Let Us ________
If you're a teacher, you know teaching isn't what it used to be. I am only in my fourth year of teaching, so I can't even imagine what people that have been in the profession for decades think. If you're not a teacher, you may be thinking, "Obviously teaching isn't what it used to be. There is so much technology now." You're right, that's part of it, but it's so much more. Teachers concerns of not being able to actually TEACH echo across the country. We can't give our students what they need because we don't have the resources or because we have to focus on something that they don't need. We don't have time to make our lessons everything they would have been because of the other demands, like paperwork and teaching social skills that parents seemed to have stopped teaching at home. We don't have time to provide learning opportunities because we're using our instructional time for testing and data collection.
In some aspects, I love that teaching is not what it used to be. I love that I have digital tools to help my students learn. I love that I have online professional learning networks to collaborate with teachers around the world. I love that I have time savers like Teachers Pay Teachers to avoid reinventing the wheel. I love that we are less focused on memorization and more focused on application. However, I don't love that numbers takes precedence over building relationships. I don't like that standardized data is more important than actual success in being able to perform 21st century skills.
This led me to wonder if only the teaching profession is facing this issue, or if other professions have also faced similar challenges as times have changed. Are police officers saying, "Just let me police?" Are doctors saying, "Just let me heal people?" Are engineers saying, "Just let me create?" Are mechanics saying, "Just let me fix it?" Is this a teaching problem, or a career problem? How did our focus shift so greatly from doing what we know is right, to doing what we have to do? I would imagine that teachers are not alone in this, and I hope we can get back to our roots. I am not afraid of change; I embrace it with open arms. However, change should come with a purpose. Are we doing what is truly better, or are these demands just burning us out?
Let teachers teach. Let police officers police. Let doctors heal. Let engineers create. Let mechanics fix. Let us do what we know and love, and watch change happen for the better,
