Hang In There

That phrase--hang in there--renders images of those posters with a cat dangling from a filing cabinet that women in their 50s and 60s find funny so they hang them in their cubicles. But, at the end of the day, that is what I hear, and that is what I'm doing--hanging in there.

It's not easy to do. This schedule leaves little time to be creative and fun with the kids. My lesson plans look like a bulleted to-do list. The grading is stacking up. The hours of not sleeping is racking up. We all are on-edge and just trying to get through the day. This is not teaching. It's more like bulldozing through the curriculum. And I hate that feeling.

I'm sure someone on a pedagogical cloud could descend and give me "tips" on how to do things, but let's be real for a minute: Each week, I must plan five 90-minute classes for two grade levels each week.  After doing the math, that's ten 90-minute classes each week. 900 minutes of thoughtful, rigorous, standards-based instruction a week. That's twice as much planning as most teachers in America who are on a block schedule and teaching two subjects or grade levels. And did I mention that the books I'm teaching have not arrived, so I spend my "off period" making copies for all the kids. Great use of my time, huh? Planning? Grading? Nah. I just put on my Kinko's hat and go to work. Oh, and I forgot to mention the four times in the past two weeks that I had to stay until 4:45 to watch a class because the teacher never showed. Unpaid, of course.

Education in America sucks. Big time. And I agree with Waiting for Superman that there are too many teachers who should have been fired a long time ago. And I agree that unions often do get in the way of the changes that need to happen. But, what about those of us who love our jobs but are overworked and are becoming consumed by it? Teaching is a flame, and it needs to be steady and strong to light the room wherever it is, but what happens when it starts to consume the bearer of that flame?

Telling me to "hang in there" is not a real solution. It's condescending to those who have to face the brutal realities of the system, and it's not helping the kids who have to suffer the consequences of what's happening to their schools and their teachers.