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   鈥淭his past year, I became a mom. [I pieced together a maternity leave with the limited days off I had accumulated as a new teacher, donated sick leave from other teachers, extra sick days paid at a reduced rate, and unpaid leave.] My maternity leave cost me $4,000.

鈥淎nd then ... Oklahoma gave teachers six weeks [of paid maternity leave]. I was excited鈥攁nd [missing that opportunity] was frustrating, to say the least. It has been financially a stressful year.

鈥淭hrow all of that in with just the learning curve that it is to become a parent, especially a mom. My son is still very much attached to me above anybody else. It made going back to work鈥攆or three weeks until the school year ended鈥攂ittersweet, because I was very much ready to go back to work, but I also wanted to be with my baby. I was stressed about leaving my baby.

鈥淚 invest a lot emotionally into my students鈥攇etting to know them very individually, getting to know their families. I鈥檓 now navigating having your patience bucket for your school life and then turning around to go home and do all that, too, [with my own child]. It鈥檚 challenging. But it鈥檚 worth it.鈥�

   Getting it all in. Time management. Curriculum requirements鈥攎anaging that with classroom management.鈥�

   Not being able to provide my non-English-speaking students with an iPad in grades 3 to 5. I have two students, one in 3rd grade and one in 4th grade, for whom this is their second year for language acquisition. And they didn鈥檛 have any academic experience in their native language.

鈥淵es, they have a computer, they can use Google Translate. But with an iPad, they can take a picture [of a physical resource] and they can translate that text or the instructions given to perform a specific task. I believe that with that tool, it will ease their anxiety. It will make them more independent.鈥�

   Last year, the biggest challenge was dealing with students that still hadn鈥檛 fully recovered from the COVID break鈥攁nd it was a break, fundamentally, for a lot of kids.

鈥淲e had students that came to our school for the first time. [At our charter school, students attend half days in two cohorts so they can pursue other time-intensive pursuits.] ... We鈥檙e operating under the assumption that you can be in some way motivated and self-guided鈥攖o be able to do some of the necessary learning [on your own]. And sometimes these kids are so far behind that even approaching classroom subject matter is difficult for them, let alone in such a quick and vigorous environment.

鈥淭his year, I feel like there鈥檚 a politicization [brewing]. ... Up until this year, I鈥檝e always felt like the political divide and the increasing stratification of the social environment hasn鈥檛 really made it onto our shores. But this year, we started to notice it and be a little bit concerned about it.鈥�

   I think because everyone has been at school, they feel like, 鈥極h, I was a student once before. Being a teacher is not that hard, because anyone can teach, right?鈥� They always say that quote, 鈥楾hose who can, do; those who can't, teach.鈥� The big misconception is anyone can teach, anyone can be a teacher. It's not difficult to teach a child to learn. And I just don't think the public knows how much work and effort and heart we put into our jobs.鈥�

   What I have heard out there is that teachers have all these days off. And I have heard from family members: 鈥楾hey do field trips. It鈥檚 so fun.鈥� They don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 so stressful. You鈥檝e got to make sure that all the kids get back to school, that they have to eat lunch.

鈥淓ven on days off, we鈥檙e still working. We鈥檙e working on those lesson plans. In my case, I might be talking to parents and helping [their children] with homework or whatever project that they need to finish. During the summer, we go to training.鈥�

   You don鈥檛 know teacher tired until you are a teacher. You don鈥檛 realize all the things they do until you are a teacher. I feel that very strongly. During fall break, at a watch party for a football game at my house, the joke got made: 鈥極h, I wish my job gave me breaks.鈥� Everybody thought it was funny. I didn鈥檛 appreciate it. I didn鈥檛 think it was funny.

"Y鈥檃ll can joke all you want, and your jobs are hard in their own respective ways, but you don鈥檛 understand how difficult my job is.鈥�

   There鈥檚 a lot I think the public doesn鈥檛 understand. Parents are myopic in that they think that the teacher is there for their child. And that鈥檚 true partially, but I am also there for the classroom environment, and I鈥檓 there for the totality of learning that has to happen. And sometimes one child鈥檚 needs鈥攁nd certainly parent wants鈥攃an鈥檛 come at the sacrifice of the full classroom learning environment. Not all parents, but there are some parents that think too much about what their child is experiencing and not how their child fits into the larger educational community.

鈥淚 also think that there鈥檚 this expectation that lesson planning and classroom discussion happens easily, and it does not. It requires a great deal of planning, a great deal of structure and a long time to manipulate and change. One item of discussion can dramatically impact what happens a week, two weeks, three weeks later, if you don鈥檛 present something in the right way when kids are ready to handle it.鈥