To the teacher that feels like they don’t do enough…

To the teacher that feels like they don’t do enough… 

That just means you care.  We chose a difficult career.  Our job is one of the most grueling in the United States.  There is a reason we have a 30% divorce rate and a 50% chance of not making it past the first five years. As a teacher, you are always going to want to do more.  You will never have enough hours in the week to focus on your students, you will never get the amount of planning time you want, and trust me, we will never have the budget we really need.  But that doesn’t mean we don’t do enough.  I always want to do more.  I wish I didn’t get so tired after standing all day, so I could give my fourth block the appropriate patience I give the others, but it doesn’t mean I don’t love them as much as the other classes, it just means I am human.  And so are you.  So, you don’t master the art of eating standing up or you’re the teacher that can never seem to figure out the copier.  Don’t let the teachers who “seem to have it all figured out” scare you into thinking they are better off than you, because here is a little secret, they don’t have it all figured out.  We’re teachers, no one has mastered everything, and the second we start to, everything changes and we start all over again.  Your primary focus should be your kids.  Do you have a lesson plan put together can all benefit from?  Was there a life event that occurred that you need to take time to talk about?  Are your going to be able to put your best foot forward, if not, you could be compromising their education.  Our tiny humans don’t always have an advocate, sometimes they just need someone who cares, and you get to be that person.  If you are a teacher that is feeling like you don’t do enough, don’t let that scare you away, I think it just means you’re in the right place.