You Want Me To Do What?

The following has made the email rounds more times than I can count, however, this piece really sums up what a teacher faces each day in his or her classroom. I thought I would immortalize this piece here, so I always have it handy when I need it.

After being interviewed by the school administrator, the eager teaching prospect said, “Let me see if I’ve got this right…….

You want me to go into that room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning.

I’m supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their t-shirt messages and dress habits.

You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self esteem.

You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job.

I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of anti-social behavior, make sure all students pass the state exams, even those who don’t come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments.

I am to make sure that all of the students with handicaps get an equal education regardless of the extent of their mental or physical handicap.

I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report cards.

You want me to this with just an Expo marker, a whiteboard, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps!

You want me to do all of this and then you tell me……

I can’t pray?”

Gee, after reading this again it’s no wonder I’m so tired and brain dead each evening while I work through the bag of paperwork I have to bring home just to maintain an illusion of being caught up.