Social work. (Did ya follow that transition?) For those of us called to social work, we know it can be incredibly challenging. It's hard. It's rough. It's difficult. How many more synonyms are there? I won't push the point, because at the end of the day, we all still love what we do. Is it because we are masochists and love to put ourselves through emotional strain everyday? Possibly. Is it because we are addicted to the chaos, poor government decisions, and drama that surrounds our profession? Maybe. Is it the thrill of never knowing if we will have a job next year or not? Um, ok, it's definitely not that. But, more so, I think it's because we so strongly believe in what we are doing. We have to believe that we make a difference everyday. This is so tough to remember sometimes. It's difficult to remember when you have a student refusing to do their work. It's difficult to remember when we are working late into the night, night after night, lesson planning, correcting, and grading. It's difficult to remember when our social lives suffer the consequences of these late nights. It's difficult to remember when everywhere we look we see our political leaders cutting away at education. It's difficult to remember when the homework doesn't get returned, or parents don't make the time to see that their child's homework gets signed. The obstacles are everywhere. Literally, I could go on and on and on. But, lest this post turns into wallowing, I must move on.
Yes, teachers, and social workers, in general, wade through an unbearable amount of $#!t everyday. I suspect most of us do in any of our chosen professions. But the point is, no matter what we have chosen to do, we are valuable. We do matter. Each profession, job, career, etc, is a contribution to our world. We do make a difference and it's important to remember those moments. I must admit, I'm feeling quite optimistic today because two students got sent home today due to flooding, and they were almost in tears because they didn't want to go home. Seriously, we were having to convince them that THEY were the lucky ones! This situation does not occur very often. It's important to me to know that at least SOME of my students would rather be here than at their chaotic homes. Now, if someone had come into our class and told me I had to go home at 10:30 a.m. I wouldn't be able to get my belongings together quick enough! But, alas, I got to spend the last half of the day with two students who were able to capitalize on staff attention. It's really quite something to connect with your students. There is no feeling like it. It is those moments that we must hold on to, and that we do hold on to. If we couldn't remember anything good about doing this job then why would we do it? The truth is, there are numerous moments that good, that are great even! These moments far outweigh all the obstacles that riddle the profession.
A teacher friend of mine gave me a poem to remind me of the value of our job the other day...I think it's a good reminder for all of us, in whatever type of work we have chosen. There will be challenges. The challenges help us grow. There will be bad days. Those days help us to appreciate the good days. And, this poem sort of encapsulates the feelings of doing hard work, and not necessarily always being able to see the value in the hard work that we do. If you need a reminder, here it is...
Starfish Poem
Once upon a time there was a wise man
who used to go to the ocean
to do his writing.
He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day he was walking along the shore.
As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day.
So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing,
but instead he was reaching down to the shore,
picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out,
"Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused,
looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish in the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."
"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it.
You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely.
Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea,
past the breaking waves and said -
"It made a difference for that one."
1. One student figured out a scramble squares puzzle after working on it for several days!
2. Remembering our library books
3. 100% homework completion!
4. 100% daily work completion!
5. Respectful listeners during a guest presentation
6. Mostly appropriate participation during said guest presentation
7. A student said "thank you" to me unprompted (HUGE success)
8. 0 reminders for calling out
9. I got caught up on reports ;o)
10. Our fish are still alive (a success and a disappointment for staff)
