Teachers - how do you do it?

[Kath2003]

without going crazy that is.....

You've got I don't know how many students, many of which have individual requirements you have to adhere to - making it more and more difficult to ensure that everyone gets a good education. You have to spend so much time on only a few students that many could easily get "left behind". Then, you have to work extra hard and long to ensure that doesn't happen.

You've got parents that aren't cooperative. They blame you when their child does something wrong or incorrectly. They make it difficult for you to provide a quality education for the kids. They question your every move and question the validity of the assignments and work you give the student. Why don't they realize that you wouldn't waste your time on something that isn't worthwhile to the education of the children? Just because they can't see the worth in it doesn't mean it has none.

Sheesh... I don't know how or why you do it but I'm glad you do because I think I'd go insane if I had to. It must be a true labor of love.

I'd like to say some stuff about how working with children is wonderful, about how each lesson is beautiful seeing them blossom as learners etc....

But the truth is you have to just be crazy to begin with



When you put it like that, I don't know how I do it; I teach over 300 students, I have endless marking, endless lesson planning, I teach three subjects and I have a homeroom group who I see for three hours a week to support their 'personal, moral and social development'...when I think about it like that, I want to freak out myself

I do it because I love it; don't ask me why

 

[declansdad]

Actually, studies support inclusion for math because is raises everybody's scores.

There are also studies that show the opposite and no effect but that isn't what this thread is about.

 

[freckles and boo]

There are also studies that show the opposite and no effect but that isn't what this thread is about.

So are you only going to correct those with opposing views or are you planning on steering everyone back to the topic? And speaking of, this thread is ostensibly about how great teachers are. I agree.

 

[PrincessBelle94]

Teachers rule!

(There. Now everyone should be back on track.)

 

[declansdad]

So are you only going to correct those with opposing views or are you planning on steering everyone back to the topic? And speaking of, this thread is ostensibly about how great teachers are. I agree.

The thread is not about inclusion so why discuss it? If we do, it just turns into another argument and the original point is lost. Eventually someone talks about how bad teachers are and then someone says that isn't true. Before long we have a teacher-hating thread and it is locked.

 

[Magic Mom]

So you are against inclusion. I get that now.

I didn't read that into her post at all. I think it's true that as more and more kids require IEP's the teachers have less time to focus on the children without IEP's, Tho OP asked how she handles this as well as the other aspects of teaching, angry parents, etc. That question makes no judgement on inclusion and doesn't slam kids with IEP's. The bottom line is that there are only so many minutes in a day, and when a new required task is added to the day, time has to be taken away from something else.
I give teachers so much credit for everything they deal with and all the balls they juggle during the day.

 

[DizBelle]

YAY TEACHERS!!! Kudos to you for taking on such a challenge!!!

(to bring this back to my original point)

 

[Magic Mom]

YAY TEACHERS!!! Kudos to you for taking on such a challenge!!!

(to bring this back to my original point)

YAY teachers!!!!!!

 

[Liberty Belle]

In our district your math does not add up. We have full time aides in every classroom to accomodate the IEPs. In addition many plans do not require significant work for the teacher. So do, but not all. In my experience good teachers are able to handle different level students in a classroom. They can excellerate the high achievers, teach to the middle, and give extra support to those who need it. I acknowledge that this is a very difficult task which is why I support grouping children by ability. If schools were permitted to do this (in our area they are not) then teachers' jobs would be made easier.

Wow, that's awesome.

I'm a para in a second grade classroom. I'm responsible for helping 4 students with special needs and three who do not qualify because their IQs are too low (plus one whose mother is denying he has autism). I have to give them their sensory diets (brushing, among other things), plus fill in for the teacher when she has a meeting, has to leave the classroom in an emergency, or just needs extra help, plus I have to lead three small reading groups in the classroom and one reading and one math in the resource room. I also make copies and run errands for the teacher (even though I'm not supposed to) when she needs it.

The only reason I'm in the classroom is because one of the students has autism and requires full time assistance. If it wasn't for him, the teacher would have no other help.

I don't see how classrooms with children with IEPs and without paras do it.

 

[december]

Wow, this thread changed while I was busy teaching today!

I teach 120 kids a day, and about 10% have IEPs. We have no paras or any extra help. We usually don't even know who has an IEP until a month into the school year.

As fate would have it, after I posted this morning I got a visit from a former student. She brought me a letter telling me how much I meant to her, and how even though she was grateful for the way I taught her Alg, she was even more thankful for the way I took the time to care about her personally. That pretty much sums up why I teach.

 

[englishteacha]

Thanks for appreciating us. It's hard work, and some days I wonder why I do it. Then I get hugged by a student "just because," or my students laugh at my totally lame jokes just to humor me, and it makes my day.

 

[GeorgiaPeach8]

I think it is interesting that most of the teachers on this thread are stating that it is a challenge to meet the individual needs of so many students per class while many non-teachers are simply stating that "good teachers" can just do it.

I'm not really sure what to say about this except that it seems many people pay lip service to supporting teachers but deep down think that really good teachers can just mystically make it all happen.

 

[Teacher03]

Yay teachers! I am actually giving myself a pat on the back because I just really need it...it's been a difficult year for many reasons! But I also want to let all the other teachers know that they are appreciated and what they do make a difference. Those teachers are my inspiration to keep trying, even during the difficult years.

