i’m keeping it real today.  here are ten things they don’t tell you about being a teacher.  they are things that you definitely won’t hear in a college education course or even during your first few years of teaching.  they are probably things that you will learn through your own experiences.

1.  you’ll have to buy a lot of your own supplies. and that can get incredibly expensive.

2.  you may be the most positive, loving, and reliable person in your students’ lives.  try to live up to that each day.

3. you will learn to hold your bladder because there just isn’t time to pee.

4.  most people will hate you in the summer, but parents will love you come august.

5.  you will hope to be able to use the same lesson plans every year, but you’ll most likely be starting over each year.

6.  some of the kids’ stories will break your heart and you won’t be able to do anything to change their situations.

7.  at some point, you will get a kid’s bodily fluid on you.  usually it’s snot or puke.  i’m not ashamed to call for back up.

8.  sometimes the parents are harder to deal with than the students, especially when the parent thinks their kid is perfect…and you know better.

9. kids are manipulative and they will try to outsmart you, anger you, and even ruin you.

10.  your evaluation is important, but it most likely won’t show the work you do each day in the trenches.