another shared blog and response (Thing 5a)

Not a hero!

Pat writes her response to another blog post about teaching being a calling and not a job. I completely agree with Pat's points, I'm not so sure about some of the points that Tom makes.

Like Pat expressed, I also find that whenever someone finds out what I do, I frequently hear "it takes a special person to do what you do" - and I as I said in a comment to Pat's blog - I think it takes a special person to come fix my toilet after my husband clogs it up, too! I think that it takes a special kind of person to do any job ... and particularly, people say "I could never do what you do" - well I probably couldn't do what they do either! Especially general education teachers - I have very little patience for "typical" kids who KNOW BETTER lol. At least when one of my students misbehaves, it is often out of a lack of understanding or an inability to communicate or frustration ... and I'm pretty sure they didn't sit at their desk and devise a plan of how to do it and not get caught, etc. It is SO much easier to forgive and be patient when I know it's unintentional (which is why, when one of my students looks at me, smiles, then pushes a desk or shelf over and laughs, I have a completely different response than when they push it over in a moment of utter frustration at not being able to communicate something).

Now - on to Tom's point about teaching not being a calling, just being a job. I think that, yes, teaching is a job -a career. And I don't think teachers should be *expected* to make all of the sacrifices that many of us make, I don't think we should be martyrs, or be nailed to a cross. However, I think that many jobs can be considered "callings" without making professionals who do those jobs martyrs. And I don't necessarily think that all teachers were called to teach. There are plenty in our profession who are only here for the summers off or because the classes for an education major were considered "easy As". And you can tell who those teachers are pretty quickly. Then there are the ones who were called to teach, who do feel that they are doing more than just putting in their time and doing a "job". I think if you get beyond the religious connotations of the word "calling", and just look at it as a "strong inner impulse", I certainly am called to teach!