Today was
one of those days. I came home, grumpy, irritable, negative. I did what I told
my students to do – wrote for 10 minutes, just to get it out. It’s rough, but
what I needed to say. And I think I need to share it with someone – so here you
go.
Letting Go
There are
days where I want to scream.
Frustration
builds up inside like a cork in a champagne bottle,
Just
waiting to pop.
Days
where I vacillate between what is “right” in education,
If
anything is.
I
despair.
How do
you fight against something that is bigger than you?
How do
you hold fast to what you know to be true?
Where do
you find strength?
Allies?
Answers?
I look
into the faces of my students and I know,
I know
what is right.
I know
where the truth lies.
I know
what is important.
And yet,
I struggle.
Where is
the all-knowing body who tells us what to teach?
Since
when should an eight-year-old know math this complex?
Who
forgot to tell the authors of these standards that not every child is the same?
That not
every child learns the same way.
That there
is no magic bullet in teaching.
It is an
art.
I am the
artist.
They need
to leave my classroom.
I’m
beyond frustrated today.
And yet,
I will continue to teach.
I will
continue to provide the environment I believe to be best.
I will
continue to teach the way I know will reach students.
I will
pray that my own children and my students persevere.
I will
hope that one-day politicians will leave teaching to teachers.
Because
unless you have been one.
Unless
you have taught in a classroom.
How can
you possibly know how best to reach these students?
