Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

lets celebrate ourselves on this board..

I am a NYC 8th grade ELA teacher. I recently checked my ARIS data and my students almost all went up on the ELA this year!! That includes 2 Spec. Ed classes where many students moved from a level 1 to a level 2!! That in and of itself makes each and every day worth it!!



I love watching my students grow and progress as students and little people in the world.

WHat do you love most about teaching?

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I am a high school NYC teacher, and I love the connections I make with students. When so many of my students don't have many responsible adults in their life, it makes me feel great when they come talk to me for advice in life.

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I am an elementary special education teacher. I co-teach and love being the reason that children with special needs are able to be educated alongside their gen ed peers in the classroom. I absolutely love my job and work with women who also love their jobs. I know teachers are out there that don't love it, but I'm not around that, so I always when people go on and on about how teachers always complain about their job. I feel bad that those people know teachers like that!

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I teach a self-contained class of K-2 students with autism and I LOVE my job! Last year, I started with a group that were mostly non-readers and by the end of the year ALL of them were reading something. One student went from only knowing 16/26 letters and was reading CVC words by the end of the year! I love seeing their progress and watching them develop new social skills. With the population I work with, I get so excited when they are able to request something they want or make eye contact with a peer! They are so sweet and I love going to work. I work really far, in a tough neighborhood, in a low-income D75 school and I would not trade it for the world! Love those cutie-pies!

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I'll take any reason to pat myself on the back!
I teach 8th grade English in a Long Island school....and after checking the scores on the ELA, my students scored higher than any other school on Long Island. I can't really take all of the credit though, because they also scored highest when they were in 6th and 7th grade (nerds!).
I really love what I do...and I'm lucky enough to be able to do it in a place where I feel appreciated (most of the time).

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

What a great idea for a post!!

I teach at a private high school, grades 9-12. I work with students with learning disabilities.

I love my job!! I love seeing kids succeed, I love when they "get it", I love when they feel comfortable enough to confide in me. I just love being there. It's such a great experience.

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I'm starting my 5th year teaching first grade. I taught K for 3 years prior to first. I love my job but it is very demanding, stressful and exhausting. Reading that other thread on FHF makes me so sad and angry at the same time!!!

I love how much growth I see in first grade. I love how attached I get to them and them to me. I love how sometimes they'll slip and call me mommy It just shows that we're right up there with their mommy's, grandma's, aunts, etc.
I love how I get to know them so well and I know their likes and dislikes.

There is sooo much more to teaching than the actual lessons. People don't realize you have to love, nurture and manage these little people. I've called parents from my cell phone driving home to my own children. Then you have administrators coming in. I don't understand why people think it's a walk in the park. That being said, I love it and I actually can't wait to get back into my classroom to set up!!

Message edited 8/5/2012 8:32:02 PM.

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I will be starting my 11th year teaching HS math in a Nassau County HS...and I couldn't picture myself doing anything other than teaching!! I have taught inclusion classes my entire teaching career and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love my co-teacher (we've been "married" longer than anyone in the district)...we finish each others sentences, think alike, and are just the best pair around (but I may be biased ).

People are funny...sometimes they'll gasp when I tell I teach HS math...sometimes they wish me luck...and other people tell me how easy I have it. One time, a family friend who has teenagers, turned to someone that said I have it easy and said, "Apparently you have no interaction with teenagers...they are rude, obnoxious, hormone ridden, unique creatures that run in packs...and those packs think that everything and anything an adult does is just outrageously ridiculous." I hugged that friend!

People don't realize what a teacher deals with every minute of every day. I always said that I want to take someone...the average Joe...and put them in my classroom for a week and see how they fair. I want them to make lesson plans (with multiple learning objectives for the different levels in the class, most of the time for at least three different types of classes), make copies, make tests, give extra help (before and after school), go to meetings (most of the time during your prep/lunch period), follow IEPs or 504s or Medical alerts, let's not forget lunch duty or hall duty...let that person wake up at 5am to get to work early enough to start the computer, open windows (sorry, no AC for us), make last minute copies, or have some meeting...OH, let's make sure that this person contacts parents of students that didn't do homework, or failed a test, or cursed someone out, or the wonderful phone calls when students do something outstanding...and let's have that person answer the question that I got this year "He's been like this since nursery school...what do you want me to do with him?"...can we also have this person deal with a seizure, OCD outbursts, an ADHD kid that doesn't take his meds, an ODD child that throws desks, autistic/aspergers children, children that are in the middle of a custody battle, children that are homeless or parentless, and let's not forget about the child that just feels entitled to everything!

I tell people all the time...I CHOSE this profession...I didn't choose it for the money or time off. I chose it because I wanted to make a difference in someone's life...even if it was only one person. I wanted to be there for children that don't have the support at home. I wanted to be there for the ah-ha moments where the lightbulbs go off and you see their faces light up. I wanted to be there to lift children up when they think the world is against them. I wanted to be an ear to listen to stories...a shoulder to cry on when things go wrong...and a friend for the friendless.

Other people could have chosen the teaching profession, but they didn't. They chose the hustle and bustle of business life...or banking...or whatever. That's the beauty of America...we have the freedom of CHOICE and I CHOSE to be a teacher!

rant over....

THE END!

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I was a teacher, became a coordinator and now am choosing to go back to teaching. I teach children with autism. There is no greater joy than watching my students pick up the smallest of skills. I saw an old student the other day in a restaurant and I was so floored by his progress. His mom told me it was because I believed him in.

Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I am a NYC teacher ... Taught 4th for 8 years did 5th grade ICT last year and doing 5th by myself this year .... I love my job I love my kids and would not change it for the world

I actually want to post on the main board the first week of school asking for a daily recap since I don't have the luxury of being able to go near a computer even on my lunch hour because I have so much to do .... But I figure I would get drama out of it

Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I teach 8th grade in a low performing LI school district. Yes, I may complain about certain things, I love being a teacher. I see results. I teach these kids when nobody at home does. I teach them how to be respectful, to respect themselves, to value their life and others. I teach them to say please and thank you. I teach them to be respectful to women, I teach them how to resolve conflicts, I teach them to think before they speak. I teach them how to ask to go to the bathroom. I teach them how to be a good person. Oh, I also teach them social studies. lol

Message edited 8/6/2012 9:06:15 AM.

Re: Being that we are being bashed on the other board,

I'm a high school English teacher in Nassau... I always say I love every single thing about the job except the endless grading (and, ok, now CC and APPR... but that might go without saying )... but one of the most rewarding moments for me every year is how they always seem to come to me first if they have a problem or feel like they have nowhere else to turn... and then the end of each year when the seniors cry on their last day because of how much they appreciate what we all do for them and realize how hard that is to leave. Makes me know we're doing something right (as I try to hang onto my own composure. )

I would never presume to know what another job entails (other than the one other job I had in publishing years ago); it's gotten easier for me to ignore what people say about teachers because unless they've done it, they're so clearly speaking out of ignorance and deserve no attention.

ETA: Forgot to say I've been doing this for 13 years, and whenever anyone of any age mentions retirement, I get sad just thinking about it. Maybe I don't even hate the GRADING as much as I thought? Perish the thought!

Message edited 8/6/2012 9:31:58 AM.