Literary Pixie

I am cornered and there is nowhere to run.

I don’t want money. I want change.

My two demands right now (although I am still in process of developing these and would love feedback and to collaborate)!

ONE. Stop using shame to make me feel like I’m the problem teacher when really you are not giving me the support, training, and resources I need to do my job (which is your responsibility) and thus YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.

TWO. Take accountability for your role in creating a dehumanizing work culture that is forcing teachers, and students, to disengage in order to protect themselves.

What are the support, training, and resources I need? That is a case by case situation different for each teacher and each discipline and each school site.

This cannot be solved with a new policy and top-down orders. This requires communication, collaboration, and team work.

For me:

• One curriculum (and the ability to choose my curriculum, or if I would like to do more than one curriculum for more money, as well as how many planning periods I need for more or less money depending on my needs and current capacity depending on my personal situation).
• A professional learning community of ELA teachers who teach the same curriculum as me that meets once a week.
• A professional learning community of grade-level teachers who support the same students as me to collaborate and discuss classroom community that meets once a week.
• A leader for the ELA curriculum that visits all the ELA classrooms and can support and give useful feedback and develop objective metrics that allow us to develop as teachers and provide emotional support.
• A leader for the grade-level who is responsible for supporting the students in that grade-level holistically.
• A leader for the whole school that visits all the classes and supports all the grade-level and curriculum leads.
• A teaching assistant who supports me in all my classes.
• A special education teacher who knows my curriculum and can help support IEP students and communicate with their parents to make sure that their needs are being met, they are not being bullied, and are able to access the curriculum.
• A faculty meeting for the whole school that meets every five weeks that builds community, celebrates achievements, and inspires us and shows us that we are valuable people in our schools and communities, with two end of semester celebrations that are organized by a committee of teachers.
• A mentor teacher who has been teaching for 5 to 10 years that I respect and admire and choose and who chooses me to meet with me once a week.
• The ability to have a life after work, to have friends, to have a partner and a family, to resolve conflicts, to get support, to take breaks, to go slow, to rest, to cry, to share about my problems, to be vulnerable, to feel safe.

I will do more hours than required. But I need to choose it, and they need to be seen. To be compensated for. It doesn’t have to be money. It can be validation. It can be appreciation. It can be confidence. It can be by seeing those extra hours make the quality life of my colleagues and students even better and more joyful and meaningful.

This is what I need. What do you need?