Forget Measles, Here's the Career Killer

(By Deval Kulshrestha (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

I think it's died down, but there has been a recent hubbub about the anti-vaccination parents and whatnot.  Do I believe in vaccinations?  You betcha.  But there's a danger lurking in the classroom more deadly than measles, mumps, or rubella, and it has been laid upon my heart that it will kill your career as a teacher.  It's called a self-righteous, judgmental attitude.  All last Fall, I ran into teacher after teacher completely and utterly consumed by it.  I watched it literally suck the joy out of everything they did.  Thank goodness for my current practicum in Head Start home visitation.  The teachers there are often as desperate financially as the families they serve.  They do the job as a calling, not just a paycheck.  They have hearts of gold.  What they don't have - they cannot have if they are to do what they do - is a judgmental attitude.   Not only as a teacher, but as a mother, I see the families they serve and the horrible impact poor choices have on the children.  It is hard for me not to fall prey to that judgmental mindset.  I am, luckily, surrounded by those great examples of unconditional love.  In my devotional, on Thursday, were these words:  "In a day in which harsh judgment of others seems to be the rule, it's good to remember that love starts with us."  (Our Daily Bread, March 5, 2015, entry by Dave Branon).  A special education friend of mine posted a message on Facebook:  "Your job is not to judge.  Your job is not to figure out if someone deserves something.  Your job is to lift the fallen, restore the broken, and to heal the hurting."  Teachers, love begins with us.  Vaccinate yourself.