Teacher Applicant

I found this posted on the bulletin board in the photocopy room at my son's school today:

After being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect summarized:

"Let me see if I got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning, and I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behaviour, observe them for signs of abuse, censor their T-shirts and dress habits for inappropriateness, and plough through their lunch boxes to make sure they are eating a nutritionally balanced diet.

You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self-esteem. You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, respect for others, respect for themselves, and respect for the environment.

I am to check for head lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of anti-social behaviour, make sure they all pass the provincial exams, even those who have poor attendance and never complete their homework.

Plus, I am to make sure that all of the students with special needs get an equal and integrated education regardless of the extent of their disabilities and of the fact that they are not connected to a special education plan or teacher's assistant. I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter and report card. As well, I'm expected to run extra-curricular activities and take part in any school fundraising activities even if they occur on the weekend.

All of this I am to do with a box of chalk, a desk, a bulletin board, a big smile AND a starting salary that barely covers my rent. You want me to do all of this and then you tell me that I CAN'T PRAY?"

Ain't that the truth?

And yet somehow.....................they do it all and then some.

I arrived at the school just when the little ones were congregating outside to stand in their bus lines. The teacher, still fresh as she was when I saw her first thing this morning was multi-tasking as per usual........monitoring behaviour, addressing the wiggly ones, answering questions, counting heads, making sure they kept their sweaters on in the cool air, entertaining them by throwing those "helicopter" seedlings from the trees in the air to see how far they would go when the wind caught them, AND talking to me about the recent election and asking about how my daughter is doing in middle school. Fresh as a summer daisy..........with a few wisps of hair bangs a little askew.

In the middle of this demonstration of competence, she expressed her delight with her class of 23 kindergarten gaffers by commenting on how wonderfully dear and mature they are and how lucky she is to have such a marvellous class. It felt like a family.

Just before the bell rang, the Grade 1 class came barreling out the door to join the wiggly bus lines. 4 little girls..........graduates of this teacher's Kindergarten class rushed up with the energy of a locomotive.........arms wide open, big smiles, they ran over, slamming right into their favourite and openly missed teacher. She took them all in her arms and gave them a big hug and called them her big girls, while playfully chastising them about growing up too fast.

Then, she rushed off to follow her little ones to the right buses....................always counting heads, always ensuring their safety and love and belonging needs right up until the bus doors closed. She waved goodbye to head off to her classroom to clean up and to prepare for tomorrow's busy day of learning.

She prays and counts her blessings every night. How do I know this? She told me.