Sadly, there are some f*ck ups

Last Friday afternoon as I pulled out of my school parking lot to head home for the weekend, I flipped on the radio to my sports talk station of choice and was horrified to stumble into the middle of a call-in segment that consisted of teachers lining up to explain to the hosts how theirs was the easiest teaching gig in public education.  Since there is so little sports talk programming to be found in my town, I am thankful for whatever little I can get--but upon realizing what I was listening to, my initial reaction was rage and a pledge to declare good riddance to the station forever.

I calmed down and persisted.  But two days later as I write this, I still can't believe the utter idiocy and shamelessness of teachers who would actually call into a radio program and brag about being such losers.  One spoke of simply handing out worksheets all day to their kids.  Another clown pointed towards art teachers as having the easiest job when in fact the opposite is closer to the truth.  (Art teachers regularly have the most challenging students placed or even "dumped" into their classrooms.)

I only caught the last 15 minutes of the segment, and it verged on humiliation, but I took my lumps.  Unfortunately, there are a small number of f*ck ups that somehow end up teaching kids, and SHAME ON the school principals and school district HR personnel that allow it to happen.  I have taught in three different schools over a twelve year period, and I am happy to say that I have never come across such dysfunction and immorality.

Teachers are amazing people.  They are far more worthy of praise than what is being afforded to them in the current political climate.  It is infuriating how a tiny number of societal slugs that somehow manage to job the system stain the reputation of the rest of us.