Teachers

Soooo.... I hate to neglect my blog for oh, so long, and then come back with THIS....but sometimes, a girl had to ramble...

I loved teaching.  I love inspiring kids.  I loved showing kids something they never understood and then watching that 'ah-ha' moment once I explained it (after seventeen tries in seven different ways).  I love reaching that kid...that ONE kid that just couldn't be reached by anyone else.  As a matter of fact, let me interject here with an essay from a former 9th grade student:

 "My favorite teacher I ever had is Mrs. Marsh.  She was one of the few teachers that actually cared about kids' grades.  She was very concerned that some other kids and I were getting bad grades so early in the year.  She took us out in the hall and gave us a talk about how we can bring our grades up, and by this time I was being a pain in the butt and not listening to her talk because I really didn't care.

"Later on I skipped school with my friend, and Mrs. Marsh got really mad and none of my other teachers even talked to me about it or even noticed that I missed; that showed me that she gave a crap about me.  Later on she got it through my thick skull that school is very important and so studied for my next test as hard as I could.  I got one of the highest scores in my class.  Now ever since that happened I have been trying as hard as I can to get better grades in English and all my other classes.  That is why I think of Mrs. Marsh as my most memorable teacher."

So, ten (plus) years later, I'm sitting here on the side of the MOM with a kid in school that isn't really a perfect fit in the cookie cutter mold that we (as teachers) would like them to be.  I NEVER thought I would be on this side.  I loved school.  I was "good" at school.  I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Utah and kind of eased my way through.  But I happen to have this (pretty fabulous) daughter who doesn't fit the mold.  She's probably kind of hard to teach....never for behavior, but just for academic, and understanding.  And fourth grade has hit us.  We (thought we) were blessed with TWO teachers in fourth grade (so one HAS to be good right?), but (NO!) cursed with both teachers who see only INSIDE the box.  But guess what?  There are fabulous minds that think outside of the box. 

Dave and I sat in an hour and a half conference yesterday and listened to them go on and on about standardized test scores and such, and how every other teacher had just inflated her grades so she was actually doing bad all along, but those teachers just inflated her grades to pretend she wasn't.  However, I think they forgot that THIS mom had spent some time in the school and watched teachers from Mrs. Hardin (bringing in every parent in whatever career just in case any kid in her class hadn't been exposed to it and might actually like to learn more about it) to Mrs. Parker (finding a book for EVERY SINGLE KID that he/she would LIKE to read and learn about), to Ms. Crimminger who instead of just learning the states had them try foods from every state so they would never forget...(King Cake from Louisiana, anyone?  How about pickles with ice cream?)  To Ms. Eichorn in third grade who made cookies in the shape of South Carolina to learn climates, mountain ranges, rivers. lakes, and counties. 

So this year my kid (my artistic, hands-on, visual learner) gets stuck with the two teachers that do every. single. thing.  straight. from. the. book.  BUT WAIT, "we do flash cards" (straight.from.the.book).  BUT WAIT, "we do note taking" (straight.from.the.book.)  Well, guess what?  You have now missed every kid in your class who just plain doesn't learn that way.  And you can spin it however you like....the other teachers were just "INFLATING" their grades, but guess what?  They were just teaching to different learning styles.  And (gasp!) using differing test taking strategies.

I have felt very strongly that if you don't have the PASSION, then you shouldn't be a teacher.  So, I had this incredible passion as a teacher, and I was good.  I gave it everything I had.  But after I had my own kids, I lost my passion.  AND THAT'S WHY I DON'T TEACH SCHOOL ANYMORE.  Because if you aren't willing to reach them all, then you should do something else. 

Don't blame it on other teachers who are willing to go outside the box to reach the kids that are also out there.  Because, now as a mom, and as a former teacher, I KNOW where you are coming from, and I am counting my blessings for that one good teacher out of FOUR that we have this year.  And I'm really grateful that as hard (and yes, as annoying as it sometimes was) that I went outside the box to get the kids that were out there.  Because, they are fabulous kids.  And they ARE worth it.