What the Life of a Teacher is Really Like

I am amazed how in the dark people are about what it is like to actually be a teacher.  I've seen comments related to the Chicago teacher strike that truly enrage me.  I taught math at a high school in NC for 6 years.  At the end of 6 years, my pay was $33,000 a year.  I had been shot at (yes, I was in the hallway when a former student came and started shooting at our students during lunch), broken up 2 fights in my classroom, had a student sobbing in my arms because her mother, a drug addict, had died of a drug overdose that morning, had to tell a classroom of students that one of their fellow classmates had been found dead that morning, etc... yet I still had to teach the curriculum, get more than 80% of my classes to pass their proficiency tests, have at least 3 evaluations per semester, answer all parent emails and phone calls within 24 hours, and more. 

I would wake up at 6am, grade papers while I ate my breakfast, drive to school, prepare the room for the lessons that day, attend a math department meeting before class started, teach all day (graded papers/called parents during lunch breaks), often covered other classes during my planning period because there are never enough substitutes, and I also coached so as soon as the bell rang, I would run out to practice.  Many days I didn't leave the school until after 9pm.  I would go home, eat dinner while working on lesson plans and work on school-related material until midnight.  I would get up and do it all over again. 

Yeah, we get summer break.  My summer vacation was spent working on re-doing lessons and attending workshops and classes to get enough CEUs (education credits) to get re-licensed (which is required every 5 years).  I had no life for 6 years other than teaching.  I loved it and hated it.

Then I had a family.  I tried for 6 months to continue teaching, but I couldn't take care of my daughter and family the way I needed to do while teaching.

That is what a good teacher should do.  But the good teachers are leaving, just like me, because of how the country views us.  We are asked to do more and more and more for less pay and with no respect.  It's downright nasty.  It's the same with servicemen and police officers and firefighters.  All the people who should be the most respected, and the highest paid because of what they go through to help everyone else - and yet, they are not.  What is this country doing???  What is wrong with society?  What happened to the days when we helped our neighbors and families?

I still hope there are people like me out there, fighting for the good of the cause, and I know that when my children grow older that I will go back to teaching because I still want to help more children succeed, even when they think they can't.  I'd like to inspire someone to be more than they can be.  That's what the American dream used to be, and it still can be if we just respect one another instead of fighting one another.

I hope the next time you see a teacher who inspired or helped you, that you thank them instead of blaming them for our country's problems.  We are just trying to help the next generation become better.  That's what we all should be doing.

One LONG week...

Well, it's been a while since I've posted.  What can I say?  Life gets crazy and I have forgotten to stop and think about things lately.

This week started on Saturday (I know, that is usually when the week ends, but mine started here).  I was at Jordan High School standing in the pouring rain watching athletes racing hard in the miserable weather on Saturday, and then we took a weather delay after some thunder and lightning came rolling in.  Eventually, the meet was called off and we all went home.  When I got home, the weather was actually nice in Mebane (where I live), so I went for a run of about 6-7 miles.  I was feeling good, but when I got home, I suddenly had severe abdominal pain and nausea.  I could pinpoint it to my right side and right away Steve & I thought the same thing - appendicitis!  So we had Grandma & Papa come watch the kids and we rushed to Urgent Care. 

From there we were sent to the ER for further imaging - either appendicitis or ovarian torsion.  I began to actually feel better on the way to the ER (isn't that how these things go?), but we still went to get everything checked out.  After several ultrasounds and a CT scan, the doctors found that I had a large ovarian cyst (4.5 cm) on my right ovary, and the weight probably caused the ovary to twist on itself from the running, causing intense pain.  The good thing was that it had untwisted itself at that point, so I didn't need to go through surgery.  They suggested a follow-up with my OB-GYN.  We got home a little after 2am Sunday morning.

Jake woke me up at 6am Sunday morning.  Fun times.  I spent the day trying to spring clean the house.  I started in Jake's room and never finished.

Wednesday I went to Walmart for groceries.  Ella tells me she doesn't feel well, so we head straight home instead of the park (as I had planned).  When we get home and I get Jake down for a nap, Ella starts complaining that her eye hurts.  It has lots of green eye boogers coming out of it, and she's running a fever, so I call the pediatrician.  No available appointments for that day, so I have to take her to Urgent Care.  I drop the spirit pack at practice, let the coaches know what's going on, and leave.  Long story short - Ella has pink eye.  Fun times, I tell you.

Thursday I have my follow-up appointment in the afternoon.  The cyst is still the same size, and I am scheduled for a re-check in 6 weeks.  I basically have 3 options for how this cyst will turn out:
1) the cyst will burst, and it will be incredibly painful, but the body will heal itself and everything should go back to normal
2) the cyst will NOT burst, but it may cause an ovarian torsion, which will be incredibly painful, I could lose my ovary, and it will require surgery to fix
3) the cyst will NOT burst, I don't have an ovarian torsion, and it's still the same size at the 6 week check up, so I get scheduled for surgery to remove the cyst.

So in 2 out of 3 options, I have surgery.  I'm actually really hoping for #1, but really praying against #2 at this point.  I'm also restricted in my running activities because that can cause the torsion.  I was just getting back into a good running routine.  I'm going to go out of my mind!!!  ARGHHHHH!!!