 

[vettechick99]

I was going to give you a snapshot of the life of a 1st grade teacher, but frankly I have no mental energy to do it. I can't even think straight after a day teaching - and it's not the kids that wear me out. It's everything else that I'm required to do - writing units, constant assessing, daily meetings during our planning (which means most days I don't get 5 mins to myself).

I am in school to get my masters in school counseling so I can stop teaching. The government has successfully ruined a wonderful profession. It makes me very sad.

 

[rie'smom]

Is that a slam on children with IEPs?

It took a few years for this to sink in. But I love what I do.
please don't be so defensive.

breezy is not the only one who read it this way.

No slam intended. But let's do a little math.

Based on the information I could find from the U.S. Department of Education, the average percentage of students that have IEPs are about 12.4 percent.

For a 7th grade teacher that has 6 classes each with 25 students, that's 18.6 students for which the teacher has to do individualized planning. Plus the plan for the balance of the students in his/her classes. So, on any given day (where the teacher has to plan for classes), the average teacher (with 6 classes of 25 students each) has to prepare 18.6 + 6 plans = 24.6 plans. 75% of the teacher's effort is spent for 12.5% of the students. 87.5% of the students get 25% of the teacher's effort. Add to this the amount of overhead in managing the work needed to teach and plan for so many students diffrently, it stands to reason that the overall quality of education is going to decrease.

I'm not going to argue law or rights or anything like that. I'm just going to point out math and logic.

If you have a child in a school and you're not happy with the way it is run, you have the option to switch schools or to homeschool. You don't have the option to change the Federal regulations.

There are job requirements-including IEPs. Teachers know what is expected of them. Those can deal with it stay, those who can't leave. It is like any other job.
At my daughter's school, the teachers only have aids in the lower grades. The upper grade teachers handle those with IEPs on their own and I haven't heard many complaints.

I agree with almost nothing Breezy says regarding politics, but I smelled the same odor she did when I opened this thread earlier. I was waiting to see how long it would take before this became about inclusion, IEPs, and "those kids" dragging everyone else down.

I sensed the stench as well.

 

[breezy1077]

If this is a yay teacher thread then great - yay teachers. But the OP's first half of the op dealt with a tongue in cheek "yay teacher" by telling them they're great despite the challenge of having kids with IEP's.

With that being said, my family has a long history of teachers in it. Including my Mom who's currently teaching an inclusion class of 4th graders (because, believe it or not - the "inclusion" students usually still get lumped together anyway). And my Dad who's a retired guidance counselor.

So.....Yay teachers. But you can have a thread like that without the tongue-in-cheek OP "slam" blaming kids with IEP's for potentially overworking the teacher and thereby damaging the other students education.

Now, I'll leave y'all to your thread.

 

[dipin]

So.....Yay teachers. But you can have a thread like that without the tongue-in-cheek OP "slam" blaming kids with IEP's for potentially overworking the teacher and thereby damaging the other students education.

I don't think anyone blamed kids with IEP for overworked teachers. Instead, I think the intention was to point out that the vast majority of teachers take upon themselves to make sure schools meet all the special ed mandates even though these mandates themselves are not funded. No one even suggested that IEP kids should do without the extra attention and health.

Unfortunately, too many politicians and administrators use special education as a way of looking good, creating more and more mandates, which would be ok, but they refuse to fund it. And it is a basic reality that when you increase what you expect from schools without funding it, it leads to many people being overworked.

To put a number on it: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act created a lot of new obligations for schools, but also included a provision that the federal government would fund 40% of the cost of these new obligations. In over 30 years of the act, federal funding never surpassed the 20% mark. The difference between what is required and what is funded is usually made up by the dedication of teachers, who take on additional work for no additional pay. Pointing out that most schools are not funded adequately for special needs children does not in any way imply that it is the children's fault.

It is unfortunate that the fact that special education is so underfunded often puts parents and teachers in conflict, while politicians profit by campaigning on a special ed platform and then refuse to fund it later.

 

[december]

I was going to give you a snapshot of the life of a 1st grade teacher, but frankly I have no mental energy to do it. I can't even think straight after a day teaching - and it's not the kids that wear me out. It's everything else that I'm required to do - writing units, constant assessing, daily meetings during our planning (which means most days I don't get 5 mins to myself).

I am in school to get my masters in school counseling so I can stop teaching. The government has successfully ruined a wonderful profession. It makes me very sad.

Me too! I should be finished in March of 2010.

 

[DizneeMommy]

From one mother and first grade teacher (who loves her job but is extrememly tired at the moment) to all you other teachers out there. . .

Hooray for you!!

(no discussion, no controversy. . .just HOORAY!! )

 

[Blueeyes101817]

My first couple of years of teaching, I took things very personally. If a parent complained about something, it really hurt me. I even went home crying many days in those first years. Luckily, I had great support at school from people that would convince me that I was doing all that I could. My principal told me during those early years that the parents are frustrated because their child isn't as successful as they had hoped they would be. They have to take it out on someone and you are in the firing range. .

This is advice I was given this year. i am in my first year of teaching Kindergarten. I absolutely love it, but I am always busy, in and out of school. In the first few months, there were a few days I would go home crying and I would take things personally. After talking to my state required mentor and some coworkers-i know that i cannot take these things personally..It has made things alot better since then