re: Being a teacher is tougher than any other job in the world

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“It is a difficult job. You’re warned you’re going to spend extra time grading and doing lessons plans. You teach full-time, grading part-time. I arrive at 7.30, I heave at 4.30. And I work three to four hours on the weekend.” – Jessica

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She must really like her job. I usually start heaving withing 15 minutes of walking into my office. LMAO...

Back to the OT, No. teachers isn't even remotely close to the hardest job on the planet.

They're some of the biggest whiners among the teaching ranks though. So there's that...

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Pecker

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Disagree. I don't think it's semantics or pedantic, it's just an incorrect statement.

There is an actual meaningful difference between saying I understand it and saying something like I know it's tough or hard or whatever. That's not semantics, that's 2 completely separate thoughts.

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Ok so let’s do this:

Let’s say I could describe in detail what a parent of a new born must do on a daily basis. Lets say I sat down with a bunch of new parents and they talked me through their responsibilities. Let’s say I list out every single task and assign time to those tasks. Then I describe the feelings associated with those tasks (as described to me by the parents).

And then let’s say 10 other parents made similar lists, and then we gave those lists to you without your knowing who made them. Would you be able to tell who had a deeper “understanding” of taking care of a new born, and the feelings associated with it?

The point is that I don’t have to be a parent to have an understanding of what parenting entails and the feelings associated with it. And the strange thing about this whole argument is that it ultimately doesn’t matter if I do. If I have an opinion on parenting, it’s either a good one or bad one based solely on rationale. In fact, if an argument is so poor due to my lack of understanding, there would be no need to discuss my personal experimeces.

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And then let’s say 10 other parents made similar lists, and then we gave those lists to you without your knowing who made them. Would you be able to tell who had a deeper “understanding” of taking care of a new born, and the feelings associated with it?

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I'd say describing what it's like to be a parent and feeling what it's like to be a parent are two distinctly different things.

Like I said earlier - people tell you you'll never love something as much as you love your child, but you don't know how that really feels until you've had your first child. Also, it's not like you feel it and you're just surprised by it, it's that you feel stupid for even thinking you knew what it was like.

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I used to judge parents I saw fussing at their kids in public pretty harshly. Now I cheer them on.

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I find it very difficult to judge parents in public for anything these days, at least if they appear to be trying.

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The point is that I don’t have to be a parent to have an understanding of what parenting entails and the feelings associated with it.

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Define new born. Belly button fall off yet? Can the mother breast feed? Do you have a job? Hours? Do you have pets? Has your wife healed? Or are you not married?

That leads me to single parents. How different is the experience for them? I certainly don't pretend to understand everything they go through and my sister is included among them.

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So what you’re suggesting is that if I could explain those things then I’d know what it’s like to be a parent? That’s basically the argument that I’m making. I can go get those answers.

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Let’s say I could describe in detail what a parent of a new born must do on a daily basis. Lets say I sat down with a bunch of new parents and they talked me through their responsibilities. Let’s say I list out every single task and assign time to those tasks. Then I describe the feelings associated with those tasks (as described to me by the parents).

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You can understand what they are going through, but you really can't understand what they are feeling, especially in the very beginning.

When we brought our son home, I was crazy emotional. I cried a lot that first week. Not from frustration, not because the baby was screaming, I really don't know why. It was lack of sleep paired with this new responsibility for another life topped with what I can only assume was a saturation by osmosis of new mom estrogen.

I can speak the words, but it's different to have those feelings come out of nowhere and not be able to verbalize why.

That was just the beginning. Some of the intricacies require going through the process to fully understand. It's not something that "What to Expect when you're Expecting" can fully prepared you for.

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that would be an emotional argument

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That simply isnt true


There are multiple scenarios across many different topics where having experience will change ones opinion, because one understand a "textbook approach" isnt always applicable


There are times when you must have experience in order to fully comprehend what is at hand

must be tough since most arent good at it