also a teacher, but in a different district) has MTSS training that day, and I wouldn’t have anyone to watch our kids. Another teacher now has to go, she is happy to go because it will be a fun trip, but I hate the fact I can’t go as if I am trying to avoid any extra duty (which is just not the case).

With the amount of time I have been gone, I just want to say: Substitutes are amazing! I am so thankful to the subs who come in and take over for me when I am gone. They do not get enough credit for how hard their job is! If you are a substitute or have ever been one, thank you. You are vital and key to a functioning school. However, sometimes students like to try to pull one over on the sub and not do their work. I tell my subs not to get into a power struggle. I will deal with it and the students will suffer the consequences of not doing their work.

But how can you feel like a good teacher when so many of the students are failing? I never had this problem pre-covid. Most of my students did their work. Teaching post covid is a whole new animal. I have many students who are not passing, and trying to get them to complete their work is nearly impossible. It makes me wonder what I am doing wrong. I know that there are so many factors at play, but again, I never had these issues pre-covid.

Pre-covid, I was in a different district. I had multiple superintendents over the years talk to me about my test scores and how they were some of the highest in the district. I was one of the favorite junior high teachers among the students, and things generally went great. I followed the rule and had high expectations, and the students met them. I thought my strategies would work everywhere, but they don’t. Of course, I don’t know that they would work there post-covid either, but it makes me wonder.

I want to see my students successful. I want to see them proficient on their scores, not because of anything that would happen if students aren’t proficient, but just because I want to know that I did my job and prepared my students. I want them to succeed. I don’t care if they choose to go to college or not. They need to follow their own dreams, but I do want them to have the option. And know that some students did not rise to the challenge, can make teaching incredibly hard because it is hard to see wasted potential.

What are some of your engagement strategies? I work with high school students, and it can be so difficult to get them motivated despite offering choice and doing interest surveys. What works in your classroom?