The Classroom

I love my life. The last few months I haven’t been able to get that thought out of my head. I love my new home, my new son, my daughter and my wife, but most importantly I love my job.
Today I read something that made me cringe though. It made me angry, sad and worried all at the same time…
It happened during a professional development session with David Warlick (if you ever have the chance to see him, I highly recommend it…). During his session he encourages teachers to chat “underground” using a program called knitter. During a discussion I had with a teacher the following flashed across my screen:

“I teach for food, not love. Luckily I’m good at it”

I didn’t respond at the time, I as too angry- but I’d like to try now.
I can’t even fathom doing a job I didn’t love… Much less one so importantly as teaching. This person (who used an alias so I’m not even sure who they were) thinks they’re doing a good job, and that maybe true, but he/she isn’t doing the best job they can. You can’t run an effective classroom with out heart. You’re in charge of the future. We trust our kids, our nation, our very world to you…. Do we really want the shapers of our future leaders, the roll models for generations to come, do show our children that they don’t need heart? To become pay cheque player, in it only for themselves? A society of selfish individuals doing only what they have to to get by? If that’s the world we’re creating, then stop the planet, I’m getting off….