It Is Hard Because...

     I think we all agree that teaching is hard.  Teaching may not be rocket science or brain surgery, but it is just as difficult and failure is just as tragic.  We do not have one task or one set of skills, but we must have thousands to touch 30 students every year, year after year.  All 30students do not learn the same way, and next years 30 will learn different than last years 30.  The only people who think teaching is easy are those who have not done it or those who are doing it wrong.  We all agree that this teaching thing is a tough gig, but what makes it so hard.  Chapter 7 of Fulfilling the Promise does a great job of pointing out why it is difficult to be an effective teacher.  The book gives a very comprehensive list on why it is difficult, but I do not think it is all inclusive.  Just like every student is different every teacher is different and will have a set of challenges that are unique to them.  The text does a good job of covering the most common problems and the pressures that nearly all teachers will feel.

      It is hard because you have 30 students, all with different personalities and attitudes.  Some students are easy to care for, but others you must work at.  The student who constantly shouts out or is disruptive in other ways while you are teaching a lesson that you know is important.  It is hard because you have too many students and to find the time to spend building a connection and a relationship take time, time that is difficult to come by.

     It is hard because you have a life outside of the classroom and school doors.  You have responsibilities to family and friends and they require your time and talents.  It is hard to find the balance between students and life.  Both are important and both need you.

     It is hard because we must constantly be learning new ways to ensure learning in our classroom.  We must learn how to make sure that each student in our class is getting the things they need to be productive and effective students and people.  We do not know how to teach responsively.  If we are one of the lucky fews who had great teachers modeling high-quality learning thats great, but just because it was effective for us does not mean it will be effective with the students in our current class.  

     It is hard because we have outside pressures telling us what we need to teach.  They may even be telling us how to teach.  Not all information we get will be the best for students, but possibly the best for scoring high on high stakes tests.  We may feel that students are being reduced to simple scores on these tests.

     Without a doubt, teaching is hard.  Mentioned above are only a few of the challenges we will face and the demands that will be placed upon us.  Mentioned in prior posts was the charge that we take no excuses from our students when learning becomes hard.  We can take no excuses when teaching becomes hard.  It will be hard, but we must embrace the challenge and do it because it is hard.