Got Questions? 15 Things You Should Know About Public Schools

I am a public school teacher married to a public school teacher with two kids in public school. I attended public school in California, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada.  I think I turned out ok. My mother-in-law was a public school teacher as were her mother and her father. Her sister was a public school teacher for some time. Many of my friends are public school teachers. Many of my friends send their kids to public school. If you ever have a question about what happens inside a school, just ask. I've spent the last 18 years with kids from all over the world, from poor homes and affluent homes, from Leave it To Beaver existences and the stuff of nightmares. I can tell you that teaching is tough, and for some kids school is tough. I can also tell you that teaching has made me more compassionate, more human, and more focused on the world around me.  Public schools get a bad wrap, and most of the time it's from people who don't go to them or work in them. Even if you are not in school, you know someone in your family or have a friend who is directly connected with a school.

I am by no means the expert on all things education, but I have been a teacher for almost 20 years, have worked in education policy, and have traveled the country visiting schools, speaking with teachers and students, and feel that I’ve learned a few things. With that said, here are 15 things I’d like to share or suggest:

1. Read what's happening at all levels: local, state, national. Pick up your phone or pen and speak up. The fate of kids and teachers isn't an us and them debate.
2. Don’t assume that because you went to school, that you know everything about how they work. Schools have evolved and will continue to do so. Technology, philosophy, funding, social climate can all affect the way schools function.
3. Teachers and school staff are top-notch multi-taskers. They are the master’s of not only keeping 25-45 ( or even 50+ in each period) students engaged and behaving but also tending to the 100’s of tasks that pop up on any given day. Don’t underestimate them.
4. Like in any profession, there are good and bad employees. Try not to let one bad story or bad experience taint the potential of the 3.5 million educators in our country.
5. Public school teachers pay for their advanced degrees, their recertification credits, their license renewals, their mandatory professional development credits, their classroom supplies. In most, if not all schools, they pay for lunch, coffee, a bottle of water, school shirts. This may be the norm in most professions, but the average yearly salary of a teacher is much less than let’s say an attorney or physician.
6. In any given classroom, there are 25-45 ( sometimes more, rarely less) who are all unique, diversely talented, from different backgrounds and experiences. This is what makes school great. It is, however the job of a single teacher, to meet the needs of all of those students, all at once. The most important part...most teachers can do it. Every. Day.
7. Teaching, or working anywhere in a school, can be exceptionally isolating. Children are wonderful, but spending 8+ hours a day without any adult interaction can take its toll. Teachers and staff need time to talk to other adults.
8. Teachers and school staff members are people too. They have families, pets, second jobs. They have to make dinner, go to soccer practice, attend worship services. They get sick like everyone else. Sometimes, educators act like they are invincible super-humans. They are people. Remember that.
9. Teachers are adults, not kids. This sounds like a simple, obvious statement. Often, the structures in place in schools are aimed at children, and there are no concessions for adults. They cannot use the restroom without permission, their internet access is filtered, they cannot make or receive phone calls during the instructional day, they often don’t have a choice about how they will use their lunch or prep time. Not a complaint, just an observation.
10. There would be no Academy Award winning actors, championship athletes, game changing scientists, or revolutionary leaders, without education. School is where children grow into themselves. They learn social skills, time management, consequences, how to take pride in a job well done, how to struggle, how to be empathetic, how to grapple with the confusion of the world. Schools need to be safe, supported, engaging, hospitable places. Support your local schools and educators. Nothing happens magically in schools. Schools need money, support, advocacy, legislation, and supplies to reach their potential.
11. Teaching is hard. Passing out papers and monitoring lunch duty is pretty basic stuff. Scaffolding lessons, differentiating instruction, creating authentic summative assessments, disaggregating data, providing social-emotional support--these are not easy. Teachers and school staff do this daily while teaching, mentoring, and loving kids. Teaching is hard.
12. Teachers want to be seen as professionals. Teachers are educated, motivated, and organized individuals, for the most part. A teacher’s skill set includes the duties of: parent, mentor, coach, counselor, friend, secretary, academic advisor, content specialists, artist, actor, and much more. Teachers and school staff wear many hats. See them for the skills that they have.
13. School shootings are terrifying. To see a school shooting on the news is surreal and scary and leaves a mark on our souls--even if they don’t happen at our own schools. To go to work every day wondering in the back of your mind what you would do in that situation can affect you in ways you can’t imagine. No matter how compassionate or selfless, no educator wants to die protecting their students, even if they would.
14. Schools are amazing places. Unless you spend 8 hours a day, 181 days a year on a campus, you’ll never truly see the dedication, compassion, creativity, energy and empathy that flows through a school. For all the negative press, there are 1000x more wonderful moments that go unshared. It is up to all of us to help shift the narrative.
15. You can help to reshape the narrative. Visit your child’s school, donate to the school, offer your time, money, support, voice. If you don’t have a child in school, you know someone who does. See what you can do to make their child’s school the best environment that it can be to provide the best education possible to that child and all their peers. Write your legislators, drop off pencils, send a cookie bouquet to the staff. The smallest thing on your end could make all the difference in the world to a school and the people within it.

School are special places. They are not broken, they just need their communities. #thisteachersjourney