24 But things have changed, Seantor – things have changed

1

Teachers have a reputation.
And it’s controversial – no talk of nuance

Regarding a teacher. They’re educators
Or indoctrinators, but mostly they are – brave, very brave

Some red, some blue, safe and dangerous
They can’t have an agenda,

Work only during school hours,
Work never in the summer.

They can’t slowly build lessons in a profession that rushes to hang more red tape
And cure a national teacher shortage.

A teacher gets one chance
And knows it, proving as value

Those unpredictable test scores,
As a litany of red tape

Bespeaking Parent Teacher Conferences, polished, confident.
I tell you everything is fine, says a teacher,

Safe, and engaging, and fine.
And you have summers off, too, someone says.

A full bag of nag swag, all, ahh, all good.
Teachers live a life of ease.

2

But then there are the other teachers.
The exhausted teachers. The ones

Nobody notices at night.
Grading at night? Why they hell would you do that? people ask,

Pointing instead at the pictures of Mrs.
“I-enjoy-my-time” at the beach with a book in June.

But the burnt-out teachers have a long history, too.
They have plenty of “why” moments, students they’ve seen grow –

They were once relaxed, too –
But nobody believes them because it is a job they chose.

Oh sure, everybody has a favorite teacher,
But things have changed, Senator – things have changed.

This shouldn’t be the end of public education, of course.
Some teachers are escaping –

Finding new jobs,
Earning money how they can, editing websites,

Trying to be corporate trainers, if they’re lucky.
But no joy comes of it. No lives are changed.

A teacher is a teacher for one great day. Until they’re not. Last week,
we were heros. Today, we proselytize. Always, we are public servants.