A Poem for Frustrated Teachers

In response to the poem, Make Me or Break Me: A Poem for Frustrated Teachers by Roxanna Elden

The poem definitely speaks to how I feel as an educator. I am dealing with students who seem like they don’t want to learn and administrators who seem to add one more thing to do each day.

I feel like I never have anytime to myself because I’ m constantly bring papers home to grade, writing lesson plans, updating my teacher website or a plethora of other things.

My class room in a revolving door; every other week I lose one kid and gain another.

I thought education was supposed to be fun, but with so much focus on standards, elements, essential questions, rubrics, student and teacher commentary, I feel like a walking, talking puppet.

I have no time to teach a concept to mastery because I have to stay on the pacing chart; however they fail to realize all my kids are not at the same pace. Plus I’m trying to add rigor to all of my lessons and I still have some students that can’t spell their name or count to 10.

With all that is going on in education, it seems like the kids are the one losing out on a quality education. Trying to keep administrators, school board and SACS committee members happy isn’t the most effective way to educate our kids.

Solely relying on data to influence instruction leaves t0o many errors and test our students too much.

Reading this poem and writing this blog had made me realize it’s not education and my students that I need a break from, but the corrupt politics involved.

Just let me teach and I can stop losing my mind and contemplate quitting the job I love every day.


Make Me or Break Me: A Poem for Frustrated Teachers
By: Roxanna Elden

Make Me or Break Me
They say this first year will make me
Or break me.
I guess that’s because it takes me
Eight days to get through a stack of papers
And there are eight more waiting,
And every day I stay at school later
And get less done…
This is NOT fun.
Help me someone!!!

I’m already counting how many more
Mondays Until vacation
(There are 12, by the way,
And I’m getting impatient)
Because I spent all last night
On grading and preparation
But I can’t get these kids to just
SHUT UP!!!
And take this inspiration.

My temptation to keep driving
Instead of arriving
In the teachers’ parking lot
Is almost as strong
As my fear of what could go wrong
If I don’t pull into this parking spot
And I’m not sure if I can take it…

I’m trying so hard to make it work
The way the movies make it seem.
I’ve been sacrificing so much sleep
I forgot what it feels like to dream.
This isn’t the person I’m used to being
Not the image of me I’m used to seeing

I miss the days when I was a student,
Complaining about teachers to my friends…
This job seemed so easy from the other end.
From here, nothing looks the same,
And you know what’s even more of a shame?
I hear my teachers’ voices
When I yell my students’ names.

And you know that one quiet girl,
In the back,
With the glasses?
I overheard her mom saying
She wants to change classes.

They say this job is rewarding, but lately
I just feel like all my students hate me…
Their papers frustrate me
And I’m going so crazy
No sane person would want to date me.

But I’m here to stay
It takes a lot to break me

And that’s why I say
No matter what it takes me…

This year
Is gonna MAKE me.