I am a teacher. All I've ever wanted to do was teach. I've been fortunate enough to have been allowed to teach for the past 30 years. My New Year's hope is I will once again be allowed to teach.

Let me explain. I am not a social worker. Every day I see many social injustices around me. Some of the ethics and morality of my students are not what they should be. There are problems with segregation and discrimination that occur through most institutions throughout our nation. I am not saying they are good or should be allowed to occur. What I am saying is I was trained as a teacher of science. I was not trained to take time away from my classes to teach my students something they should have learned at home. There are also guidance personnel and multiple social systems in our schools to handle such abuses. I don't want my time to be taken away from what I do.

I am not an expert in special needs. I clearly understand all students should be given equal rights to an equal education. But, I also understand everyone can't be proficient in everything. There are students who will never understand the concepts of physics and calculus. There are students who will never understand the writings of Thoreau or Joyce. I try to reach all my students but some simply should not be forced to do something they do not have the capacity to do. I have always stated the label of "special" is the heaviest weight any student can endure.

I believe in content. As a teacher of science it is my responsibility to motivate my students to want to learn more about this magical reality. I tell them all the time that science is not magic but magic is definitely science. There is a reason all of the content areas are called disciplines. In order to successfully teach my students I have to demand discipline no matter what their social, economic, or special needs are. If I am not allowed to teach in my classroom my students will never have the capacity to learn.

I also understand some of my students will fail. I can't and won't lower my expectations in order to have everyone succeed in my class. I don't like this and in a fictitious world everyone would achieve success. But, if we force our teachers to pass everyone then all of my students fail.

I understand today's political pressures. I understand the competition we are told we have to have with the rest of the world. I also understand us, as teachers and society, are losing this battle because we have shifted our attention to what goes on outside the classroom instead of concentrating on what should take place.

I am a teacher. All I've ever wanted to do was teach. I've been fortunate enough to have been allowed to teach for the past 30 years. My New Year's hope is I will once again be allowed to teach.

Jim Fabiano, a teacher and writer who lives in York, Maine and is a past recipient of the Maine Press Association's award for Best Weekly Column. He is also the recipient of the Theodore William Richards Award for excellence in teaching chemistry and is a member of the AULA LAUDIS Society of the American Chemical Society.