Page 113 - EdViewptsSpring2018-web_Neat

It is about the numbers. It is about time. It is with those hands that we
something more than the numbers. I wave goodbye to parents who are ...what I believe sets
know because similar to many of you, I wiping away tears as they slowly our world of work, our
have entered the numbers into MBOS retreat from the school on that first day
and I have kept the appointment with of kindergarten or that last moment of choice to be part of the
the people in our state’s capital. I am commencement. learning of children,
told that I am among a minority. Yet, As educators, our days are filled with apart is just that. We
I can’t help but feel that that is not numbers. Schools and periods begin
necessarily 100% a compliment. Like and end by a clock; depending on are part of someone’s
you, I have heard the broadcasts and where you work you may or may not life in ways we may not
read the articles about the decrease hear bells. It is not that chime that is
in the numbers of people entering so important, what is important and even fathom.
the teaching profession. I have heard what makes the choice a quandary for
about job mobility and about how there some is what happens between and misinterpreted), or a judgement of why
will be fewer and fewer educators beyond the bell. It is the smiles, the someone is giving up, we look at the
reaching the perfect retirement tears, the jeers and the cheers. It is positive ways this person has made a
fraction. I am part of that minority, and the note you confiscate, read and then difference. Also, let us be open to the
yet, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a crumple; it is the parent you call who conversation about our work world, let
nod to Mrs. Cleary, a teacher whose tells you thank you for taking the time us reiterate with eyes wide open how
work in Bergenfield, NJ, continues to to make a difference in their child’s life. the rest is still unwritten; thank you to
span not only decades and decades, N. B. for that phrase.
it spans generations and generations; There is no sugar coating the world
a similar tip of the hat to Mr. Gerald of education. There are bumps and To those entering the field, it can be
Young, rest in peace. bruises of all sorts. There are days your field of dreams. Those of you
who have read my columns in the
Some of us fully recognize that as we play nice in the sandbox and past or who know me personally or
others filled with mud pies. Yet, what
educators, our lives are under scrutiny I believe sets our world of work, our professionally know that I am not
24/7; we no longer truly have private choice to be part of the learning of always a rosy-eyed person. Yet, even
lives. We have to or we should be, children, apart is just that. We are part with the politics, the pressures and
careful of social media posts or we of someone’s life in ways we may not the PARCC, I do believe that, when
risk our jobs. We have to be careful even fathom. Just as there will be jobs I see the faces of the students in the
of our words and actions or we risk available in fields unknown to us right classrooms, there is still at least one
a photo or recording becoming a now, right this minute, we also do not more lesson worth teaching, one more
headline or the subject of a lawsuit. know the impact our teaching, our day dressing up as the Cat in the
Our daily lives, both inside and outside administrative choices and decisions Hat, one more out of the box cross
of the classroom doors, the walls of will have upon each of those pupils, curricular project, that can and will
the school, are in some respects out each of those families. make a difference. And that is why
of our hands. Yet, it is with our hands we rise and shine when we hear the
that we, those of us who have chosen So, to come full circle, retirement is alarm clocks and that is why we care
this calling, make a difference. It is not about being too tired to do our jobs so deeply during those safety drills. It is
with those hands that we sharpen anymore. Retirement is meant as a because we care. For that, I thank you
those number two pencils, not for new opportunity; it is a new open door. and your families and friends who have
standardized testing, but to help a I ask that if someone is considering let you do this very important work to
child print their first name for the first this step, that rather than a slap on the which you have devoted 100%.
back (be careful about that so it’s not

About the Author

Dr. Hope Blecher is an education specialist with 33 years of experience in settings from parochial to
public schools, from professional development workshops to postsecondary educational institutions. She
is currently an adjunct at Seton Hall University and a Curriculum Coordinator at Yeshivat He’Atid. As an
author, her works appear in journals, magazines and books; she has been interviewed for TV and radio.
Hope thanks her family and friends for supporting her endeavors for over three decades.

Educational Viewpoints -111- Spring 2018