A Day in the Life
A Rapid City teacher, who is ranked 55th in pay out of 136 districts, typically begins their day when they arrive at school by 7:15 AM (at the latest). This is to prep their classrooms and lessons for the day ahead. It involves gathering materials and supplies, from markers to manipulatives, for each child. Before the bell rings, many staff members are outside monitoring the playground or taking that quick parent phone call. The bell rings and the first fifteen minutes are spent settling students down, hearing about their night or weekend, and reviewing the plan for the day. At the elementary, the day consists of teaching all the core subjects in a creative and engaging way by making sure they meet all the different needs of 25-30 students. This is done by differentiating instruction for each student and making sure they get their share of one on one time. (This is now going to happen without Math and Literacy support.) It also involves parent phone calls, trainings, meetings, grading papers, and planning ahead.
At the middle and high school levels, many of our teachers see 180 students a day. They must plan for and keep track of each and every one. They must have personal relationships with them and challenge those who need it and support those who are behind. They are a major influence in the lives of children who are about to embark on college or a career in the real world. They are the last of a long line of mentors who shaped and prepared our children to be successful adults. And their job also involves parent phone calls, trainings, meetings, grading papers, and planning ahead. For many we need to add on club advisors, coaches, and the fine arts.
All teachers, K-12, are implementing, administrating, and evaluating local, state, and federally required tests for each and every student. These results are driving their instruction and consistently causing them to re-evaluate their methods and practices. They seek professional development and furthering their education on their own time, out of their own pay. Most teachers prefer a classroom that rates its success on participation, engagement, mastery and demonstration of skills on a daily basis, and how far each child has come. They work tirelessly, up until the very last day of school, to ensure these students are ready to be promoted and have mastered an entire years’ worth of new knowledge.
So, what is it that our teachers want? Besides being fairly compensated for a 50-60 hour work week, where most only receive 25 minutes a day for lunch/personal time; they want strong schools. They want effective and supportive leadership. They want more families to be involved. They want a high quality curriculum filled with collaboration and feedback. They want consistent professional development on what works best for students. They want help; help in the classroom, help from parents, and help with students who have behavioral problems or learning disabilities. Our students’ best learning does not happen without this kind of support. How can one teacher balance talented and gifted students, English as a second language learners, emotional behaviors, poverty, learning disabilities, and all of the other factors that bring diversity to our classrooms? We are faced with staggering statistics like the fact that we have 655 homeless students and 43% of our kids are on free and reduced lunch. Or the fact that 60-70 teaching positions will be cut each year if we do not secure more funding. How does one teacher overcome those odds?
Effective and engaged teachers are vital to the academic success of our children. Cutting support and potentially raising classroom size will jeopardize this standard. Looking at the “Day in the Life” of a teacher may give us a different perspective. It is not the “clock out at 3:30 and summer’s off” dream that so many believe to be true. It is a fine balancing act that takes years of experience to refine. The paperwork, the phone calls, the planning, the meetings, and the organizing are all done with a smile; keeping the idea that you are making a difference in the life of a child in the forefront. The refusal to be discouraged or defeated when it seems everyone has an opinion about what you are doing and how you are doing it is admirable. Really, all most teachers want to do is to get that one child to smile, to make a difference, to inspire, or to change someone’s stars. From Kindergarten to 12th grade all they want, all they really, really want is to TEACH…
A Rapid City teacher, who is ranked 55th in pay out of 136 districts, typically begins their day when they arrive at school by 7:15 AM (at the latest). This is to prep their classrooms and lessons for the day ahead. It involves gathering materials and supplies, from markers to manipulatives, for each child. Before the bell rings, many staff members are outside monitoring the playground or taking that quick parent phone call. The bell rings and the first fifteen minutes are spent settling students down, hearing about their night or weekend, and reviewing the plan for the day. At the elementary, the day consists of teaching all the core subjects in a creative and engaging way by making sure they meet all the different needs of 25-30 students. This is done by differentiating instruction for each student and making sure they get their share of one on one time. (This is now going to happen without Math and Literacy support.) It also involves parent phone calls, trainings, meetings, grading papers, and planning ahead.
At the middle and high school levels, many of our teachers see 180 students a day. They must plan for and keep track of each and every one. They must have personal relationships with them and challenge those who need it and support those who are behind. They are a major influence in the lives of children who are about to embark on college or a career in the real world. They are the last of a long line of mentors who shaped and prepared our children to be successful adults. And their job also involves parent phone calls, trainings, meetings, grading papers, and planning ahead. For many we need to add on club advisors, coaches, and the fine arts.
All teachers, K-12, are implementing, administrating, and evaluating local, state, and federally required tests for each and every student. These results are driving their instruction and consistently causing them to re-evaluate their methods and practices. They seek professional development and furthering their education on their own time, out of their own pay. Most teachers prefer a classroom that rates its success on participation, engagement, mastery and demonstration of skills on a daily basis, and how far each child has come. They work tirelessly, up until the very last day of school, to ensure these students are ready to be promoted and have mastered an entire years’ worth of new knowledge.
So, what is it that our teachers want? Besides being fairly compensated for a 50-60 hour work week, where most only receive 25 minutes a day for lunch/personal time; they want strong schools. They want effective and supportive leadership. They want more families to be involved. They want a high quality curriculum filled with collaboration and feedback. They want consistent professional development on what works best for students. They want help; help in the classroom, help from parents, and help with students who have behavioral problems or learning disabilities. Our students’ best learning does not happen without this kind of support. How can one teacher balance talented and gifted students, English as a second language learners, emotional behaviors, poverty, learning disabilities, and all of the other factors that bring diversity to our classrooms? We are faced with staggering statistics like the fact that we have 655 homeless students and 43% of our kids are on free and reduced lunch. Or the fact that 60-70 teaching positions will be cut each year if we do not secure more funding. How does one teacher overcome those odds?
Effective and engaged teachers are vital to the academic success of our children. Cutting support and potentially raising classroom size will jeopardize this standard. Looking at the “Day in the Life” of a teacher may give us a different perspective. It is not the “clock out at 3:30 and summer’s off” dream that so many believe to be true. It is a fine balancing act that takes years of experience to refine. The paperwork, the phone calls, the planning, the meetings, and the organizing are all done with a smile; keeping the idea that you are making a difference in the life of a child in the forefront. The refusal to be discouraged or defeated when it seems everyone has an opinion about what you are doing and how you are doing it is admirable. Really, all most teachers want to do is to get that one child to smile, to make a difference, to inspire, or to change someone’s stars. From Kindergarten to 12th grade all they want, all they really, really want is to TEACH…