We have completed the first nine weeks of school.  Stress levels have been extremely high with all the new programs, new staff, and the increased push to implement common core.  If it weren't for the great teachers I work with the job would be tough.  We encourage each other to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
I think every teacher should be given a superhero cape for the responsibilities we are asked to take on. We do more than just teach.  We handle conflict resolution, solve personal problems, write curriculum because the materials we have are either outdated or irrelevant to the standards we are required to teach,  as well as test and score the plethora of tests we have to administer to tract our progress.  Did I say our progress?  I mean our students progress.
 Instead of being congratulated for accomplishing things that are almost herculean, we are told to work with more rigor, relentlessly, with relevance every minute of the day.  The only people that might be working with more rigor would be  marathon runners.  There isn't time to get to know the humans in our classroom, they are statistics and data points.  Personal physical health is at risk because teachers are given so little time to simply catch their breath or use the bathroom.  Family life is pushed to the side to make room to complete the tasks that weren't accomplished during the day because there isn't time during the day.
So why do we keep doing this job?  Some days I wonder that myself.  It all comes from a desire to help another human being discover something new, to see the light bulb turn on.