A Teacher's Day: Guest Post

"Inside My Classroom" by knittymarie is licensed under

 As many of my readers know, my husband works as a high school teacher for a school in a very low income rural school district. Resources are limited, and many of the students come from disadvantaged homes. 

His job has been a difficult one lately, especially in a post Covid world. I invited him to do a guest post here talking about a day he recently had that sums up what his job has been like this year.

 He wrote this on his phone while chaperoning at an academic event, in between directing students and fielding questions. 

I wish I could say this was an abnormal day or week.  It wasn’t.  It was just a weak point for me where my wall unexpectedly came down and I had to scramble to prevent it from contaminating other people.

The school where I work has a rotating morning and breakfast duty schedule.  Every few weeks, my department is assigned to supervise the gathering area of students before school. 

In years past I’ve mingled with the students, talked with them.  Joked with them.  I’ve answered questions, reminded kids of assessments, even helped with homework or tutored.  This year, I have been bringing my chromebook into the space and answering emails from my peers, supervisors, parents, and students instead.  I’ve done lesson planning, content creation, grading, whatever needs to be done.  Multitasking has become a survival skill this year.

        This week was especially difficult.  My morning time was occupied because of this rotating duty.  My conference period has been occupied with meetings that were scheduled without consulting me.  Things like ARD committee assessments for special education students, state exam preparation planning (the teacher who was in charge of this had to retire early due to health concerns- I'm helping to fill the gap for the rest of the year), sales pitches for content preparation materials, and coaching coworkers. 

All week I hadn’t had access to this conference period because of demands placed upon me from outside.  Which means things that I needed to do like grade work, create or update lessons, answer emails, reach out to parents, or reserve hotels for a state level debate trip, request meal money, register the students for it, and so on are pushed into that morning period.

    This week, these two aspects of my job, the normal classroom stuff and all the extra duties I've been asked to take on, were on a collision course.  Combined, the effective result was that I did not have my conference period to actually do my own work until Friday. 

As I sat at my desk, in a quiet room, the announcement system chimed on and the attendance clerk began her announcement.  To my surprise, they asked three students to report to my room… no reason given.  I had not asked for them.  Perplexed, I picked up my phone and called to figure out what was going on.  I was told the guidance counselor was in a virtual meeting but asked that the kids report to my room.

  Once the students showed up, we did some quick common denominator investigation and I figured out that they all were working on a speech to possibly earn a scholarship.  Having not much else to work on, I asked if they all had a speech ready, one did not.  I asked the other two to help that student compile a speech and sent them out to an area to work.  As I resumed my tasks, I heard the counselor coming down the hallway.  As she entered she began telling me how she needed my help.  The three students stood near the door unsure of what was going on.

 

I was frozen.  I hadn’t realized how overwhelmed I was.  The lack of time to work on what I needed to get done, the constant assignment of tasks absent any communication, the inability to balance academic needs of my students with my mental health– all of it, began to boil over.

I somehow calmly asked the students to please wait outside. I closed the door and sat across from the counselor who is also my friend.  I began telling her that I valued her as a friend, I loved her dedication to my students and what was going to follow was not about her– it was about me and the year I was having.  It all just came pouring out, I absolutely unloaded on my poor friend, none of which was her fault.  She rarely asked anything of me and it was always the pattern that anything she asked, I would do– because she only ever asked when she really and truly needed my help… but this time, I just couldn’t, and that hurt me. 

She was very understanding and we found a solution to her need that didn’t involve me.  Until that moment, I hadn’t realized the knife’s edge I was walking on this week. 

For reference, this was 2 hours into the school day.  I had another 7 hours to go.

Thankfully, nothing else happened until the afternoon.

    To my surprise, a student asked to miss my last class to speak with a recruiter.  I had a quiz scheduled– but I let him go anyway. 

This student is one of the more economically disadvantaged students.  His father passed a few years back while in the middle of a home renovation.  So his family has been living with blankets instead of glass for windows for three years.  Recently, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.  His older brother very likely has slipped into drug sales.  This student, recognizing the cycle of poverty and struggles his family has endured was seeking an exit.  He was nervous about meeting the recruiter.  He wasn’t just asking for permission to miss. He was seeking reassurance that he had value for the Army, that he wasn’t making a mistake.

  This student, who cannot afford college, who makes B’s when he can find the time to study wanted out.  I talked him through how the process works and assured him that talking with the recruiter was not an obligation in any way.  I also mentioned that he should consider other branches as well.  Not that there is anything wrong with the Army, but there are different career paths he can take with different branches and the benefits aren’t always the same.  After our little discussion, he went to have his meeting and he returned to late to take his quiz, but energized and excited.

My Friday is what teaching in Covid +1 is like.  Educators are overwhelmed.  Administrators are being pushed to the max.  Students are still confused about where to go and how to proceed.  Sadly, my students are the ones who likely will pay the heaviest price.  Society will celebrate students who earn top marks despite virtual learning or covid protocols.  This young man who buried his father a few years ago, has an older brother who is not helping at all, and a mother who is diagnosed with cancer has lackluster grades. He will go unnoticed by most.  But I celebrate him.  I praise him for making a tough decision to end a cycle of poverty, for taking a job to ensure that he will be able to help his mother pay for her treatments.  I’ll probably never forget this guy.

Oh, and he is taking his quiz on Monday with the students who were absent on Friday.