In my first year of teaching, I taught third grade. We explored butterflies, and one of the most magical part of the unit was actually being a witness to a larvae spinning into a chrysalis. Even though it appeared to be spinning without any reason except to make itself dizzy, it put itself into position for an incredible change. A big change that would alter nearly everything about itself. It would soon emerge transformed into a beautiful and graceful entity ready to dance on the breath of the wind itself.
Not all larvae are able to complete this change. Along with the strength of the larvae itself, one much consider factors in the environment that can help or hurt the potential for survival and success.
As teachers, we face a myriad of new challenges. Some of these are emerging from within our classrooms. Parents and families are struggling through this economy, and more responsibility is falling onto our collective plates. We find ourselves teaching right from wrong, courtesy, societal values, and generally things that good citizens do. I do not shy away from this at all. This is one thing that I take very seriously in my profession. From saying "good morning" to every one of my students, to holding the door for them, to saying "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me", I try my best to model all that I expect and hold them accountable for doing or not doing it.
The other challenge comes from outside our classroom doors. Government agencies are dropping initiatives on the shoulders of schools in an effort to refine eduction. Perhaps instead it needs to be redefined, but that is a topic for another post. Governments, especially our state government, cannot get their act together enough to get policy proposals or budgets completed on time, but they are telling us how to 'make the grade'. Learning standards are being changed so often it is difficult to view progress towards them,. People are calling for teacher accountability based on something that they cannot define, districts are looking for any kind of solid data numbers to appease the quantitative number crunchers that need a line graph to see how our kids are learning rather than really look into our schools and see any qualitative growth, etc.
How can we keep 'our classroom' while playing by their mandates? I don't know. I am exhausted after every day, but I cannot see myself doing anything else with my life. I love what I am. I love being a teacher, and I wouldn't trade it for any other profession out there. My rewards come not from my administrators; they come from my students. Professional awards are good for some, but give me a kid walking in a 8:25 with a smile on his or her face ready to learn, ready to feel empowered and excited to take the journey with the rest of us. That is my trophy, and I get to see 22 of them every day.
Getting back to the butterfly, my optimistic side is hoping that this feeling is akin to the dizzy feeling that the larvae might be experiencing as it builds the chrysalis. It undergoes the task sure that it will survive, and sure about completing the change. My realistic side is tired of all of this spinning and is hoping that the environment is conducive to the growth and change that should happen. My pessimistic side is worried that the environment has grown too cold to support such a beautiful life, and that if the metamorphosis has not demonstrated adequate progress it will be stopped because it is simply not worth the energy.
I hope I get to fly.
