It seems to me teachers spend a great deal of time and effort whining about how terrible a deal we've been shuffled:

• parents who not only are not supportive of their children's education, but seem to go out of their way to be difficult and make our teaching more difficulty


• students who are unmotivated, discipline problems, behind academically, or just downright rotten


• adminstrators who seemingly don't have a clue what it is like to be in the classroom, who are unsupportive of our efforts


• policy that says a bubble sheet score says more than true measures of growth


• ever-shrinking budgets that cause us to fork over more and more of our own paycheck to keep our classrooms running smoothly

All legitimate complaints, sure, but interestingly enough, according to this latest Gallup poll, teachers score higher than other professionals in well-being.

We consistently rank ourselves as healthier, happier, and more emotionally happy, than other professionals. However, we rank our wenvironments as less satisfying than others. We don't feel like our bosses treat us as equals, we don't our work environment is "open and trusting" but 91% of us say we get to use our strengths at work.

Seems a little contradictory to me! It sounds as if we have it pretty darn good in most aspects of our jobs. I think maybe we need to take a long look at our jobs from the outside and appreciate the fact we do have it made!

We work long hours, without overtime, in circumstances often beyond our control, with students who do not fit into round bubbles. Our pay not equate with our educational opportunties if we chose to work in the private sector.

But really, our job is the best in the world. Kids make it interesting, unpredictable, and never a dull moment. We get to make a difference in their lives. What more could we ask for??