Here's Your Sign

Heard today at my school- "Do you even care?" (in reference to our grade level's atrocious 1st quarter test scores). I SOOOOO want to make a sign for this person. You know, a Bill Engvall kind of sign? But it'd have to be one huge piece of cardboard because this is what it'd say:

Nope! I don't care at all. In fact, I personally spend very little time trying to teach. I mostly spend my days and nights trying to think of ways to screw the kids over and ruin their futures. DUH, here's your sign!!!!!

Or maybe it'd say:

We teachers do care about their kids and are working very hard to help the kids learn and be successful, even without "you" asking us, chewing us out, threatening, bullying or intimidating us. We don't actually need any of those things to make us care or do our jobs. Believe it or not, we could do that without you, and do actually do that without you & before you suddenly became interested.

And speaking for myself, I RESENT "you" acting like "you" are the only one- you who don't even come in the classrooms except to interrupt my teaching, you who never observes my teaching or the lessons or takes time to talk with the kids to see what they are learning, you who never looks at my lesson plans or took time to come see how you can help me learn a new grade or make sure I am doing alright in said new grade.... I care more about my students than you would ever know. I left EVERYTHING- a family I am deeply devoted to- parents who are getting older & not younger, a sister who needed me. I left dear friends and the area I spent my whole life. I left students and families who loved me and I loved dearly. I cashed out my retirement & my husband, his in another state to pay for my own move to come here to teach these kids and serve these families. I am the one who deals with their misbehaviors- the stealing, the fighting, the lying, the lack of motivation, the frustrations (theirs & my own). I am the one who helps them calm down, verbalize the problem, find a solution, work it out and get back on track. I am the one who teaches them that I will love them on the good days AND the bad days. I am the one who is showing them that it is okay to make mistakes, that we can learn from those and move on. I am the one who shows them how to add/subtract/multiply or how to read and understand. I am the one who plays with them, eats with them (on my own duty-free lunch period), who helps them with their school work and homework, who helps them find joy in reading, who buys them ice cream and learning materials. I am the one who taught them how to sign "I love you" with their hands and who stands on the bus lot and hugs every single one of them every single day no matter how bad or good the day was. I am the one who waves to them as they leave the bus lot and makes the "I love you" sign to them as they wave it out the window to me.

NOT YOU! So please, do NOT ask me if I really care. Just walk away.