In Response to Governor Bevin

In response to Governor Bevin’s Comments on Teachers in his interview on March 14, 2018:

I love being a teacher, but becoming a teacher was a sacrifice.

I could have done so many other things and made so much more money than I do now. I could have pursued dreams and fulfilled very real potential. In school, I was in the gifted program. I scored in the 99^th percentile on the big standardized tests. I got awards and honors and achievements more than most people in my grade. I was a Governor’s Scholar. I went to college on a full tuition scholarship and graduated there with honors.

I am not ignorant or blind.

I could have done almost any job I wanted to do. I have the intellectual aptitude, work ethic, people skills, and drive for anything.

But I wanted to be a teacher.

I chose to be a teacher because I felt called to do it. I felt that I had something important to offer children, that I could do amazing things in the classroom that would be meaningful for thousands of young people. And I have done that and continue to do that.

I am not unwilling.

Doing the job well has required me to be selfless. I have given up not only other lucrative career opportunities, but time and energy from my family. I have had to, on more than one occasion, put the needs of someone else’s child before my own child’s. During the school day, I give every part of myself to the children who fill my classroom. Then I go home and think about them. I worry and cry and pray over them. I love them fiercely.

I am not selfish.

Every day I walk into my classroom with the very real resolve to do good for these children. To love them, no matter what it costs me. I strive for excellence in my instruction. I work hard to make sure every student in my classroom learns the material, conquers the skill, and most importantly becomes an even better thinker than she was before. To do this, I have had to be a selfless visionary. I have had to see good when others see problems. I have had to remind myself that I can’t always have what I deserve. I have had to be willing to work hard and forgive and smile.

I am not short-sighted.

I became a teacher knowing the job would be difficult and knowing that I would be underpaid and probably underappreciated. However, I also went into this profession expecting compensation for my work. This is my career, not volunteer work. My salary, and the pension that goes with it, is half of my family’s livelihood.

I am not uninformed or easily misled.

I did not become a teacher to get rich. I didn’t do it for recognition or praise or fame. Those things don’t exist in the teaching profession. I became a teacher because I knew I would be great at it. I knew that I had an opportunity and even a responsibility to use my intellect and gifts to serve people in the best way I knew how, by loving and guiding teenagers to be the best versions of themselves.

I am not throwing a temper tantrum.

I could find a different career, one where I am paid more and offers better retirement benefits. However, I love my job. Days like today, when the very fiber of who I am as an educator is belittled and insulted, I must rest on the promise that tomorrow morning my classroom will be filled with children who need me and appreciate me. They give me reason to teach with vigor and conviction, with grace and humility, with energy and passion. They will keep me going. They are why I am a teacher in the first place.

I love my students.

I am blessed and honored to be their teacher.