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    10 Signs You're an Urban Teacher

    1. You dress for the job - low heels or athletic shoes, pants, no purse (because you're not worried about having it taken on the street, but on the job).  Except for job interview days, you're in clothes that can stand the stress - wash off chalk (we're DECADES behind whiteboards), survive running up stairs (the elevators for the staff never work), no woven fabrics that will pucker or pull on splintered chairs or desks, and, of course, layered to adjust for temperatures that unpredictably change from too hot to too cold - sometimes, in the same class period.  You drive a car that won't tempt a thief - AND remove the CD player when you park it.
    2. You treat directives from "downtown" and the administrator's offices as "suggestions that would be nice - if I didn't have a job to do".  We work in triage mode, 24/7.
    3. You secretly think of yourself as an operative in "the combat zone" - and have the same single-minded focus on the mission as those veterans.  New teachers who have military experience fit right in.  When rookies have their first crisis, you congratulate them on becoming "battle-hardened".
    4. You refer to Friday's after school cocktail hour as "R & R".
    5. The mission is to teach as many kids as will let you, as often as they come in.  Everything else is secondary - to be done AFTER the mission is complete (never!).  The mission is complicated by:  classes with skill levels from non-existent to truly gifted (but often lazy), no materials that aren't bought by you, aging textbooks, deplorable facilities, interruptions by PA, parents who have to talk to you, right now, probation officers checking on their "clients", prank fire alarms and bomb alerts, inability to make copies for a class (which doesn't stop the memo deluge from administrators and guidance), and, sometimes, sheer exhaustion.
    6. You can entertain a party with true stories about your days.  They laugh, but secretly don't believe you.  That's OK - we only tell them the funny ones.  The truly tragic, we keep to ourselves.
    7. When a student hits you, you think "Great!  A few days vacation assault leave."
    8. When you hear a disturbance, you secure your valuables and your room, then head toward the fight.  Rules of thumb:  take care of your buddies (all other teachers, regardless of what you think about them personally - you've got each other's back), help the injured, and, whatever you do, NEVER get in between two girls fighting.  I'm not kidding.  Most of the ones who have to take medical leave were injured breaking up a girl fight.
    9. You can, at a glance, identify the gang of an alleged perp on the evening news, by the colors, the gang signs, or the tattoos.
    10. You could never teach anywhere else.  It's too boring.  Although you've left many a time at the end of the day (or year) swearing to get another job, doing anything, you're right back in the fall.  Because the work you do has meaning.  Because you make a difference.  The kids you teach, REALLY need you.
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    Posted: Friday, May 30, 2008 6:15 AM by lfox368806
    Comments

    Preston said:

    Great post.  I can't image how you do it and keep such a positive attitude.

    # May 30, 2008 8:59 AM

    Betty said:

    I totally get what you are saying.  I was in a similar environment when I retired.  We literally hit the floor if we heard a loud noise in the hall.  A fire was started that circled our school, and we were told to secure our rooms.  Some of us wondered if we should follow their advice or get our kids out of there.  There were constant lock downs.  When I told stories, I could tell that some  people didn't believe me.  The funny part is, I agree with you about the boring part.  Once you are a part of a school like that, you are connected forever.

    # May 30, 2008 4:58 PM

    Learn Me Good 2 said:

    Hello everybody, and welcome to the 175th edition of the Carnival of Education. Thanks to last week’s

    # June 11, 2008 12:31 AM

    Technology In Teaching said:

    My post on the 10 Signs You're an Urban Teacher made the list. Check out the entire Carnival of Education

    # June 11, 2008 12:12 PM

    Elaine C. said:

    Oh. My.

    I've only just finished my 2nd year. And I qualify for almost all of those.  (I don't drink. World of Warcraft is my R&R.)

    Of course, that was my first year teaching.  I got married, and thus moved.  I'm in a district now where most of those don't apply.  Not quite as rewarding, but makes my husband feel better about my safety.

    And many of my fellow teachers who have MANY more years of experience don't believe my stories.

    *shaking head*

    # June 11, 2008 8:31 PM

    Pat said:

    This was really great! Unfortunately I could really relate to most of them! lol

    # June 18, 2008 7:09 PM

    Technology In Teaching said:

    My 10 Signs You're an Urban Teacher made the Carnival of Education this week. I hope everyone is having

    # July 2, 2008 10:54 PM

    Tracy said:

    Here here! The first one made me laugh because when a student asked me why I never wore high heels, I told her because I would never wear shoes to school that I couldn't run in!

       #10 is the best, though, because it is so true.

    # July 25, 2008 1:57 PM
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