The Teacher's (ridiculously long) Manifesto

(I would like to dedicate this post to the indefatigable Kitty Boles, who is the kind of teacher, and cheerleader for teachers, that I strive to be)

Alrighty.....I had a post planned all about the Perfume Pagoda--and the unbearably beautiful journey that I took to get there (look at all of the pictures on the website that I linked. It will give you a very small idea of how beautiful it all was)--but instead I think I need to take a minute and write a few words in defense of my profession.

So recently I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what my next step should be after my time in Thailand is over. I am currently in sort of a "hybrid role" as an administrator and a teacher--that is, I am simultaneously developing the curriculum AND implementing it. It has been a tremendous experience, and I am definitely in love with curriculum development and the research that it entails. My inner nerd does a happy dance every time I print out a scholarly article on emergent curriculum or vocabulary or motivation. I am now cultivating new skills and knowledge which, combined with a fancy shmancy degree, means that I should technically be able to go out and really Do Some Awesome Things. Some things that flash through my mind are working for NGOs and curriculum companies and creating ways to mobilize resources in order to foster literacy worldwide.

But, at the end of the day, all I want to do is TEACH. It's my love, my passion, my calling. And this is going to sound completely crazy, but there is a small part of me that feels a little guilty admitting that.

Now, sure, there are those wonderful voices who say that teaching is such an honorable profession, and that we are an underappreciated lot, and that we are heroes, and we make a real difference. And a big, thunderous applause and adamant thanks to those voices from me! However, sadly, there are certain realities about this profession--and the way it is perceived by American society (I say American because, hell, teachers are REVERED here in Thailand)--that also incite a chorus of negative voices.

Without reiterating the entirety of my Teachers, Leadership, and Power course that I took in grad school (and which unquestionably changed my life), and without sounding like I am slandering the profession that I love more than anything, I just want to point out some of these realities. First of all, teaching is a flat career. By and large your job description on the first day does not vary greatly on the last day. There is no career ladder, and certainly the top undergraduates in the country are not going into teaching (unless, of course, they choose to participate in Teach For America, as I did (and it is an experience which I cannot recommend highly enough). However, the sad reality is that most of these talented individuals go on to something "bigger," like law school or business school or medical school). The pay and the prestige are both meager, and it is not a job that is synonymous with intellectual prowess. It's not a job that individuals have if they are serious about having an Important Career.

During my second year of Teach For America (before I was completely certain that I was going to be in this field for the rest of my life....hell, journalism was looking mighty appealing!!), I had a meeting with one of a zillion educational consultants that had come to my school--a school that was failing abysmally, and which TFA eventually pulled out of like that last helicopter on the Embassy roof in Saigon. I had a long and thoughtful conversation with this woman who had spent 25 years in the classroom. At the end of it, she looked at me over the top of her bifocals (um, I seriously hope I don't ever wear bifocals, even after 25 years in the classroom) with all of the wisdom of a seasoned veteran, and said these words that have been forever seared into my brain:

"You're too smart to be a teacher."

And she would not be the last person to say that to me. Even my coworkers at my last school didn't understand why I would want to waste my time and money going to Harvard for grad school when I could get a perfectly good degree at Arizona State for, like, an 80th of the price. "What's the point?? It's not like you're going to get paid more just because your degree is from Harvard!" What they seemed to be asking, though, is why I would want to go to such a prestigious school for such a seemingly insignificant degree. And, to be honest, HGSE does seem to be the ugly stepsister of the rest of Harvard's schools. It is definitely on the bottom rung in terms of funding, and one only has to compare the restrooms in the Ed School to those at Harvard Business School (with their marble floors and neatly arranged baskets of tampons and toilets that actually FLUSH) to see how wide the spectrum really is (I'm sorry if I sound like I'm hating.....I'm really not. The time I spent at HGSE was the most incredible time of my entire life. It is a simultaneously grueling and supportive environment, and I frequently find myself longing for it again).

BUT. But but but.......

It wasn't until I began this administrative work that I realized how important the profession of teaching really is, and how it is so incredibly unfortunate that there seems to be an overwhelming misconception that the only real change in education can occur OUTSIDE of the classroom. A friend of mine in grad school was leaving the classroom to go into policy because she didn't think that the teaching profession had a big enough impact. And I see her point: While you most certainly impact one classroom full of children each year, you are not necessarily making a systemic change on a large scale. I also found it interesting that most people in the policy programs at Harvard (people who are brilliant and dedicated and will create tremendous change) had never set foot in the classroom. Don't get me wrong: each and every one of them will make a valuable contribution to the field. I just worry because, in this day and age of horrific educational policy, there is a large and hideous disconnect between policy and practice. And, for various reasons, the practice is not the place in education where the prestige is and where the real power seems to be. However, for me, as a teacher, I have a hard time stomaching the things that policymakers say that teachers "should" be doing and "aren't doing well enough" when they have no real understanding of the realities of daily life in schools and classrooms, and the tremendous obstacles that teachers must overcome each day in order to get the job done.

And, when it comes right down to it, you can create all of the policies that you want. You can secure gobs of funding, and mobilize resources, and teacher-proof the curriculum, and create hundreds of standardized tests, and create school labels, and raise salaries (hell, I sure wouldn't complain!!), and point fingers, and analyze data. But it ultimately comes down to the kids and student achievement. And if a teacher isn't ready, willing, or able, then it just Ain't Gonna Happen. The biggest form of power that teachers have is our veto power. This is all at once a wonderful and terrible fact of the profession: At the end of the day, teachers are going to close their doors and do what they're gonna do, for better or worse. And yes, I admit it, there are a lot of horrifically BAD teachers out there who are completely bitter and not at all dedicated. I'm certainly not trying to glorify all teachers everywhere, though I do think the nature of the profession, and the formidable environments that schools can be, certainly has a rather large role in creating bitter teachers. I just think it's sad that this profession does not attract the talent that it needs and deserves. People who, in the words of Joe Dirt, have "YES" in their hearts.

Well, I sure do have a resounding YES in my heart. And while I may always hear "Oh, isn't that cute!!" whenever I tell people I'm an elementary school teacher (combined with a lollipop and pat on the head....yeah, my friend who's a high powered attorney in Minneapolis sure does not get that response when she tells people what she does for a living), well, grad school was a breeze compared to the real, raw intellectual challenges that this profession presents on a daily basis. Granted, you may not believe me if you saw me in my Miss Magic Math costume, or playing a word game with Pinky the Phonics Puppet, but it's true. The best part of going to professional development workshops, and forming "think tanks" with other teachers, and doing lots of research is knowing that that knowledge is going to have a direct and tangible impact on the lives of students. And it's exciting that teaching is such a powerful vehicle for learning. And, y'know, there's just nothing like going to bed at night knowing that, after a long struggle, Juan successfully sounded out a word today.

Man....I LOVE this job.

So I guess my hope is that the next time I'm coloring a poetry chart, or practicing my "parts of a friendly letter dance," and my negative inner voice rears its ugly head ("You went to Harvard for this?? For THIS?!?!?!"), my inner teacher will send it to the Thinking Chair.

Oh, and if you can read this, thank a teacher!!
(Sorry....I couldn't resist :) )