Possibility

Every day I read news articles about teachers leaving the profession in droves. I read stories about the failure of the system during the pandemic. I hear about growing expectations for drastically low pay. I get it, and I'll be the first one to tell you that you need to make your happiness a priority.

I'm a teaching assistant in a kindergarten class. I know all too well the ding my phone makes when I get another Covid notification email. It happens multiple times a day. I know the urgency to cover a class that has been left without a teacher at the last minute. I know that teachers should have gotten a substantial pay raise decades ago. 

I witness their magic every day and I don't see how they do it. They play mom or dad to all those kids while planning all of the exciting events. They go in early and stay late while maintaining a smile and a cheery disposition all day. And then when they finally go home they have their own families to tend to. And while they are technically "off" they are still worrying about whether that one kid is getting enough to eat tonight or whether they have enough glue sticks since the "beginning of the year" supplies have been gone for a while.

I could spend all day writing about the things that are broken in the public school system, but that's not why I'm here. You can pick up your phone and go anywhere online to find that. I'm here to talk about possibilities. If we shifted the energy around, how could we make a difference?

What if we took our frustration out on things we could do something about instead of the things we can't? Try changing the atmosphere at work. Next time a co-worker does something that helps you out or makes your day easier, show your appreciation. Pick up a candy bar or a coffee for them. Even a handwritten note in their box will do. My school is like a big family. Sure there are squabbles and eyerolls, but at the end of the day they are what gets me through all the stress. 

Work on big projects as a team. Two people are better than one. If you're able to, ask your student's parents for help with supplies, decorating the room, or making packets. If you are having problems with staff, students, or parents, meet with your admins to work on resolutions. Most of the time it just takes getting a new perspective on a situation. Take your larger issues to the board meetings and make your voices heard. Always vote. 

I'm not going to discourage anyone from leaving or discount their experiences. I completely understand where they are coming from. But there are a lot of really beautiful reasons to stay. Those are the things we should be sharing. We should be talking about the girl that read her first sentence last week and the boy that made his first friend. When I look into the eyes of my students I see hope. That's something a lot of folks have lost track of. Instead of telling college students to avoid the profession we should be showing them all the possibilities.