9 month job

I want to know where the myth of 'teacher's have an easy job' came from.

You see, I always had heard that teaching, while a time-consuming job, was also the easiest in the world. After all, what other job allows you hour and a half long breaks, gets out at 3:00, takes two week paid vacations in December, another week in February, another week in April, and then three months in the summer? Heck, sign me up!

But as teachers know, that is a misconception. True, while we get an hour and a half break during the day, the half hour is usually only 20 minutes, with 10 minutes spent getting kids into the lunchroom without incident, while the hour is either spent fighting with a copy machine or making phone calls to parents. While some teachers do get out at three, that is really just the time that the students are dismissed. Many teachers, myself included, find that 3:00 is when the second half of the workday begins, with meetings, tutoring, or other school-related activities, not to mention personal obligations, like car pools for your family or classes that you run to in an effort to earn the really big bucks in administration or the like.

Those vacations? If only... Like most teachers, my vacations are spent looking up resources, attending workshops, writing lesson plans, or, if it's been a really rough year, collapsing. I find my vacations to be even busier than the work year, trying to make up time not spent doing many of the things that need to be done, such as doctors appointments, attending to chores around the house, etc., in addition to work-related activities.

So why do it? Personally, I do it for the feeling I get when a student 'get's it'. I do it for the sense of accomplishment I feel. I do it for the look of joy in my student's eyes when they see me. OK, the truth is I also do it for the occasional look of hate and distrust in a kid's eyes (alright,I'm a bit of a masochist!). I do it because I absolutely love what I'm doing. It's wonderful to wake up in the morning looking forward to going in to see students and colleagues who bring contentment to my life with their warmth, their humor, and who honor me by allowing me to take part in their lives.

Not everyone agrees. I've taken to avoiding teacher's lounges and certain colleagues because I absolutely cannot stand their constant complaints, whether it's about the students, the administration, or the state of their pension funds. I avoid colleagues coming down the hall with a look of fire in their eyes and a sheaf of paper in their hands, heading for the main office. I've ducked parents who are gunning for me because I had the nerve to place my hands on their child while breaking up a fight. I've been injured by students who have so much anger in their hearts that punches, or chairs, have been thrown.

But in my heart, I know that this is where I belong, and I accept the challenge.