I was planning to write a whiny, complaining column this month,
prefaced by a warning to look elsewhere if you are seeking
something cheery and heartwarming.
I was planning to write a whiny, complaining column this month, prefaced by a warning to look elsewhere if you are seeking something cheery and heartwarming.
You see, it’s been a stressful time at school, what with trying to catch up on the mounds of grading, writing final exams, coding every exam question to a state standard, engaging in the ongoing battle with the new and frustratingly slow online grading system, etc., etc., etc.
I was especially going to complain about people who complain when others complain.
Some people just don’t want to hear it, even if the complaint has merit, and especially if it does not place blame where they like to place blame.
For example, some people do not want to hear teachers complain about anything, because they have already decided that lazy and incompetent teachers are the problem with education today.
Then there are those who suggest that no one should complain in today’s economy – they should just be glad they have a job. Somehow, a rise in the unemployment rate is supposed to translate into broad acceptance of all unfavorable conditions that might arise, however ill-advised or unfair they may be.
I’m sorry, but I think this is just an excuse on the part of people who have believed all along that employees should have no rights.
It does not help a teacher who was laid off if I try to take on an increased workload. Nor does it help my students.
If you give teachers more and more tasks to complete, you take away from the careful preparation of lessons, and the timely grading of student work, and even from direct interaction with students, as teachers learn to assign independent studying so they can gain time to complete their own tasks.
We are not talking about simply working a little harder. We are talking about a situation in which there is already not enough time to accomplish everything that is expected, even when you take it home and work in the evenings, on weekends and on holidays.
If you are already working at capacity, increasing the size of the work pile does not translate into greater productivity. It translates into bigger piles of unfinished work.
This, in turn, leads to more people (parents, students, colleagues, etc.) being dissatisfied and more teachers burning out.
The best teacher I ever knew went out on a disability retirement, because he had a nervous breakdown triggered in part by a growing sense of inadequacy in the face of ever-increasing demands.
Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful to have a job that I love and that feels meaningful.
I consider myself fortunate to have an exceptional principal, generous and talented colleagues and wonderful students.
I am grateful that the district has a superintendent who is a true leader. I’m just saying …
But I digress.
Instead of writing a whiny, complaining column, I decided to write a few words about hope. Every fall, I have the opportunity to write letters of recommendation for seniors who are applying to college.
Last year, one of these students learned that he was in this country illegally. He and his brother had been brought here as small children.
Their parents had instilled in them a regard for education and hard work. They planned to go to college, but their dreams were shattered by the realization that they were, in fact, illegal immigrants and all the avenues of opportunity they had been counting on were closed to them.
But here is the hopeful part. The Dream Act, which would offer a path to citizenship to children who were brought into this country illegally, passed the House of Representatives just last week.
Of course it is currently blocked in the Senate, where the minority rules.
Nonetheless, maybe one day soon, compassion will prevail and there will be peace of mind for some of these young kids, as they are allowed to become the citizens they always thought they were.
How fitting it would be if it could happen in this, the season of hope.
Jeanie Wallace teaches math and social studies at Ann Sobrato High School, has two children who attend schools in the district and is writing on behalf on the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers.
