Hierarchy

This is a great word. It is formidable. It feels good to say it. And it lends weight to what we use it for. In other words, it is a perfect word. So is formidable. Again, it feels good to say it. And it lends weight to what we use it for. It feels like what it means.

We all walk around with a hierarchy of things we are willing to do. To accept. To neglect. To acknowledge. Or ignore. We possess a list. Numbered one to ten or lettered A to Z. Our hierarchy is not the same as our loved ones’ hierarchies. Not the same as our coworkers’. Nor as our boss’s (don’t they wish). If everyone walked about with their hierarchies floating above their heads, woohoo, wouldn’t that just be something!

But we each do maintain this mental list of things we are willing to put up with. Things we are willing to sit through. People we are willing to listen to. Annoyances we are willing to ignore. Think about a day commuter. They put up with traffic, tolls, distances and road closures every single day because on their list of hierarchies, something else sits higher.

We teachers have that hierarchy dilemma. Because our work day ends but our work continues. We bring it home with us. Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday, week after week we prioritize the work we do for our kids over the life we need and want to live. But it’s that hierarchy that gets us every time. Those kids in our classes need us to prioritize for them. And we do.

So next time you put aside a book you want to read, or laundry you need to fold, or a TV show you have been waiting to begin so you can do something for your students, remember, it’s your hierarchy. You are a formidable educator and nothing can stand in the way of that!