Here’s What Keeps Teachers on the Job

   It’s the creative freedom that my principal allows us to have. Every year, if I try to do something different, that's going to keep me on my toes, and it keeps me excited—versus just doing the same curriculum over and over again, every single year. Every year I will try to challenge myself with something different and something new.

"My principal, she trusts me. And it allows me to play around with what I feel like will be best for the group of kids that I have in front of me. Without that, I feel like it’s just going to be like, ‘This is what is expected of you. You have to use this curriculum.’ And it’s very routines-based, almost too strict. When my principal gives us her expectations, it’s kind of like, ‘OK, now you tell me what you need. How can I support you to get you there?"

   Today, there was a kiddo that started off the school year having a pretty rough time. These past couple weeks, he has been phenomenal. Today in class, I saw a moment where he was by himself, and I told him, 'I want you to know how much all your teachers are so stinking proud of you, and we see how hard you’re working.' I know he’s not the kind of kid to be like, 'Oh, thanks!,' but just his little, 'yeah,' made my day, because I know that’s going to help him keep doing what he’s doing.

"It’s my driving force behind everything to help marginalized communities. Anytime I get to translate or teach science class in English and Spanish, I feel like I’m getting to use my superpowers to help kiddos that otherwise wouldn’t be getting that help. That’s definitely what keeps me going."

   I know it's a cliché, but it's for the kids. It’s never a day goes by that I question whether what I'm doing has an impact on my community. When I work with kids every day, I know that what I'm doing is important, is useful, is necessary.

"Every freshman class, every senior class, is similar in that there are some differences, and there are some likenesses. And it's enjoying what is new while also trying to keep a level of, hopefully, quality and structure. You still feel comfortable knowing what you're going to be doing on any given day so that you [don’t] feel like you're having to reinvent the wheel constantly."

   I love working with kids. I always wanted to be a teacher. I believe in education. I think that education is the key for our students and for our society. It empowers people. And our society becomes better.

"As an [English-for-speakers-of-other-languages] teacher, [I have] the opportunity to become that bridge and close gaps with families that do not speak English, and [be] able to provide that example for them [and] resources—whether it's to translate for a conference, whether it's to share their concerns.

"Sometimes they don’t know how or who to ask. When they have someone that has lived part of what they are going through, they have that connection, and it becomes more real. That's what keeps me going."

   Instead of just focusing on academics, school is more about focusing on the needs beyond the classroom: making sure students know what's going on in real life and how to survive in the real world, whilst taking care of them themselves. Learning how to be a leader, learning how to manage themselves. I feel like it's a big focus now for kids to learn that they are in control of themselves, and not other people.

"Students are encouraged to express their opinions and take actions to make changes to problems they see. It was empowering when I witnessed my students come up with action plans to combat global hunger last school year, while learning math.

"Technology provides us with more ways to communicate with our students and their grown-ups. It makes learning more enticing and engaging for students, and really enables teachers to think outside the box when we create activities and assessments for our students."

   Technology—being able to check and monitor students as a whole. When my [Advanced Placement] kids, for example, take a practice AP test, it is so much faster for me to use Google Forms than to have to grade each of their individual assignments. And then I can see the averages of which questions are being commonly missed. I can do that over the course of years to say, 'This is something I really need to focus on in the future, because they're clearly not getting the inference that goes along with this particular type of metaphor, or this kind of description, or there's a word that they're missing here.' The diagnostic elements of it have dramatically improved.

"The ability to bring in different media [to the classroom] is really useful, too. When I first started teaching, access to things like Poetry Foundation was limited, or to YouTube. The ability to drop in an aria from an opera at the drop of a hat is really, really beneficial.”

   I feel like there are more opportunities for growth, and I try to take advantage of them. As an educator, you have to be a lifelong learner. We have leadership opportunities in our school. I stepped out of my own comfort zone to become a teacher-leader. I’m the team lead for 2nd grade meetings, so I share information with other teachers.

"It’s good to get outside of your school building and see what other teachers are doing, and this role allows me to do that. I’ve also taken advantage of optional training that helps me become a better teacher."