I’m tired of my neighbors fighting with each other.
This fall, I’ll be entering into my third year of teaching second grade. For the past year and a half, all I typically ever get asked about in public is “what are your thoughts on masks? What’s your take on vaccines? Who did you vote for?” And I’m tired of it. I’m tired of not talking about the resilient students I have in my class and how amazing their science fair projects were this past year. I’m tired of not talking about the growth in students’ reading fluency and their understanding of a story. I’m tired of not talking about weird word problems that make my students giggle because Mike bought 236 watermelons at the grocery store. I’m tired of not talking about the endorphin rush one gets when racing second graders to their buses at the end of the school day.
I’m not here to look for sympathy or to start an argument about who has it worse. We are all fighting our own battles: small business owners, doctors, nurses, parents, school administrators, servers, etc. These fights and arguments are amplified in a small town. These are the people you sit next to at the football game or see in line at the grocery store. Thriving small towns are known to be tight-knit communities. We must be willing to give each other grace and kindness even when we think the other person doesn’t deserve it. I’m just simply sharing the perspective of one teacher. I’m tired of my neighbors fighting with each other.