It all started when @HuffPoEd tweeted a resignation letter from a teacher. I think I've made my feelings on these letters perfectly clear (see this and this). And I don't go looking for these letters. I don't even click on the link most of the time because I know how they make me feel.
But for some reason I did. And it pissed me off, like it does.
Which lead to the following string of tweets:
Courson @Courson_Monster ·
"MT @HuffPostEdu:Why I'm resigning as a teacher http://huff.to/1j2EOkr " Look forward to Why Teaching is Awesome stories to balance the whine
.@HuffPostEdu But positive education stories don't get many clicks, do they? Better to just post resignation letters from quitters.
Courson @Courson_Monster
You
realize that you're allowed to quit teaching without a long resignation
letter that only hurts those of us not quitting, right?
Bc @HuffPostEdu will LOVE to run your complaining rather than a positive article about teachers staying and kicking ass.
You're
giving up and leaving us. That's fine, I'm sure you have good reasons.
But don't we have enough bad press w/out quitting Ts helping?
Either
stay and fight our get out and let us fight. They will run 100 stories
about crap ed for every one good story. Don't. Help. Them.
Thus endeth tonight's rant. @HuffPostEdu, you want positive teacher stories? Come see me.
Just
because you're moving out of a house you don't like anymore doesn't
mean you've gotta toss a lit match behind you on the way out.
I can't be the only teacher who HATES those letters, can I?
*this is your cue, everyone who didn't just unfollow me
Shockingly (or not), I didn't lose a bunch of followers. It probably helped that my little fit started around 10pm. It also helped that I'm not alone in my feelings. I've developed a group of friends who are as crazy dedicated to education as I am, if not more so. So instead of telling me to get over it, or to pay attention to which links I click, they responded to my final tweet in a way I couldn't possibly have expected. They responded with some of the most inspiring writing about being an educator I've read. And now I want you to read them. I insist that you read them.
From John Wick- Someone to Carry You
From Samantha Bates- Being All That You Can Be
From Jess Lifshitz- What I Wish We, As Teachers, Wrote About More
From Kory Graham- Keep On Teaching On
From Brian Costello- I Have a Dream...Just Try To Stop Me
From Jeffrey Farley- What's Wrong With Public Education
From Ross LeBrun- Why I Stay
From Mark Johnson- Reasons Why I Love My Job
These are the kinds of teachers I want to work with. These are the kinds of teachers I'm proud to call my friends.
Honored to have met your challenge! I firmly believe that we all need our manifesto dedicated to education to be out there. Don't go into teaching unless you're ready to give it your all and when you have... when you must leave, don't set those of us back who are still in the fight with a public resignation letter.
ReplyDeleteThe Weird Teacher has some pretty Awesome Ideas!