An Ode To Teachers

I have got to say, I respect my colleagues. I do. I respect them for their integrity, their knowledge and their experiences. But most of all, I respect them because the majority of them are freaking beasts. Schools are a breeding ground for sickness, as are hospitals and medical clinics. I grew up around the medical field and spent eight years being employed in a medical office. I also worked at a daycare. So, admittedly, I had some hubris going on. I knew that first year teachers were often felled by illnessed, but I was kind of arrogant about it. I figured, at most, I'd get a cold or two.

I was stupidly, horribly, wrong. I've been sick more in this year than I have since I started working. My brain and my body have taken a beating this year. Add to the stress and my body is saying a number of expletivies in the form of overworking white blood cells trying to keep infection back. As I write, I feel like I've been hacking a lung up in front of my students each class period. I can barely breathe. My wonderful students even stepped up by helping me read today since I couldn't quite catch my breath to do so. 

Thus, I am stewing in my misery. Then I look around me. I don't know about everywhere else, but right now there are some nasty sicknesses going around my school. The students and teachers both are being felled by these diseases. So, I look at my colleagues. Many of whom do not look well or who have told me that they do not feel well. Some too are seemingly hacking up lungs. Yet, these people are not only here at work, but  are also smiling. I mean, these people are beasts. They are working in a job that is physically and mentally demanding; not only that, but they are there whether they are sick or not.

Now, I recognize that there are all sorts of opinions on this. Teachers shouldn't work when sick because they spread germs, or they have to be there because pay/ number of sick days/ the trials and tribulations of getting or having a sub. Whatever the case, I have to admire the work ethic. I was raised to have a strong work ethic. However, often I see in my peers and my students a lack of this. There is an inability to push through the ickiness that the world dishes at us and perservere. Therefore, when I see people who are living this principle, I cannot help but admire them and respect them.

Alright, that is all.