So before going out, I spent last night e-mailing nearly every single colleague of mine.  I had previously looked up their legislative districts based on the town of residence.  Then, last evening, I looked up the NJEA endorsed Assembly candidates for each district and e-mailed them in batches based on district.  (It is strange that I am the only district 25 resident in the building, but not everyone can handle the fabulousness that is the 25 - just kidding.)  A lot of legwork for a hopefully successful election.  So, this morning, I tentatively check my LAT e-mail, nervous that I will get some nasty "do not e-mail me" responses.   So far, so good.  Perhaps they will do what they always do:  go to my union president and complain I am telling them who to vote for.  Um, this was his idea - a personal touch that I agree with - and this is your pension at stake.  You know, that pension you paid into more than 50%?  Yes, that one.  I want to have some more of my colleagues do actions like phone banking, leaflet drops, canvassing, but it is very hard to get that from them.  I think some of them are deluded into thinking they will come through their career at the other end completely unscathed.  Some are just truly burnt out.  They spend all their energy giving to the kids, and they have none left at the end of the day.

Which leads me to something related to the last post.  Societal impact.  I do judge your high paying job and the related smugness you carry based on the societal impact.   Our culture values gross income over the importance and benefit to society.  I know too many people who think that is fair.  My political beliefs are a part of why I think they are wrong.  Some of those same people believe a fast food worker or a department store cashier does not deserve a living wage.  Yet they fail to see the contradiction.  I know my thoughts on this and my judgments are probably closed-minded, but after being in a profession that has rapidly gone from being respected to being vilified, the result is this.

I know that many people will pay lip service to the whole "your job as a teacher is wonderful".  Sure, we are saints, patient, special people.  But your words are contradicted by your attitude.  How many friends, former students, and relatives gleefully support politicians who are gutting the public education system in order to create for profit schools?  How many of them are so nasty about the taxes they pay towards schools, claiming it's the teachers taking all the money?  As a traditionally female profession, we have been expected to be martyrs.  But seeing the respect people have for a CEO who was smart enough to work a system to rake in millions each year, I fail to see the sincerity of the compliments to my profession.  I can only take a compliment from a person whose opinion I respect.

And as of right now, that group includes only my students.  Yes, adults are a let down.  My kids are what makes my days worth it.  The kindness and respect I am getting from them this year is phenomenal.  And it could not come at a better time.  Last year was the absolute worst as far as morale and love for the profession...  for all of us.  And on the friend front?  Well, let's just say the let downs just keep coming.  But my students?  They are pure delight, even when they are not listening to the lesson, trying to use the cell phones, asking a question that was just addressed two minutes ago.  Their kindness and respect comes from a place of purity and no judgment.  They see what I give them and are honestly thankful.  And here's the best thing....  When something bad happens to us, they care.  So much.  Two teachers in car accidents this year.  One who has been complained about a great deal; one who is universally loved.  Yet, the concern for the teachers was equal.  No judgment.  Pure caring for the individual.  They know the goodness of the teachers and reciprocate with genuine care and concern.  If I have a rough day, and I vent, they validate my feelings.  They do not try to tell me I am wrong.  They might suggest other ways to deal with things, but never tell me I am wrong.  This is so familiar.  Not because this is what I get from friends but because this they have learned from us.  This is how we teachers deal with them.  And at a time when the majority of the adults in our lives are more interested in letting us know that what we feel and believe and how we preserve our happiness is wrong, my time with my students is that much more satisfying.