SOLSC '23 Day 30: A simple thank you

 

I quit teaching after my first six years.  I was burned out; what had started as an ideal situation teaching small groups in a resource setting with two other special education teachers had evolved into a department of one--me--taking on the entire school's caseload by year five.  They hired another partner teacher in year six, but it was too late; we were both exhausted by the end of that year, and left the district.  I was pregnant with my first child, and felt like I couldn't be a good parent and a good teacher with that kind of work stress.

I tutored for a couple of years, then ended up working in the NICU where my daughter had spent her first sixty-five days.  My father berated me a bit for taking a job outside my college-degree scope.  My answer?  Not only was it lovely to work in a job I couldn't take home with me and with set hours, but I received more thank-yous from the nurses and parents in the first six weeks than I had in six years of teaching--and I was basically an errand runner, stocker, and cleaner.  I felt seen and appreciated, and that let me know that my efforts contributed to the operating system of the unit.

Fast forward...after eighteen years back in the education biz, I landed on a campus where kudos are built into the culture via a weekly call to recognize colleagues for the principal newsletter.  After a really long workweek running the book fair, a colleague wrote a really nice email praising my efforts and sent it to the staff.  I was still physically exhausted that weekend, but my mood was considerably lightened, and made me feel like I made a positive impact.

When the attacks on educators flared up again these past few years, we were encouraged to "toot our own horns" to make the work we do visible to the public.  But that is one more thing to add to an already loaded plate that most educators carry.  Our advertising may decrease some of the negativity outside of schools.  But in the midst of talented teachers leaving the profession, something tells me that if folks (especially politicians) just stopped, asked about, and noticed what we do every day to support children's academic, social, and emotional growth--and then said "thank you"--we might just have a few more of those teachers signing on for another year.