Letting the hot air out

Pennsylvania English teacher vents and doesn't get away with it

This blog entry shall be brief as I have a lot of work to get done before the week begins again -- I don't disagree with the fact that a teacher blogged about a few terrible days at work, or with the choice of words she used as she could best describe her perception at the young people's [mis]education. I am in complete support of a person venting, as people will do, on their own personal blogs, be they public or private -- and I believe hers was private; or, at least, it did not name specific students NOR did it mention the place she worked.

I just feel that, as an educator, we are looked upon to find the diamonds in the rough, or to help maintain the ones that already stand out among the others. As an educator, it is up to us to maintain ourselves as people of emotional, mental, and physical stability -- not as superheroes or even super humans; rather, as people you can see yourself going to for help or for someone to talk to because nobody else will listen to you. It's a lot to live up to, but I have always stood that if you keep things positive, and keep Work Life at work and Home Life at home, you will have success in those with whom you interact. Positivity is a huge component in my teaching philosophy that I've developed over the years and it's helped me to befriend, not antagonize, the young ones I see and teach everyday.

Do you remember what high school was like? Angst, misconceptions, drama, self-consciousness, body image issues, eating disorders, homework, material goods, grades, expectations everywhere . . . The last person I would want labeling myself and my peers as stoned slackers would be a teacher. When all else was collapsing around me, I found comfort in going to school, learning things, and watching my quirky teachers do their thing because I knew I could count on it to be there. Sometimes it wasn't, because nobody's perfect. If I could recall a time when a teacher called us any of the things this PA educator did in the classroom, it's since been overshadowed by the positive aspects of school.