Resignation Letter from a First Year Public School Teacher

The utility closet where I was assigned to teach.

Dear Principal of Title 1 Elementary School,

Thank you for the opportunity to work in your school with your children, as you have referred to them. Thank you for reminding me to look you in the eye, for reminding me to never “turn my back on students” as I walk them in straight lines down the hall, for telling me that they will forget my name.

I will not make a difference in their lives, you said. Teachers don’t, you said. Thank you for telling me that you must “act like a dictator” at the school because you have to. Most of the teachers toe the line, handing in fake grades, spending their hours at night creating elaborate lesson plans to adhere to standards, spend hours creating bulletin boards to display student products and proof of real learning. Because I did…