Oh you teach Kindergarten?

Them: What grade do you teach?

Me: Kindergarten
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This is where the conversation either goes one of two ways.

1)
Them: Oh, bless your heart. I don't know how anyone could possibly do that.

OR

2)
Them: Oh so you basically babysit all day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the first situation, I understand that the job is not for everyone. I appreciate the blessing and that you realize my job is more than babysitting. It does make me sad how awful they picture it, though. Do they imagine a bunch of kids running around like crazy in an enclosed classroom? Do you have zero patience? They are just kids who need love and validation. I don't get it..

In the second situation, I used to get really mad. Now, I just feel bad for the person. What makes them view school in this way? If you truly believe that Kindergarten is babysitting, then you are incredibly uneducated and need to step foot in a classroom to see what is really going on before you assume we just watch kids all day.

Either way, it usually ends with me smiling, nodding, and walking away... I know that what I do is incredibly valuable and that's all that matters.  Sometimes I will say a little something about how we set the foundation for their learning experience, yadda yadda yadda. Which is usually returned with an eye roll. Like I said in my last blog-why argue with someone who already has their mind made up?

Common Core...

It always happens. I'll be sitting somewhere, a park, a baby shower, a birthday party, a bowling alley, or just out to dinner with friends and someone finds out I'm a teacher. Sometimes this person is a teacher too, but it doesn't matter what they do because they always ask the same thing: "What do you think about the new Common Core?" It's always with a negative tone.

Usually the person who brings the topic up has no clue about Common Core, or the teaching world at all. I usually sit back and let the people around me discuss it and stay out of the conversation completely. People always want to complain about something. I don't see what the big fuss is about. Common Core has been a long time coming. Why fight it? It's just another shift. I don't hate it, I don't avoid it. Why not dive in, explore it? See the good in it. That's not what the person wants me to say. It's as if they are disappointed when I don't bath mouth the new learning standards.

I LOVE my job, but on the weekends I just want to be me. I don't want to go into depth about my feelings on teaching standards. I simply want to enjoy whatever event I am attending. It's not every day or weekend that I am able to attend these events due to my exhaustion at the end of a teaching week.

Maybe it's just me, but when I find out someone's career, I don't immediately want to discuss something controversial about their profession. I understand they could be trying to start a conversation, or that maybe they are interested in the topic but I'm just not into discussing it with someone who obviously has their mind made up based off of who knows what research, logic, and experience.