Disconnected

As a teacher I noticed oftentimes that many people once out of the classroom lose touch with what it’s like in one. They seem to forget the everyday routine. The little details that add up. It was one of things I promised myself I didn’t want to forget. I never wanted to forget what it means to be in that classroom everyday. And I feel like I failed.

I have only been out of the classroom for four years and I work with districts and sometimes teachers, but I have noticed it is more difficult to put myself back in those shoes I wore for ten years. My first thought isn’t what a suggestion or requirement will look like for the individual teacher, but rather the bigger picture. My why has and always will be what is best for students, but how I would go about it now versus when I was a teacher has changed. I see different elements of education and the limitations placed on it by many sources. I do not have this central classroom focus of “my” students, but truly all students.

One thing I have discovered is not everyone has the same why for being a teacher. While I have met the teacher here or there who was just in it for a paycheck, I have now met teachers who just see students differently than I do. They label students differently. And I don’t like labels. As a special education teacher and the fact that I work in that area still, it ticks me off to hear someone address a student as “can’t be helped” in their classroom, or the old “it’s not my job/those aren’t my students” excuse. It has kind of jaded me with my approach to teachers.

But recently I have had the privilege of working with some fantastic educators in different formats and have rediscovered that connection, just a little. I was so disconnected from the classroom and I caught a glimpse of what it used to be for me, and what it still is for others. Instagram teachers have also helped remind me of this- especially at the beginning of the school year with all those classroom setups and open houses. I miss being with the students, but I want to make these impacts on a larger scale. When you reach teachers, you reach exponentially more students.

But I believe all of our “why’s” are still the same: let’s do what’s best for kids.