As we continue on the Teacher’s Appreciation Week, I thought it would be good to celebrate the career I enjoy. It is good for the soul to be thankful for the things that you are blessed with. It is also good to make a list of the good things in your career for you to refer to when you have those days where you think you cannot do it anymore.
The Students
My students are a blessing to me. They are the reason I wake up every school day. I remember last year before school started I just wasn’t feeling up to teaching for some reason. I was pretty negative and wanted my summer to last a while longer. Then we had our Open House and the energy and excitement the students brought into my room when they came to see me was contagious. After that evening I was pumped and ready to go and excited for the first day of school. Seeing their smiling faces and getting hugs from them gives me the motivation I need each and every day.
The Teachers
I have worked with some AMAZING teachers throughout my career. Many have become my friends. Teachers are some of the most giving and helpful people on the planet. I have learned so much from my teacher crew.
Every Day is Different
Before I was able to get a teaching job I worked for Gateway computers as an emissary. Sitting in my cubicle decorated with Titanic pictures and posters I would answer the phones, ask questions of what the customer needed, and then transfer their call to the correct department. After about nine months of this, I couldn’t handle it anymore. I wanted to help people who called in. I would help people with really quick problems instead of sending them to a Tech Support line that I knew they would be waiting for 45 minutes to an hour before they received help. My job became boring and something I dreaded every morning I woke up.
Teaching is totally different each and every day. One day your lesson just isn’t going as you hoped and the next day the students finally “get it”. Days where students are getting along in your class and the next day they “hate” each other. You never know what you are going to get when you walk through those school doors in the morning. That is what makes it so exciting!
Be a Role Model
One of my first projects with my 7th-grade students is to have them put together a slide show about themselves. One of the slides they need to do is to tell me who their role model is. Many times students will ask me, “What is a role model?”
In this day and age, many of our students have rough a rough home and life they are living in. With my stories and how I treat others, I hope I can be a good role model for my students.
It is My Purpose
I really feel in my heart that teaching is what God wants me to do. I feel He wants me to be there for my students. I figured it out very early in my life when I helped someone and they were happy, it made me happy. I get a rush or a sense of euphoria when I am helping people. And I pray that when I help others, it might inspire my students to help those around them.