I met with a teacher this afternoon who expressed her unhappiness about her job. She doesn’t like her school, her administration, or her students. She wants a new job and is frustrated because so few teaching jobs are open. Since Georgia has suffered from a teacher shortage for close to two decades, it’s hard to reconcile the fact that there are no openings for teachers.
As I drove home this afternoon, I kept thinking about how frustrating it must be to awaken every morning and prepare for a job I hate. What must it be like to walk inside a school I detest or to face children I do not like?
I’m blessed to teach in an outstanding school where I teach remarkable students. Whereas a few of them frustrate me periodically, I suspect I also frustrate a few of them as well. For the most part, however, we stick together. I take care of them and they take care of me. My job isn’t perfect, but I don’t know anyone who has a perfect job. With the exception of one year over a decade ago, I have always loved my job, regardless of where I taught. I have taught “challenging” students who were some of the most interesting kids I have ever met. I have taught in old schools with little money and poor facilities, but somehow we always obtained whatever we needed to help kids. I’ve worked with exasperating administrators, but we always found a way to laugh about their petty requirements.
Particularly in such dire economic times when few jobs are available, I awaken every morning and thank the good Lord that I have a job when so many people do not. I have always found that my attitude improves when I learn to be grateful for what I have, and I sincerely hope that’s one of those life lessons that I pass on to my students. Sometimes when I start to feel depressed or frustrated, I stop and count my blessings and realize just how fortunate I am.
