I do believe, and find myself somewhat frequently saying that non-teachers simply cannot truly, completely understand the difficulties of being a full-time classroom teacher, especially in under-served, low-income communities. I don't mean to say that in an arrogant or a condescending way; simply in a factual way. There's just no way that you can know without actually experiencing the flurry of real, nonstop day-to-day highs, lows, joys, sorrows, busyness, ambiguity, confusion, craziness, wonders, etc. of teaching. Basically, there's no way that you can claim to completely understand something that you haven't actually experienced yourself. Certainly by the same token, I readily admit that I cannot (at this moment in time) completely understand what it means to work in the corporate world, or in the medical field. Those sectors have their own unique set of difficulties that I won't pretend to be able to fully relate to. There is just no way that I could completely understand, having never worked in those sectors. However, sometimes people don't apply that same principle when it comes to the education sector because most people have spent over a decade of their lives in classrooms as students, growing up and getting an education. So, they do have an extensive amount of experience in the classroom, and so it's understandable to me (but not agreeable) why they think they know something about teaching. But I strongly encourage those people to reconsider because the student experience and the teacher experience are very different. It's not a perfect analogy, but it's kind of like saying that you know how to play basketball really well because you've watched a lot of games. Sure, watching games does help, analyzing them helps more, but if you've never been on the court, you are some combination of arrogant, foolish, and ludicrous to claim that you're a good basketball player. Such things can also be said of non-teachers who think they know what it means to be a teacher.
Again, I say this with the intention of being informative and not condescending. I don't want this to become an excuse for me or other teachers to be moody or to complain all the time, to be inconsiderate of others, or to have to be accommodated all the time, like a man who uses having had a bad day at work to exasperate his wife and children when he gets home. I also don't want to brush aside non-teachers who genuinely want to understand. Everyone has their difficulties, and it's often part of relationships to empathize with them. Just because you can't completely understand, doesn't mean that you can't show your love and support. And in fact, I feel very blessed to be surrounded by many non-teachers in my life who get this, and I dearly appreciate when they lovingly empathize with the struggles that I face as a teacher without pretending like they completely understand them. It only irks me when people talk as if teaching is easy and nothing more than glorified babysitting, and/or a back-up plan because I couldn't do anything "better" with myself (e.g. "You know what they say; those who can't do, teach!") Boy, that really riles me up. Don't get me started. But I would venture to say that Trosclair, the author of the aforementioned article that motivated this post, has heard that, or things like it, from one too many persons, resulting in her article coming off as perhaps a bit -- abrasive? (in my humble opinion). I hope that, while holding the views that I've stated in this post, I can be gracious in my lifetime in trying to correct the misperceptions that people have about teaching. Nonetheless, Trosclair brings up some honest considerations for non-teachers, and I hope that you can read them informatively to construct for yourself a more accurate (though incomplete) picture of what it means to be a teacher.
