Teaching is a Work of Heart

Like I mentioned on my previous article, I am training to become a teacher, which means I get to experience different classrooms to observe instructors and their classroom management. I recently began interning at a Title I school, which I fell in love with. Almost 98% of the school consists of students who receive free or reduced lunch and are Spanish speaking. Now, we all have been inspired by our teachers before, but we have also been scarred by a teacher at some point in our life.

This semester I was paired with a woman who seemed to have really loved teaching when she was younger, but now she is working more towards her retirement. This was especially difficult to watch as she is what they call “burnt out”. A teacher has an endless list of things to create in a classroom, but at the top of the list is to create a safe environment.

The classroom I was assigned to was by far the coldest place I have ever been in terms of the school system. I have never witnessed so much yelling and inappropriate comments in my entire academic career. Mind you this is a first grade classroom, and all of the students are English language learners. Each day I would go fearful of what this woman would do next. Finally, I took all of my documentation to my practicum coordinator to show her the inappropriate behavior of this teacher. This teacher would yell comments such as “are you insane?” or “for the first time in your life, can you listen?”. Granted, I understand how much stress this teacher was under, but the moment your teaching career is just a job, get out!

As a future educator, I am so thankful that schools are trying to rid their students of these teachers. We need to bring excitement and safety back into these particular classrooms. Thankfully, there are so many incredible teachers out there and I hope to someday be called one of them. For now, keep your eyes and ears open to keep our children safe and let’s get rid of those negative teachers together! You have the power!