I just began my third year teaching middle school English in Denver Public Schools. It’s been a roller coaster of a ride, the most difficult thing I’ve ever tried, and I am proud that I have chosen this path. It is a learning process, though, and I can feel myself becoming a better teacher every day that I am in the classroom.
One thing I now know is that certain emotional elements are more real in the classroom than I ever thought. A student will not — and sometimes cannot — learn if certain needs have not been taken care of. If he or she has not eaten that morning, or if he or she stayed up late playing video games, all bets are off as to whether that student has the capacity to learn or behave that day.
Even more interesting is that students have a deep, lasting need to be heard. If my classroom is acting up or doing badly, having an open and honest conversation with one, a few, or all of the students will work miracles. These students are in the midst of their journey toward adulthood, and having an adult listen to them, respect their opinions, and work with them — not against them — is one of the best things that can happen to them. Every time I have listened to my students and worked with them, we reach a partnership from which learning can truly begin. The students feel that they are part of the process, and I honor that process as their teacher.
With the Democratic National Convention here and protesters claiming their territory, I feel that this lesson from my classroom should be applied to more than just my 13-year-old students. The people need to be heard. Their requests might not be granted, others might not agree, but something about being heard makes everything just that little bit better.
In the same way, teachers themselves have the same need that both the protesters and my students have. Teaching is a difficult, lonely profession. In the classroom with students every day, we work toward the well-being of our students with as much energy and love as possible. But few people see that process to the extent that they should.
Negotiations between Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) have concluded. The media furor over the issues between the two organizations has been consistently negative, deploring the idea of a strike and asking, over and over again, how teachers could possibly object to the district’s offer.
I am one of the young, promising teachers that both DCTA and DPS would like to retain. I had no delusions when I entered this profession; I knew I would be underpaid. At the same time, I joined DCTA because I saw how changes rock the teaching profession from on high, and how they make my job harder and harder to do. I would like to have a larger say in how these decisions are made. I would like to have a larger say when ProComp, a program that was initially introduced and carefully structured by DCTA and DPS working in partnership, changes. I do this for my own benefit and, more importantly, for the benefit of my students.
It is the chance to have my voice heard that it most important to me, the young teacher with just a few years of experience. Ultimately, I’m not going to stay in a district because I might receive a few more thousand dollars a year. I am going to stay because I feel respected and because I feel like I am part of the process, integral to the structure of education. Just like my students within the classroom, just like the protesters behind fences, I just want my voice to be heard.
Amanda Lueck (luecka@yahoo.com) of Denver teaches eighth-grade English. She is a member of the 2008 Colorado Voices panel.
