Teacher Slowly Squeezed to Death by Anaconda
How it Feels to be an Educator in 2024
I detest when people talk about their dreams. It’s similar to listening to a four-year-old tell you about their day.
It takes more time than you have and never makes sense.
Most of the time I don’t even remember my dreams. Except for the rare ones that connect to real life. These dreams stick; there’s a logical glue to them that provides insight.
For this reason, I’m compelled to tell you about a dream I had last week. As you may have inferred from the title, I was being slowly squeezed to death by an Anaconda. I could feel its grip around my legs and waist as it worked its way up my body. My arms were still free, but there was only a matter of time before the snake wrapped around me completely.
Why an Anaconda? I thought later. Was it the Instagram reel I watched of a group of people freeing a dog from one?
Perhaps, but I was struck by the familiarity of being physically and mentally overwhelmed. Sadly, this feeling has become my new “normal” as I navigate teaching post-pandemic. A recent conversation with a friend about my teaching woes ended with him saying, “Don’t let it consume you.” But I’m afraid it’s too late for that advice.
My job, like the Anaconda in my dream, is consuming me.
Teaching in Texas 2024: A New Horror Each Day
I teach in Texas where it seems like every day brings a new nightmare. The challenges teachers face are coming from all sides — campus expectations, school district mandates, and state legislature, and from all parties — parents, students, administrators, politicians, and society at large.
All converging together against us, slowly pressing down against our will.
When I try to talk to people about the state of education, “fight or flight” takes over. My thoughts become muddled as I try to briefly summarize complex funding models and complicated political strategies into a brief elevator pitch.
I imagine it’s similar to telling a story with an Anaconda wrapped around your body. Since I’m snake free, I’ll do my best to describe it. Being a teacher in 2024 is finding out that your friends lost their jobs — leaving schools districts without librarians when reading scores are declining.
It’s being afraid that your counselor friends are next — during at time when student mental health issues are increasing.
It’s struggling to maintain your students’ attention because you can’t compete with TikTok.
It’s being called a “groomer” for creating a learning environment where all students are welcome.
It’s discovering that some of your local school board members, who are supposed to support public education, are backed by political groups that want to destroy it.
It’s being told that teaching is a “calling,” and that you should be willing to give up your lunch, planning period and weekends for it.
It’s learning that you won’t get a raise despite a $33 billion dollar surplus in the state budget.
It’s making less than you did ten years ago but still having to buy tissues for your classroom.
It’s seeing kids fight in hallways and do drugs in the bathroom while adults focus on which books to ban from the library.
It’s telling your students to always speak up because their voice matters — while simultaneously being afraid to use your own.
It’s hearing, “Public schools are failing!” when the accountability system is rigged to promote your governor’s school voucher scheme.
Worst of all, it’s knowing that teachers will continue to leave the profession in droves unless people in our state prioritize education as a key issue and vote accordingly.
Educators Need Your Support
Fortunately, I’m not actually being squeezed to death by an Anaconda even though some want me to feel like it. They want me to stop using my voice. They want me to stop voting and stop encouraging others to vote. They want me to feel scared at work and at board meetings. They want me to give up.
I will not.
When I recall my Anaconda dream, I remember that I could feel other hands on my arms pulling me out of its grip. The dream ended because of frustration — not defeat. It’s true that I am impatient as I wait to be compensated and respected at the level that all educators deserve. I am overwhelmed and sometimes exhausted from the fight.
But that doesn’t mean that I’m ready to quit.
It does mean that, similar to my dream, I need help — all public school employees do. We need society to realize that public education is facing a very real threat. Our predator is a well-funded political machine attempting to bring us to extinction.
We need society to care enough to listen. We need society to inform itself with facts — not misinformation. Finally, we need you to vote in the best interest of public schools and students.
Otherwise, I fear the system will swallow us whole.
