I Didn't Know POEM

I Didn't Know

I didn't know that years of school and a college degree would be of little

consolation when facing a room full of bright little eyes on the

first day of school. I thought I was ready...

I didn't know that five minutes can seem like five hours when there is

idle time and an eight hour school day far too short for a

well-planned day of teaching..

I didn't know that teaching children was only a fraction of my job.

No one tells you about the conferences and phone calls, faculty meetings, committees, paperwork and paperwork...

I didn't know that it took so long to cut out letters, draw and color pictures,

laminate-all for those bulletin boards that were always "just there"...

I didn't know that I would become such a scavenger, and that teaching

materials would feel like pure gold in my hands...

I didn't know that an administration and co-workers that support

and help you could make such a difference...

I didn't know that there would be children that I loved and cared for

and stayed up late worrying about, who, one day,

would simply not show up.

And that I would never see them again...

I didn't know that I can't always dry little tears and mend broken hearts.

I thought I could always make a difference...

I didn't know that the sound of children's laughter could drown

out the sound of all the world's sadness...

I didn't know that children could feel so profoundly.

A broken heart knows no age...

I didn't know that a single "yes ma'am" from a disrespectful child

or a note in my desk that says "You're the best!" could make me feel like

I'm on top of a mountain and forget the valleys I forged to get there...

I never knew that after one year of teaching I would feel so much

wiser, more tired, sadder and happier, all at once.

And that I would no longer call teaching my job,

but my privilege.