An Open Letter: Why I Became a Teacher.

As adults, when we encounter new adults, either when introduced by a friend or in some other social setting, a common question is, "What do you do?" Granted, that is a loaded question, but usually it is targeted at learning an occupation. I am never surprised at how warm and welcoming most people are when I respond that I am a teacher. Many people thank me, as though I have had some direct impact on their life or the life of their children. A few people, in my career, have even made the sign of the cross or said, "God bless you" emphatically.

I did not become a teacher because I wanted praise. Certainly I did not become a teacher because I planned on becoming extremely wealthy by way of my profession. I became a teacher on accident. I will admit, it wasn't my first desire to be a teacher. I graduated college a semester early and was bent on going to law school. I was a good student my whole life, but I didn't think working in education was where I wanted to be. Maybe some day, I'd think to myself, but certainly not at twenty. 

I worked a job for a year that was in a field completely unrelated to my college major and was unhappy. About five months in to this new career, I got wind of an opportunity to apply for an internship program, and a few months later, I was doing my pre-service teaching.

At this point, I didn't become a teacher because I really wanted to be a teacher. Sorry to say, it got me out of my position in a field I didn't enjoy. I was changing careers to teach bilingual elementary, which was something I already knew I didn't want to do for the long-term. Seven years later, I know why I'm a teacher. 

Actually, I knew pretty quickly on that I may not have chosen teaching: I am a teacher because teaching chose me.

I believe that teaching is a vocation for some and a job for many. I feel that the career is not nearly as respected by our society as it is in others because many teachers can get by doing relatively little "extra" and by recycling old lessons or projects. In order to truly fall in love with education, it requires going above and beyond the same old lessons and takes many additional hours beyond our contract. On the other hand, teachers may be protected by unions and contracts and be the most immovable of people, but that's where I fall in to the educational puzzle. 

Originally, I thought I became a teacher because I wanted to teach content. Within a semester, I realized that I wanted to teach students, to make a difference in the lives of young people who may not otherwise have their own educational champions at home. I needed to impact their futures, and, correspondingly, my own. 

My students of today are the leaders and citizens of tomorrow. They will vote, hold jobs, own businesses, serve our country, or, at best, become teachers.

According to the Huffington Post (article found here), the United States ranks ninth among the world in teacher pay. It is difficult to be a teacher here, especially when most traditional teaching programs require many unpaid hours and starting pay for teachers is relatively low when compared to other fields with similar years of professional training. If our profession desires to attract young and innovative minds, we must offer new teachers competitive wages, especially when the implicit responsibilities and modicum of audiences a teacher must reach.

In order to think about why teachers are different from many professions, outside of the obvious differences in occupational requirements, is the overall lack of upward mobility for teachers. Most classroom teachers accept that our role, from day one of year one, to the final day preceding our retirements, will be as a classroom teacher.

An uninformed perspective would be that teachers have vast opportunities to become principals or other administrators. The truth is, as we teachers know, is that administration requires an entirely different skill set. Administrators unfortunately deal with many top-down mandates and middle management issues. Administrators must handle budgets and human capital as well as be lead spokespeople and disciplinarians at school sites. At this point in my career, none of that sounds particularly appealing. 

Allow me to digress briefly. I had a colleague throughout my internship and master's program that, upon five years of teaching, said he would start looking for an administrative position. In fact, he became a teacher with the mindset that it was a stepping stone to the glorious status of principal. I asked him one day, "If you want to be in administration, why did you start teaching?" His answer was not because he wanted to change policies, demonstrate management or leadership skills, or because he felt compelled to help parents or students. His answer was: "Administration is where the money is and I can't do it without being a teacher first."

I didn't become a teacher to be an administrator. Teachers have many roles, just like administrators, but I know that, every single day, my career allows me to put students FIRST.

With the impending changes related to Common Core, now more than ever, teachers must rise up and defend our profession. We must remind everyone that we do our jobs because everyday, regardless of pay, respect, or supports, we will still teach students because they will show up everyday. Education, compulsory as it is in our great nation, is still a gift that we, as teachers, are entitled to share unto our captive recipients.

I am a teacher, but I am a change-maker, a mentor, an example, a champion, a confidant, and a supporter of students in my classroom and beyond.

Introducing Poetry with Inquiry

I don't know if you know this, but students either seem to love the idea of studying poetry or they hate the thought.

I realized that students do not necessarily know how to read poetry. So, I tell them, "I am going to teach you poetry like you've never seen poetry before. Any notions or ideas you have, I am going to ask you to set them aside and embark on this new journey with me." I usually get a few sighs of disgust or the students that gaze at one another, both confirming that the teacher must be absolutely off of his rocker.

Before class, I prepare a selection of six to eighth poems, including a range of forms and structures, difficult to simple. I tell them that in their envelope (where I have cut and placed the poems) or digitally (I have had is uploaded as a bundle OR PowerPoint) they will find poems. Yes, every single one is a poem.

I introduce the lesson with three inquiry questions:
1. What, based on your investigation and analysis of these poems, is poetry?
2. How do these poems differ from prose?
3. What do poems have in common?

I require that students work collaboratively to:
1. Read the poems out loud
2. Write their observations on the Promethean Board OR as Post-Its

I circulate and ask some probing questions, but students invariably always have frustrations with certain poems and ease with understanding others. Sometimes, particularly when reading something by E.E. Cummings or William Carlos Williams, I get the question, "Is this even poetry?" I also go back to my board and look at what students are adding, sorting through all of the ideas and making sure to weed out any that are completely off the mark. Usually, I immediately address "poems rhyme" because it is a particularly basic approach to poetry.

After students have plenty of time to discuss, I ask them to independently address the original three inquiry questions. The students get an opportunity to share and dialogue afterwards. I usually ask a student to share a particularly insightful observation made by a peer, and add it to my growing chart at the front of the room.

I always find this to be such an interesting way to introduce poetry because students get a chance to work with poetry before someone else tells them what poetry "is." Poetry is so varied stylistically and without a doubt, students will not always connect with all poems. 

I have a particular approach to teaching students how to read poetry, but for me, it is all about engaging them and teaching them that poetry is not the scary monster under the bed; poetry is one of the most wondrous and challenging content to read, and students' critical thinking skills can be sharpened through the reading thereof.