"Teachers are apathetic, if they don't care then why would the students." This is the statement that I was greeted with this afternoon while helping the Sophomore class decorate their sign for homecoming. I don't think the person stating it realized that I am a teacher or maybe she didn't care. She also didn't understand why the seniors couldn't put "Save the HOOTERS" on their sign supporting breast cancer. I listened to her rant and rave for 45 minutes about the lack of involvement by the staff in the Homecoming festivities this week. I tried briefly to explain to her that I thought that it was actually a miscommunication between the athletic department and the class sponsors, but I realized that it was a losing battle so I stopped.
I have heard this from other parents as well, and the statement always blows me away. I know that there are teachers who are apathetic, but most that I know spend hours of their own time planning lessons, tutoring, etc. to help students succeed. I really wanted to ask her how much time she had spent in her child's education. I didn't, however. Instead I kept working away, spending a lot more time on this project than I had intended - all the while knowing that I had two classrooms of students counting on me to be ready for our Tide vs. OxiClean experiment tomorrow and to buy supplies for their sewing projects this week. I also hadn't seen my own children either since early in the morning.
When I told Doug about all of the negativity, he said, "empty barrels make loud noises." He is right and I will think of that every time I have to deal with someone who is anti-teacher. No matter what is said I will still put every ounce of effort I can into helping students learn, making up challenging yet engaging lessons plans and fostering a love oof learning in my classroom. That's what most teachers do. I wish more people could see that.
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