Yesterday, Rob had a dentist appointment in the morning so he drove me to work.  When he came to pick me up, I still had some students in my room for tutoring.  He sat with me while the kids worked and we started looking through all the things I have to bring home.  My podium.  Bookshelf.  Books.  Books. BOOKS.  Art supplies.  Office supplies.  The more we rifled through it, the more annoyed he became.

I started to see my classroom through his eyes.  As an investment of my time and energy, but more of my money over the last 10 years.  I have purchased a DVD player.  A portable stereo.  Paper trays.  Staplers. 3 hole punches.  Carts. Book racks.  Posters.  Construction paper.  Books.  Books.  BOOKS.  A library of videos.  Binders.  Oh man, do I have binders of curriculum.  Sheesh.  Probably 25 that I use for myself, plus the 90+ I purchased at one time for a research paper unit.  My desk chair.  Push pins.  Extension cords.  A CAT5 cable for my computer.

He looked at me and said, “This is what we call a noble profession.  We pay you for shit, you supplement our poor funding by spending what little you make by adding to your classroom and then when it’s all said and done, we expect you to take a pay cut or lay you off.  If you don’t play by the rules we like, which change all the time, we fire you.”

Yep.  Pretty much, that’s teaching.  The noblest profession.