We all want more money,
but that’s not the point,
it’s the way we always feel
like we’re being exploited.
See, you want to “appreciate”
the teachers who stay –
too bad the way you do it
is making more of us run away.
A week to celebrate
those who educate our future,
a number of which people
dwindle fewer and fewer.
Five days of cute themes
and the snacks that they feature
planned by, you guessed it,
a committee of teachers.
Yes, we appreciate ourselves
because who else will?
I guess they probably think
our wishes, they can’t fulfill.
Like smaller class sizes,
less skipping in the halls,
or for someone to show up
when it’s so bad we call.
Support when a student
tells me, “Shut the fuck up!”
Any kind of response
before a fight starts to erupt.
Stop shilling new products
that suck and don’t last;
we don’t want a script to teach,
this is literally our craft.
No more duty: morning,
after school, or lunch,
on top of the meetings,
it’s all way too much!
Just listen to us,
we have good suggestions!
We’re in the trenches everyday,
giving us the best perceptions.
What I would appreciate
is a modicum of support,
and to feel that EVERYDAY
it’s being reinforced.
The Caffeinated Writer 