HELL NO WE WON'T GO

Teaching Has Changed

I had a great time yesterday at our annual “Hell No We Won’t Go” retired teachers’ party. There must have been at least 1500 years of experience packed into the party this year. We laughed and relived so many wonderful memories.

Some things may have changed over the years, however, because we’ve been told several times that many of us would be fired if we were teachers today. Ha! That kinda makes me laugh.

It has been reported that over 59,000 teachers and educational staff quit between 2020-24, and schools in the USA have been unable to fill 406,964 positions with certified teachers this year. It seems as if fewer young people want to enter the field of education — the most fulfilling profession in the world, in my opinion. One young teacher leaving the field said, “There are too many demands placed on us, and parents don’t back us up anymore.”

I’m so grateful I WAS given a lot of support as a teacher by both parents and administrators. And even students.

I grimace when I think about my first year of teaching back in 1971. One time I actually created the problem myself. I was standing in front of my Jr. English class talking about a book we were reading when I noticed a long-haired, scruffy-looking student in the back staring off into space. “Mr. Smith, did you like the main character?” I asked.

Startled from his daydream, he said, “What?”

I retorted, “If you’d cut that hair, you might be able to hear me better.” I regretted my stupid, sarcastic remark the minute I said it.

The once disinterested student suddenly stood up, walked to the front of the room, threw his book on my desk and said, “Well, piss on you then.”

After his 3-days of ISS, the boy returned and whispered, “My mom said I had to tell you I’m sorry.”

The devil in me wanted to say, “What?” But I thought that might be pushing it. Ha! The boy did cut his long hair to meet the school’s dress code though. It looked a little weird. He had a backward mullet — there were long strands of hair hanging in front of his fully-exposed ears, and the straggly hair that once hung down his back was sheared three inches above his collar.

I smiled with relief — thankful I hadn’t crushed all his rebellious spirit.

A Special Thank you to Parents who support their children’s teachers and coaches.

Oh, and then, there was the time I was teaching in a Catholic grade school. I actually wiped a smudge off a fifth-grader’s forehead when he came back from church. How was I supposed to know they were ashes? I was so grateful the nun smiled, assuring me they would get the traumatized boy more ashes.

Thank you, Administrators, for supporting your teachers.

One time I panicked when the high school principal walked in to observe me as my students were doing speeches. At that moment, I realized I should have pre-checked the topics. I gulped because I was letting a young man talk about the book Everything You Want To Know About Sex, But Were Afraid To Ask. I sighed, however, when I realized the young man was trying to protect me by ending with “Thank you, Mrs. Stoneburner, for letting me share this information today. You know as we leave this school, we need to know how to take care of ourselves.”

And then I got really nervous when the next speaker announced enthusiastically, “Wait ‘til you see this! We really need to know this stuff.” I almost jumped out of my seat when he lit up a cigarette and blew smoke out on a white handkerchief. Thank heavens the principal was so impressed with the student’s enthusiasm and how much nicotine was in a puff of smoke that he congratulated the kid on his demonstration and praised me as he left.

Thank you to Students who support their teachers.

Let’s all take a deep breath the next time we get ready to criticize a teacher in front of kids, to blast them on Facebook, to chew them out at Parent/Teacher conferences, to send a scathing email — and think — “Hell, No We Won’t Go” there this year. We will extend teachers some grace. No one is perfect — even our kids. xoxo

It’ll Be OK.

~~~

“They want teachers to carry guns now-a-days, but they won’t even allow us to control our own thermostats.” ~ Teacher Funnies

COMMENT: In today’s comment section — no matter how old you are — thank a teacher.