I think if you ask any teacher why they became a teacher the answers you would get would all be similar. When I reflect on the reasons I myself went into teaching I think about how much I love to help people. The largest rock in my shoe is the entire education system and how difficult it is to get students help. I, a professional educator, should be able to say I have a student that needs more support than I can provide them in my classroom, how can we support this student in other ways? Instead, I am asked how I have differentiated for the student, have I called home, have I tried an intervention?
The red tape and established processes that make it difficult to identify students with special needs that aren't currently diagnosed is so disheartening that it makes me question if this job is really for me.
Nikki - what a thoughtful connection with the rock metaphor. Yes, the educational system as it is structured can be a huge rock and impediment for teachers, whether it is lack of understanding and respect from mis(un)informed people, low pay, huge class sizes or not enough support for students who need it and may not be able to get it outside of your classroom. In my district right now the fruits of the Vote No folks who were successful in getting our referendum defeated are becoming all to real for them... cutting 10% of teachers, moving from 7 to 6 periods in high school... it is a rock that will be difficult to walk with in our shoes! But what do teachers do? We learn to walk with it anyway:)
ReplyDelete