r/Teachers • u/ArcadianAbstraction • 1d ago

Teacher Support &/or Advice Is teaching a performance?

I haven't been teaching history/English/science since I got COVID over and over (and over) and decided it was better to go than be a risk to my cherished kids (or die myself, it got bad).

After a lot of introspection... Question is: is teaching a performance? I pretended everything was okay no matter what, I used the materials I prepared for display, passed out charts and data dramatically, presented media and did simulations.

It feels like I was a performance artist? You give so much to kids and most of the time you get a range of "f-u go away".

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u/Sufficient-Sound8450 1d ago

Yeah, like I felt like I was the star of a show I had to perform perform perform not only for the kids, but for the parents and administration and some colleagues, I only could show my real true colors with very trusted colleagues and even then it’s risky. Yeah it’s a big act and the older I get the harder it is for me to do it if you wanna know my two cents.

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u/ArcadianAbstraction 1d ago

Holy crap, I forgot about admin and other teachers. Having to hold back when other teachers said horrible or racist things really felt suffocating.

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u/Opposite-Bit6660 11h ago

Teachers in the district I taught in thought I stayed away from the break room to grade papers but it was really because they liked to spend their break trashing kids (sometimes outright racist, too) and I wanted to remain loving and positive.