The lower-case ’t' kind of truth

by Jim Martin

​Last night, I sat through opening night of the play I wrote—TEACHER TRUTHS.  It was a great experience, and I am more than pleased with the work the director, stage manager technical director, and cast have been able to accomplish.   In writing this play—mostly a series of monologues—my effort was to illuminate educator voices in a time when teachers don’t feel heard.  Psychological safety, which is someone’s ability to bring their whole selves to work, is low. None of the stories I attempt to tell (all fictional by the way but informed by my 23 year history in education) are meant to be taken as fact.  They are all based on a variety of experiences that I have had, or colleagues have had, or that I have heard about in the news.  I call it an amalgamation of truths.   There is no hero in these stories.  There is no easily identified bad guy.  In the world that we live in today, we like to easily differentiate between the heroes and the villains.  For example, the principal character in my play might come across as a villain of sorts, sharing information that ends up making the teacher feel insecure about her abilities.  However, everything this principal says is probably something I have said in my own administrative career and I definitely don’t see myself as a bad guy. I think education is more nuanced than that.  Which is why I wrote this play.  I wanted education presented in a more nuanced way than the general public typically gets to see.  Educators usually present themselves as blameless advocates of student well-being, underpaid victims of mis-directed legislative priorities.  Entertainment often present educators as individuals fighting against the odds, against the powers-that-be, even against one another as one educator rises to the challenge of effective education.   I think educators are heroes.  I also think they are real people.  I have tried to create portraits of courage who are faced with their own doubts and struggles.  Teachers struggle.  Even when we thrive, we struggle.  It is this intersection of success and struggle that makes the field of education so rewarding…and so challenging. I think we need to do a better job at telling our stories.  We need to tell our lower-case truths so that people see how complicated our work really is.  And when teachers tell their stories, we need to listen.  We need to dialogue and figure out solutions to educational problems collaboratively.  This will raise psychological safety and eventually the quality of work that teachers and students do.