Thankfulness in a Thankless Job

I'm sitting here tonight surrounded by the fragrance of cakes baking, meatballs cooking, and waiting to put the next set of desserts in the oven, so we can make way for the pastries to be baked early in the morning.  I have more food than I need for the big crowd we are joining for Thanksgiving.  I have the love of a great guy to whom I've been blessed to call my husband for 33 years that seem like a brief honeymoon.  I still contend, rightly, that he is the greatest guy on the planet.  My daughter is busily peeling the twenty pounds of potatoes for tomorrow and is a joy and delight and has grown up to be a woman of whom I am most proud.  I have a wonderful family and am blessed enough to see them often.  I am the member of a loving church that sincerely prays and helps others.  They are my secret riches - people who really pray for you when you need it, or when others need it-you can't do better than that.  I have a job that I love-mostly.

It's the not mostly part that I think many teachers consider on a regular basis.  The micromanaging boss who doesn't back you up.  The principal or supervisor who clearly has no remembrance of what the job of teacher entails as they send an email with yet another thing that can be added to the list of things the teacher can do for what seems like no purpose.  The parent who emails the millisecond their child's grades are posted in the online, all because their A average of 98 dropped to a 97.5.  Or the parent who never sees the 16 emails, 2 flyers and rubric for the project their student "forgot" to turn in, but complains to administration that their child never knew about the project.  You know, the not mostly part of teaching.  The rude kids who don't appreciate the sacrifices you make for their learning.  The kids who purpose to disrupt the flow of the class and then pretend they don't know what you are talking about when you call them out on it.  The not mostly aspect of the job seeps into your personal life and personal time and the ability for you to be healthy the way you should be or creative the way you'd like to be.

It's easy to be thankful for the mostly part of the job - the days off at Christmas when you can be with your family, the fun of having students learn, the joy of the creative process of teaching, colleagues who inspire you to give your best, and the overall pleasantness of school life.  It's less easy to be thankful for the not mostly part of the job.

Tonight, I'm thankful for the whole job.  The great parts and the less great aspects.  I'm thankful to be a teacher and for every day with students where hope and change lie just ahead.  It's just my choice to be glad for the whole job.  It can be your choice as well.  I hope you join me in thankfulness for the ability to teach and to be a part of a school community.

Happy Thanksgiving.

First published 11/22/18