72 years young…a 36 year career in public education, still doing WASC Studies of schools….
All of what you said is true. All of it. What is also true is looking at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and asking if what I did made a difference.
And then a 50 year old man comes up to you and says, “Your class made all the difference in the world to me, I decided to become a lawyer (or doctor) or even teacher, because of your class.”
That my friend is why you should hitch up your ego, take a deep breath, and go back into it.
There are few professions that make a difference..teaching is one of them.
By the way I am a Stanford grad, with an MA…could have done lots of things…but I decided to make a difference. I am one of those idealistic guys.
The best experiences I had was with the most difficult..and I was an administrator for over about half of my tour of duty. I wasn’t one of those three years and then administrator.
I always went into the toughest schools, the poorest neighborhoods, looking to turn a kid around..And I hope to think I saved a few.
One would be enough.
Look, the United States of America biggest achilles heel is education. We under value it and pay for it K-12 at an ridiculously low level. Our crime rate is telling; it tells us we don’t care about teachers and educators and kids.
But still, where are we if everyone walks? Where is the young bright kid, who has no family to speak of, who latches on to you as his mentor? What if your aren’t there? What if you aren’t there to be a mentor to a struggling teacher colleague?
And that makes a big difference as well. I was a teacher for about half of my career, so when I evaluated a teacher it was a peer and not as an enemy.
Instruction is the key, not curriculum…Instruction is what it is all about….
And so far computers can’t do that…instruction…so far all the technical mumbo jumbo in the world cannot replace a teacher.
It gets easier by the way the longer you teach. Those that are greedy work in business, those that want to do the work of humanity….teach.