Feeling Exhausted

Teaching is an exhausting job. Yet when I entered this field, several decades ago, I did not head home most evenings feeling this way. Our district, like many others, is dealing with less state monies. So one of the ways to budget this shortfall is to cut specialists jobs and place their areas of teaching back onto the classroom teacher. More to teach, more to cover in an already full day. Thus one of the reasons for my exhaustion.

I also teach in a school where our challenge is to close the achievement gap. That gap doesn't describe just an academic chasm, but can include a family resource, life experience, financial, and behavioral gap. Just to name a few. Trying to meet the needs of those gaps or link up services that do is trying. For the past five years, our school has been fortunate to be able to support families with personnel or services that minister to the gaps. But it appears that support will face the chopping block of budget cuts. So teaching in a school where students begin with disadvantages is exhausting.

It's that time of year for school board member elections and for the school board, along with various district officials to develop the budget for the upcoming year. Do they understand all that goes on within our individual schools? Do they grasp what we as teachers manage during the day. Those questions are exhausting.