I recently attended a young professionals happy hour with a fellow kindergarten teacher. She recently moved to Omaha and became involved in an organization called "All About Omaha." Being fairly new to Omaha myself, this was great opportunity for me to network and meet some new people.
I went and met some nice people. Had some nice conversation. Enjoyed some time with my friend. Pretty average night.
However, one part of my night really made me ponder. Several times throughout the night, I was asked the same question - "Do you have a card?" At first, I was quite confused. A card? Like a credit card? Once they extended their crisp, neatly printed card, I realized what we were talking about. Oh, a business card. Well, no.
I've never been asked for my "card" before. Then again, I've never been to a young professionals happy hour before. I consider myself young... I consider myself a professional. How come I stick out so much in this group?
This predicament really got me thinking about how teachers are not necessarily regarded as professionals. Why? We all have college degrees. In fact, the majority of us have further degrees. We attend meetings. We have conferences. We exceed our 40 hours on a weekly basis. Why is it that teachers are not viewed in a more professional manner?
I started to discover that the reasons why we might not be regarded as professionals are exactly the reasons why I love what I do. We do our job with enthusiasm and passion. We laugh and smile everyday. We play at work. We do not wear a three-piece suit, but something much more conducive to sitting on the carpet. Instead of churning out papers, we churn out memories, smiles, and children at their very best.
So, they can keep their fancy business cards. They may be more "professional," but I know that they will never feel the way I do when I leave work everyday.
I went and met some nice people. Had some nice conversation. Enjoyed some time with my friend. Pretty average night.
However, one part of my night really made me ponder. Several times throughout the night, I was asked the same question - "Do you have a card?" At first, I was quite confused. A card? Like a credit card? Once they extended their crisp, neatly printed card, I realized what we were talking about. Oh, a business card. Well, no.
I've never been asked for my "card" before. Then again, I've never been to a young professionals happy hour before. I consider myself young... I consider myself a professional. How come I stick out so much in this group?
This predicament really got me thinking about how teachers are not necessarily regarded as professionals. Why? We all have college degrees. In fact, the majority of us have further degrees. We attend meetings. We have conferences. We exceed our 40 hours on a weekly basis. Why is it that teachers are not viewed in a more professional manner?
I started to discover that the reasons why we might not be regarded as professionals are exactly the reasons why I love what I do. We do our job with enthusiasm and passion. We laugh and smile everyday. We play at work. We do not wear a three-piece suit, but something much more conducive to sitting on the carpet. Instead of churning out papers, we churn out memories, smiles, and children at their very best.
So, they can keep their fancy business cards. They may be more "professional," but I know that they will never feel the way I do when I leave work everyday.
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