BFTP: Why all educators should need a root canal
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 07:11AM 
I a few years ago spent about 2 hours with one of these things in my mouth.
After about a week of pain (the kind of pain that made you understand why Tom Hanks in Castaway extracted his abscessed tooth with a rock), I got in to see my dentist. A new cap on a tooth had developed an infection - and it hurt like hell.
The root canal, offered as a solution, was something that I began to really look forward to.
Now while it is patently unfair that anyone who, like me, is religious about flossing and brushing and biannual cleanings and checkups and avoiding of sugared soft drinks should experience any dental problems at all, I believe everyone should all have a dental problem now and again. A painful one.
The thing is I can have dental work done. I have income. I have a dental plan. I have savings in the bank. I have transportation. I even have access to the Internet where I read what is going to happen during the procedure.
I took comfort knowing my bad tooth was only a temporary condition.
Although my family was far from rich, regular dental care was part of my childhood. And that has shaped my world view. Isn't dental care just a part of everyone's life?
But for how many of our students can we say the same thing? For how many of their parents? As our communities' poverty rates increase, are we as educators changing our perceptions of what it means to be growing up in today's society?*
- Where not everyone has dental care?
- Where not everyone has parents who have dental plans?
- Where not every family has transportation to a dentist?
- Where a toothache may just be a part of life, not a short-lived condition that will be remedied?
I'm just saying that all of us old, middle class folks who are in education need to drink deeply from the well of empathy when working with children of poverty. Our world is not their world.
Think about it the next time you have a sore molar - or a disruptive student.
* Read Mary Otto's enlightening book Teeth: Beauty, Inequality, and the Stuggle for Oral Health in America.
Reader Comments (3)
I came across this post and find it meaningful during the pandemic we are all facing. A great deal of empathy is needed for everyone and especially those who do without. I was having a conversation with my mom today and was explaining how so many people are dealing with hardships right now, deaths, illness etc., but that the children who come from poverty stricken homes or unsafe homes are stuck in a bad situation without school as their comfort. I feel so bad for these children and all we can do is be support from afar and support through virtual communication.
This is something we will always have to keep in mind as educators. Teacher librarians, on the other hand, become a sort of sounding board for many people in the school community so we especially have to remember the importance of empathy, open-mindedness and non-judgemental communication.
Thank you, Erin, for your very thoughtful reply. I hope all educators have you depth of empathy.
Doug
Hi Kenn (or should I call you Warren?)
Here in MN, the governor has made clear that exercising and even going for a leisure drive is OK during shutdown. Our violations for disobeying shelter-in-place have seemed to be tacked on to other offenses such as drunk driving, flashing, etc.
Stay safe and out of jail,
Doug