I have had students in the past who have made me want to quit teaching, but more than those scant few, I have had students that remind me of how important it is to be caring toward others.
This is why...
- I put up with bullshit.
- I remind myself everyday that it's not about me.
- I keep the letter with all of its misspellings that tells me what a difference I made in a student's life when he felt that he had nothing special to offer.
- I re-read a yearbook entry by a student that said I changed his view of education. He will graduate from UPenn this year.
- I kid/joke, take joy in their joys, show concern when they hurt, and visit their guidance counselors when they look down.
- they are my waking thought at 4 a.m. and why I am thinking about some of them right now.
- I praise any small ounce of goodness in any student.
- even the badasses don't give me shit.
- I'm a teacher. It goes beyond pay, pensions, benefits, and summers off...it is about impacting people in a good way to help ensure they have a future. They live for "now," but we know as adults that they have a long road ahead of them and they deserve a chance to not hit so many potholes.
5 comments:
Oh man, that just made me all sentimental and weepy. Now I must go on Diablo and kill something.
Cripes, if Philly cops did things just for the pay, we wouldn't stand up to stop a kid stealing a lolly.
Of course, we don't do it for the pay . . . I do it for the babes. Heh.
DL:
Happy slaying!
Wyatt:
I don't know...you've said in the past that you used to work Kensington....I don't think I need to finish that thought. ;P
RT, those of you that see this as a calling are the best teachers there are! And not enough of you out there!
I wanted to quit every day for the first four years. The letter I received and the note in my yearbook kept me teaching.
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