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| (img credit: http://haru204.deviantart.com/art/Shawshank-Redemption-151789548) |
I was innocent. Everybody here is innocent, didn't you know that?
You probably thought you were innocent. You're not. At some level, you have yourself to blame, and I have myself to blame. Whether it's the testing, or the parents, or the other teachers who just don't get how to handle the kids - we all at some point have contributed to our own despair in the educational environment.
But it can be really miserable, you know? We get tired in that way that feels like we may never have energy again. Kids come from homes with little to no food. They aren't doing the most basic of work despite my best efforts. I don't have anyone to go to for support. We get defensive in that way that no one really understands what it is to be an educator. My admin doesn't remember what it was like in the classroom. My teachers don't get that they're where the the rubber meets the road. My children's teachers don't understand how special my kids really are and that's why they get in trouble.
I did this. I've said these things. I've felt these feels.
I had to take control. I had to find my voice, and I had to hear myself. It wasn't that I needed someone else to hear me. That wasn't going to do it.
This week's #totallyrossome focuses on just how we approach the negative aspects of what we do through the lens of The Shawshank Redemption. (If you haven't seen it - I don't know how to help you. You're missing a major piece of American cinema, and you need to remedy this immediately.)
I was Andy Dufresne. I didn't see any fault of my own in what I was doing, and I wanted someone to fix it for me because that would mean justice and fairness. We don't deal a lot with justice and fairness, though. We need to assess our situation, look our options, and make a plan for how to deal with it. (Sometimes that means making a hole in a solid object and crawling through some awfulness to find something better.)
Please join us for #totallyrossome tonight. It's at 9 PM Eastern, and it features some of the most thoughtful and fun educators I've ever met.
You probably thought you were innocent. You're not. At some level, you have yourself to blame, and I have myself to blame. Whether it's the testing, or the parents, or the other teachers who just don't get how to handle the kids - we all at some point have contributed to our own despair in the educational environment.
But it can be really miserable, you know? We get tired in that way that feels like we may never have energy again. Kids come from homes with little to no food. They aren't doing the most basic of work despite my best efforts. I don't have anyone to go to for support. We get defensive in that way that no one really understands what it is to be an educator. My admin doesn't remember what it was like in the classroom. My teachers don't get that they're where the the rubber meets the road. My children's teachers don't understand how special my kids really are and that's why they get in trouble.
I did this. I've said these things. I've felt these feels.
I had to take control. I had to find my voice, and I had to hear myself. It wasn't that I needed someone else to hear me. That wasn't going to do it.
This week's #totallyrossome focuses on just how we approach the negative aspects of what we do through the lens of The Shawshank Redemption. (If you haven't seen it - I don't know how to help you. You're missing a major piece of American cinema, and you need to remedy this immediately.)
I was Andy Dufresne. I didn't see any fault of my own in what I was doing, and I wanted someone to fix it for me because that would mean justice and fairness. We don't deal a lot with justice and fairness, though. We need to assess our situation, look our options, and make a plan for how to deal with it. (Sometimes that means making a hole in a solid object and crawling through some awfulness to find something better.)
* * *
Please join us for #totallyrossome tonight. It's at 9 PM Eastern, and it features some of the most thoughtful and fun educators I've ever met.
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