For the last few weeks I have been reflecting on Tom’s observations and analysis of charter schools. Rather than the question about the role charter schools should or shouldn’t play in Washington, what has had me thinking most is the question of what society should expect from teachers. Tom repeatedly noted the time and energy he observed both public and charter school teachers committing. In our comments-based conversation he concluded that truly high caliber teaching does not co-exist well with family life. Agreed.
Yet I wonder: is that right? While there are certainly professions where those with family need not apply, should teaching be one of them? Many of us here have discussed how being parents make us better teachers. I know when I feel like I am having an “off” teaching day, I think about what I expect from my own child’s teacher. What do I want them to do for my child? Sacrificing their family is never on the list.
It is simply difficult for me to accept the idea that having a family (or a life outside the professional day) means one can’t be a high caliber teacher. It just doesn’t play out in my day to day observations. When I think of the best teachers I work with, most have families and full post-school day lives. It is also difficult for me to accept the notion that any profession should eclipse personal life. Yes we expect long hours and exacting attention to detail from our doctors, emergency responders and our elected officials. But don’t we also expect them to attend to their personal needs as well? I don’t want a burned out doctor doing surgery on me or anyone else. I don’t want elected officials making life-altering policy on a steady diet of all-nighters. And I certainly don’t want a resentful, stressed out teacher educating my child. I don’t want to be a resentful, stressed out teacher!
Maybe it’s not a question of what society expects from teachers. Maybe the question is what do we expect the role of work to play in our lives? I think about how we introduce ourselves: “My name is Jane Doe and I am insert profession here.” We identify ourselves by what we do. Whereas many other societies identify themselves by who they are: “My name is ______, I am the son of insert three generations of family names here.” So maybe the question is more about are we living to work or working to live?
At the end of the discussion I believe there has to be a balance. Will there be sacrifices? Of course. Yet I maintain there has to be a way to be the best professionals we desire to be without it coming at the complete expense of our personal lives.
At some point in their career, every teacher (and every other kind of professional) will have to come to terms with the issue of balancing their work in the classroom with their family and personal life. It’s never easy. We love what we do for a living, but we also have people we love and who need our time, energy and attention. We also need personal time.
I have a feeling that this issue will become more prominent in the future, as people begin to realize that working harder and longer has a direct effect on student learning. I saw it in the charter schools of New York, and it’ll only be a matter of time before we all feel pressure to “step up our game” no matter where we work.
I’m all for working hard, but there has to be a balance.
Mark-in my original draft of this post I planned to include this link http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-about-better-parents.html (my proof reader encouraged it be used in a seperate post…). Because I do think the question of why we are expecting so much more of teachers than parents is critical to addressing what ails our education system as a whole.If every parent and teacher used your criteria for their priority list we would begin to see the kind of substantive change we are all seeking.
I read your title a little differently before I read the post… I see an important question also being why we as a society expect more from teachers than we do from parents (ourselves collectively). Society accepts blaming teachers, but when teachers point out failures within families, teachers become the villains… how dare we point out that not reading with your child every day home will impact how far we can take that child in his/her education. How dare we suggest that parents who never engage in their child’s education might make it harder for us to get that child to the finish line we are charged to reach.
As for what you are actually writing about, I also struggle with the balance, but I’ve realized that too often and in too many situations, there comes a point at which additional effort on my part brings only diminishing returns and increased frustration. In many situations, I’ve even found that when I do less (and expect the student to do more) the returns are actually better. I’ve chosen not to do home visits to my struggling students or give up my weekends and evenings to attend every sporting event or school function. Perhaps I’ll never win teacher of the year, but if I am to be measured as a professional by whether my students in my classroom have learned, I am confident that I measure up well enough. But, that measurement won’t mean jack to my kids, my wife, my friends or my family when down the road they assess my role in their lives… but that is my choice. I’m not the man to serve everyone let alone save everyone, so when I make my list of priority for who to save or serve, most of the names at the top of the list have the same last name as me.