Everyone feels comfortable around his or her kind--whether it would be family, workers, or any group with the same interests. As an educator, I am frequently hounded with questions about teaching from people who have no idea what educators do. I occasionally feel as if I have to defend myself and my profession. Sometimes when people ask me what I do, I just respond that I work at a school. They take an extra look at me and probably think I work in the kitchen. I say, "Let them!" It isn't that I'm not proud of my profession because I'm very proud and passionate about my job.
[A picture of downtown Spokane]
Last week I was with my own. DKG--an honorary society for key women teachers. It was great! We all had the same interests and feelings about education. We didn't have to defend our salaries--one of my pet peeves. We have our students as our top priority at school. For some teachers, school work takes time from their own families. I have often told younger teachers to restrict the amount of their extracurriculars so that they still have plenty of time with their young children. However, younger teachers are the ones who need more money and in turn that means more sponsorships or coaching.
[Picture from an HBO show about hipsters]
We had great speakers. Amanda Gore, an Australian, was one of the best. She introduced me to a new term for a group of people in our country now: hipsters. I hadn't heard about them before, but when I got back to Indiana, I saw a book about them in Barnes and Nobles. Hipsters are a group of young adults who live on trust funds. They remind me of a cross between hippies and the homeless. Even though they have plenty of money, they play the system and get food stamps and other aid because on paper they don't work. I don't mean to blow their cover, but shouldn't something like this be looked into?
Anyway, it was great being with my own kind for a few days. I am glad to be a teacher. It is a great profession. When students come back years after I have had them in class and ask me, "Remember when....?" Many times I don't, but at least I know that I did make an impression on them. And many have made impressions on me!!
School is just around the corner. I get as excited as a first grader going to school. I have trouble sleeping the night before the first day. When I don't have that feeling, I know that it will be time to hang up my chalk. Fortunately, I am still excited. It helped being around all those other lady teachers. They are still excited also.
