Hi everyone, welcome to thanks for being here a short weekly pod to remind us of the many essential

and beautiful ways we affect one another. Every Sunday I'll read a submission from a listener,

Kelly Corrigan wonders, could be wedding vows or about mitzvah toast, a eulogy, or retirement speech.

We believe this is probably the loveliest way to tap into our better selves and remember

our highest values. We encourage you to share this podcast each week with one person you love.

Maybe someone you miss need to bring closer, someone you want to feel your appreciation or admiration

or both. This is thanks for being here.

This week's thanks for being here is very different. It's an anonymous contribution by a teacher

that I know and love in New York City. Teaching during a pandemic was hard on the kids,

their parents, and certainly on their teachers. I found myself yearning to help my students grow

behind a computer screen. I hoped that their skills would not falter as a result of COVID-19.

Every morning I put on my superwoman cape and genuinely tried my best to save my children from

regressing academically. Fast forward to post-virtual still kind of in a pandemic instruction.

I teach a sizable group of students. My biggest problem, I'm trapped in a vicious cycle of toxic

parental entitlement. Jan wants to know how John is developing socially and emotionally. Susan

reaches out to defend Sally's bullying. Lisa recommends Lois's teachers for not adequately

monitoring how many calories her daughter takes in at lunch. These three examples all stem from

parental concern, but teachers like me are inundated with calls, emails, requests for meetings,

and follow-ups at an alarming rate. I'm talking about one mother reaching out two or three times

a week to set up a time to chat about her son who verbally abuses his classmates. The reality is,

I don't work for one parental household. Heck, I don't work to make sure one individual child

succeeds. My job is to cultivate a classroom where all my students learn. I'm overworked, underpaid,

...