Surgeons work terrible hours. They do really hard things. They have to be on call to literally go in at any moment. Sometimes, their patients die. Oh sure, they get paid a lot of money. But I couldnt do it.
Then, think of all the nurses and even hospital staff who don't get paid that much. But they still do hard things. They clean up messes I can't fathom. Their personal schedules have to revolve around their on call hours and their other, scheduled, crazy hours.
My trash is picked up at 4 AM ish. That means someone goes to work before 4 AM to literally haul trash. Last winter, the garbage truck wrecked on an icy day. Those poor people.
The mail people deliver my mail (and yours), rain or shine or sleet or snow. They get in and out of those cars who even knows how any times a day. They cover alllll the miles. They carry heavy packages. They drive down long driveways they aren't sure they'll be able to back down. They put up with grumpy, disgruntled people who wanted their packages earlier.
The IT guy works llloonnggg hours. He's expected to respond quickly and fix problems promptly. He's expected to always have the answer or the fix immediately. He's expected to know the technology and accurately guess at any possible human error. He must remain patient and kind with people who are doing silly things, people who need lots of repeated help, and people who are pretty sure all if this is somehow the IT guys fault.
The business man is tired of sitting at his desk. His back hurts, and he's made more decisions than he can count. He has employees that are counting on him. Customers he needs to keep happy. Stocks he must watch. Emails coming in constantly. And a family waiting at home.
And don't even get me started on the soldier, the farmer, the preacher, the stay at home mom.
Jobs are just hard.
They come with decisions. Big ones, small ones, 80 million ones. They come with bosses who may or may not be great and some sort of clientele that probably isn't always pleasent. They come with hours that aren't always favorable and situations that are hard to walk away from. They all require balance that is often hard to achieve.
Oh yes, jobs are hard. The good news is, you get to pick your hard ... And you also get to pick your passion.
Because jobs also have good parts. They do have paychecks. They have rewards. They have perks. They have times you feel good - maybe it's a bonus or a time off award - maybe it's just an "atta boy". Maybe it's a saved life or knowing you made someone's day. Maybe it's knowing you made a difference.
And I will tell you, as much as anyone, that teaching is hard. Because it is HARD. The pay isn't fantastic. The hours look nice on paper and are harsh in reality. The clientele is often ungrateful and sometimes downright mean. Decisions are handed down that you disagree with and don't understand. The workload follows you as much as you'll let it and the decision making and mental/emotional strain are *real*.
But I chose that hard. I chose it over construction worker hard and delivery man hard and dentist hard and surgeon hard and even stay at home mom hard. I chose my hard because I also chose my passion.
I will also tell you, more than anyone, that teaching has good parts. There are children whom you know you've impacted. There are lightbulb "ah-ha" moments and relieved and greatful parents. There are days of fun and joy no other profession gets to have with kids. And oh my goodness there is a whole entire world of people who are the people they are partly because of you.
I've read a lot of things about how hard teaching is. And I don't disagree with them ... but sometimes I grow weary of them.
Oh, I'm glad when teaching is recognized as being hard. I'm thankful when it's acknowledged that we are a real profession full of real professionals who deserve to be seen and treated as such.
Yet I think we could fall easily into seeing teachers as victims. And guys, teachers aren't victims. Warriors maybe. Champions on our best days. Fighters for sure. But please don't let us be victims.
Because our job isn't the only hard one. It's just the hard that comes with the passion we chose.
So, see the hard. But focus on the passion. Lean into it. Fight to change the things that are hard. Speak up for your kids, your beliefs, your knowledge of what's best. Take on roles that allow you to encourage and affect change. Don't sit idly by and be discouraged that it's hard. Help figure out ways to make it ... Well, slightly less hard.
If we lean into the hard, the only thing we get to see is more ways that our job is hard. But if we'll just lean into the passion ... Maybe we'll remeber how it can carry us through the hard.
Oh, we all have days we wobble, but teachers across the country are falling. So, r emember:
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