A Teacher’s Lamentation

For this post, we welcome Guest Blogger, Rochelle Richards, to this platform.

I’d like to first premise what is to follow by stating that after twenty- four years,

two months and a day, my view of life and the drive for the career field I ended

up in are vastly different from what they used to be. See, I entered this

profession, not by choice, but rather because there was a need for employment

and all other doors knocked upon were yielding nothing but, “I’m sorry but at this

time… blah blah blah”. It may not have been my first choice or love, however, I

am very good at what I do. Largely this is because I come from a family of

educators and got my first training and mentoring from an aunt who owns her

own school. I entered this profession fired up, wanting to give back to a

community that my mother and siblings were all raised up in; that I also at one

point, for a short stint, called home. However, as one matures and experiences

life, many things have changed the shape and scope of the lens through which I

view my employers and the ones they delegated to manage their investment, so

to speak.

It’s one thing to naturally have an inclination or skillset to do certain things and

another to know how to impart what you know in a manner that nurtures the

academic growth in another person. I had a zest and zeal for learning but quickly

realized how being intrinsically motivated and driven to be proactive could yield

an unexpected division in a space which should be dedicated to collectively

working together, with a common goal of bettering the lives of children. Fast

forward another fourteen years and that realization has ballooned into so much

more. “Under Appreciated and Over Worked: Tale of the Ever-Dedicated

Employee”, (sounds like a good title for a book), has become the daily internal

sound bite, which has filtered into my subconscious psyche.

Consequently, it is often a struggle to pull myself out of bed and be motivated to

travel to a space in which insubordination without consequence is the norm,

while the ones who toe the line are berated for the slightest infraction. It is hard

to be one who pushes self beyond the limit because you are good at what you do

and be disliked for it. Being a go-getter seemingly bothers my coworkers. Instead

of an environment where true team building occurs, most times we move in

disconnect as there is a lack of proper communication. Further, one simply gets

demotivated at times by the haphazardness that pervades what is supposed to be

objective leadership in the workplace. The lack of proper communication and

inefficiency from the one being paid to lead really brings life to “if the head is

weak, so too will be the body”. When the leader becomes a ‘yes person’ to all the

clients, regardless of the manner they treat the employees and the lack of

accountability which is placed on them, this situation leaves much to be desired.

This causes a negative dip in morale and just subtracts more from the “I feel

appreciated” basket.

Many ask, “Why stay? Why not simply find something else that is less debilitating

mentally?” The simple truth is, I’ve worked too hard and for too long to just say,

“f--- it” and kick the bucket over. Life’s responsibilities and the gift I’ve been given

require me to focus on working out the time until I would have fulfilled my

required years in this profession, and to diligently work on a sustainable exit plan

for when I meet that goal post. If I only had only me to think of, along with a large

enough savings, perhaps I could wing it, but that isn’t the life I live, nor is of many

in my field. So, it’s become a daily mental chessboard of do the best with what is

in front of me. It’s become:

• accept what I can change and control and chuck the rest in the f- it bucket.

• you are not superwoman nor a parent to anyone other than the gift given.

• remember you are VERY replaceable to many but VERY irreplaceable to

one, my child.

I don’t regret making a big impact on many lives. It’s just sad that I have had

to be drained to do so and for so little in return. Teachers often feel that their

time, energy, and efforts are undervalued in society. Without an educated

populace, what kind of society would we be living in?

So, the answer to the “Why stay when there are so many reasons to leave?” is

simple. I may not get every child to where they are capable of being, but I can

take them to a place they haven’t arrived to as yet. I may not be in the most

morale building work environment, yet I can be a light to those who choose to

see it shine; I can, in some way, help another to not feel as though they tarry

weary in the vineyard alone.

I may not receive the adequate appreciation from those around as I should,

yet that one hug or smile from a child when they finally grasp a concept still

lifts my spirit up. I stay because in my own way, I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. At the

end of it all, the way I choose to move through the difficult parts of adulthood

will be the cobblestones on which the most important person in my life will

step as she grows older. After all, it’s been said that the hardest of battles is

given to the strongest of persons. I confidently take my place as one of the

STRONGEST OF PERSONS!

Rochelle Richards is a charismatic, creative young woman who resides in the beautiful island of Antigua. She is an author, poet, educator and blogger, whose love of reading has led to developing a passion for writing. Ms. Richards has also published her very first novel, an accomplishment of which she is extremely proud.

Her social media footprints are as follows:

IG - @rrhythms_

Facebook – www.https://www.facebook.com/IAmLight2

Blogs: www.orrchidslines.bogspot.com

www.orrchidslines.wordpress.com