Parent Conference week

Honestly, is there any other position in the world that is less appreciated than a teacher?  I am appalled at some of the comments and reactions I get at this time of the school year.  Not just to me but to every teacher I know. 

TEACHER:

…must stand above all students, yet be on their level
... must be able to do 180 things not connected with the subject being taught
... must run on coffee and leftovers,
... must communicate vital knowledge to all students daily and be right most of the time
... must have more time for others than for herself/himself
... must have a smile that can endure through pay cuts, problematic children, and worried parents
... must go on teaching when parents question every move and others are not supportive
... must have 6 pair of hands.

(Taken from the Poem "Creation of a Teacher"- author unknown

 I could certainly add a few more...

must enforce a dress code that no one agrees with,

must chase down parents-often with multiple phone calls to numbers that have been changed or disconnected with no notice given to the school,

apparently expected to spend my evening hours calling the parents of each of my 130 students who didn't turn in their homework -each and every day

support, enrich, extend the classroom curriculum, which, by the way just has about 400 standards to cover in 35 weeks.

Do not teach to the state standardized test but make sure that everyone passes-not just your subject but all of them

Oh, I better not go on, it is just making me more and more frustrated.

Anyway, I hope that you find some way to be appreciated for what you do, no matter what it is, each and every day.  If it weren't for the language arts teacher I work with, and the support of my family, there is no way I would make it through each day.

one more day + about 15 more conferences=spring break