May The Odds Be Ever in Our Favor

When I was a little girl, I remember being instructed not to point at people.  The common saying was that if you are pointing at someone else, there are still 3 fingers pointing back at you.  One of the reminders that this life lesson continually presents is that if you focus on pointing out what someone else is doing, then you cannot really take care of your own business.  A couple of weeks ago over Spring Break, I went to the dentist for a routine six month check up and cleaning.  My normal hygienist  was on maternity leave and there was a sub who was rather chatty and very much opinionated.  She talked through her opinion on everything including the Presidential primaries and election which led her to the topic of conversation which everyone has an expert opinion on despite their lack of first hand experience, education in Oklahoma.  

When discussing education in Oklahoma, there are usually two kinds of people who I find myself in a conversation with - (a) the person who seeks my opinions and thoughts because I am an educator and (b) the person who thinks they know everything about education because they have participated in it through their own education or as a parent of their child's education.

Needless to say, she gave me her two cents about education and some of the things she stated are beyond obvious, education in Oklahoma is in trouble.  Oklahoma is now 50th in the nation, at the complete bottom!  However, as she proceeded with her conversation she began to tread into water that most of us educators are swimming in, the negative side of this profession we love.  During some of her comments and opinions, I was honestly thankful that I was unable to talk as she was cleaning my teeth.  I sat there and had to think through how to represent myself and this profession in a professional manner.  It is a battle that unless you have been in the classroom or in a public school recently, you cannot really begin to understand.  At what point did I and my colleagues become the scapegoat for people with rather large salaries who continually short change education with wasting time, money, and efforts all as they proclaim that they are giving us solutions.  

I have two advanced degrees, multiple certifications, and have contributed to the growth and development of teachers as they prepare to enter the profession.  Most jobs get easier with experience and growth but this one continues to challenge.  Education in Oklahoma is downright depressing.  Just when you think it cannot possibly get worse, it does.  I am realistic enough to not expect a raise.  When the governor was promising raises a year or so ago, I was smart enough to know that it was a political stunt to promote her own agenda.  I (and every other teacher in the state) would love a raise but until that can happen, I would settle for respect.  I did not create the issues within the realm of the world I am living in and I have to constantly remind myself that I am not going to take ownership for choices that I had absolutely no say or control in.  It is convenient within the negativity of education to blame teachers, but please just stop blaming us and trying to shame us.  We are fighting battles for your little ones (or big ones) that you know nothing about.  

The Sunday night before break I was anxious about returning to work.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the children and everything to do with the fact that somewhere along the way teachers have become the ones to to take the blame for everything that has gone wrong in education despite the fact that in reality, the only thing we can  control is what is going on in our classrooms.  I have immense power in room 29, if you surveyed the little ones, I can almost guarantee you that the results would be positive and most likely a little humorous.  In reality, those are the results that matter most so in the moments when the public perception belittles my colleagues and I, the profession, and educators get the blame for all the mishaps, I just have to focus my attention on those little bodies who despite everything going on in education, remind me why I come back for more.