Top Five Things Teachers Deserve (Besides More Money*)

5) More supplies. Teachers should not have to pay out of pocket for basic classroom necessities, especially when you consider an average high school teacher sees 150 kids a day. That's a lot of pencils, notebooks, or science supplies. Sure, there are grants we could write, but that takes a lot of time, of which we have little. Besides, we would rather spend time with the students than spend time writing grants for simple things that every office supplies for their employees.

4) More technology. Yeah, it's expensive. Yeah, some teachers are repulsed at the thought of needing to incorporate computers into the classroom. It shouldn't be an option anymore. Students with great computer skills are better equipped for the real world. On top of that, asking a kid to do an assignment on a computer is much more exciting to her than asking her to write it down. Again, every decent company has a LCD projector in each conference room - classrooms should be the same way. Remember overhead projectors? Yeah, they are as awful as you remember and they are still in every classroom.

3) More time. No, we don't only work 8am-3pm. We grade, we meet, we collaborate, we organize clubs and events. We plan, we set up, we do paperwork. We teach from 8am-3pm, which means we are in front of students that whole time, minus one prep period and 30 minutes for lunch. 30 minutes?! Don't we deserve more than that? Also, have you ever thought about when teachers go to the bathroom? We can't take the hall pass. After class, the kids have questions. Not a fun situation when your job doesn't give you enough time to pee.

2) More parent responsibility. Really? You think that I'm the one lying about what happened to your son's homework? Let's think about this. He says he turned it in, I say he didn't. Who gains here from lying, me or him? Right. He didn't turn it in. Don't demean me by acting like your 13-year-old is a better person than me, a lying, no good nothing. How about you help him with his homework, you ask him what he needs to do, you make sure its in his backpack. Not every parent can do everything, but every parent can do a little more. Some kids that I have taught could have benefited immensely from not just one aspect of involvement, but the act of being involved at all.

1) MORE RESPECT. From the parents, from the students, from the administration, from YOU. Yeah, for 2 months I am not in my classroom. Most teachers get other jobs. We also make money for only 10 months. You could take 2 months unpaid vacation, too, I bet. Also, don't think I am a teacher because I couldn't make it in the job market - I chose it because I want to help kids love science, and I really love it. I could go on and on, but then it would be a manifesto and not a blog.

Tons of people think they "know" about teaching, but there are a ton of misconceptions. And yes, there are always exceptions (good and bad) to the rule. There are some horrible teachers. But they are few and far between, so give us some credit and appreciate a teacher today. And if you ever had a great teacher in elementary/middle/high school, what would you say to them if you saw them on the street today?

* More money is #1, but these other things usually get lost once money is discussed.