Differentiate, they say
Write lesson plans
Meet with parents
Attend meetings, they say
Make sure your bulletin boards are up to date
Keep records and documentation on each child
Check homework, they say
Do all this while tying shoe laces all day
Settling arguments all day
Dealing with the child who can’t sit all day
Bouncing off the walls
Out of control
However, control them, they say
Assess them
Teach them
Work miracles, they say
But I am human
I am only one person, I say
I am overworked and underpaid
I am taken for granted
I am unappreciated, I say
I am overwhelmed, stressed, and tired
I am doing my best even though my best is not good enough
What do you want from me? I say
I have friends and a family
Ignore and neglect them, they say
Give your all to other people’s kids and forget about your own
I refuse to stay quiet and pretend this is ok
Because teachers are human too
Give us a break for God’s sake
We can’t learn like this the kids say
Testing us all day, everyday
We’re only in first grade!
Moving at such a fast pace
We don’t get it, they say
Boring lessons
No room to let our imaginations run wild
Let us be kids!
Have fun, learn, and play, they say
We are not just names on a paper
We are people, they say
Treat us as such and maybe we’ll make it all the way
All this pressure on us to make who look good?
They don’t care about us, just what’s on the walls
Standards, processes, objectives, they say
Have teachers stressing about these words we don’t even know
One day I pray they will realize
They’re setting us all up for failure
But until then we’ll all pretend and try to survive under the pressure