The director of my school sent all of the teachers an email this week and asked us to email him back and tell him why we chose to teach at our school.
He gave us until Friday and asked us to really think about it.
I've had a love/hate relationship with my job this year.
I've been told that is normal for a first year teacher.
Many days I have left the building feeling frustrated, unaccomplished, and like what I do there doesn't matter to a single person.
So I decided that I needed to think about that question.
And not just that question, but the bigger question...
Why did I choose to be a teacher in the first place?
As I was driving home from school today I burst into tears.
The faces of 100 students went flashing through my mind.
My students.
I felt the spirit.
I felt blessed.
I felt content.
My crazy, loud, hyper, sometimes (most times) out of control 4th-6th grade drama class performed their play last night and today.
They were amazing.
Seriously.
It was without doubt one of those "I LOVE my job" moments for me.
When the kids called me up on the stage to thank me and give flowers I could not stop smiling.
As they hugged me (like all 31 of them) and told me that they loved me and that I was the best teacher eeeeeeeever I was reminded of why I do what I do.
I don't know that any of those kids will ever be an acting star.
I don't know that drama will ever matter to them in their lives.
But I had the honor of helping to give them an experience that they will remember.
An experience that meant something to them today.
I watched shy and timid kids smile and laugh as the crowd cheered for them.
I watched holy terror children commit and give their all to something.
I watched 31 kids stand on a stage proud of themselves.
Happy.
The past two weeks have been amazing for me at work.
One day last week I was coaching some of my high school drama students as they worked on their scenes.
They paid attention to me, they looked at me, they cared what I had to say.
They wanted my help.
I got to share what I love with 14 year olds.
I helped them improve, I helped them feel successful.
It was so rewarding.
It was so fun.
I also have really tough students.
Ones that make me want to pull my hair out.
But I'm finding ways to reach them.
I'm not perfect at it.
But I'm learning what they need.
I get to spend an hour a day in the lives of kids and teenagers.
I have the opportunity to make a difference in their lives an hour at a time.
I think sometimes I forget how incredible and important that is.
And so the answer to the question of why I chose to be a teacher is:
I really didn't choose to be a teacher just to teach kids how to act or how to write or how to create a yearbook or how to give a speech.
I became a teacher to give kids the opportunity to do great things, to find strengths they didn't know they had, to be successful, and to find reasons to be happy with and proud of themselves.
To be a role model, to give kids someone who cared,
to make a difference.
I can't even explain the incredible feeling that comes with knowing that I have touched the lives of kids.
That I have been that teacher.
That teacher that makes them smile and makes them feel important.
Because they are
Important.
I feel honored to have been given that opportunity.
One of my New Year's resolution is to not let myself forget why I chose to be a teacher.
Because remembering makes it so much more rewarding.
Even on the hard days.
He gave us until Friday and asked us to really think about it.
I've had a love/hate relationship with my job this year.
I've been told that is normal for a first year teacher.
Many days I have left the building feeling frustrated, unaccomplished, and like what I do there doesn't matter to a single person.
So I decided that I needed to think about that question.
And not just that question, but the bigger question...
Why did I choose to be a teacher in the first place?
As I was driving home from school today I burst into tears.
The faces of 100 students went flashing through my mind.
My students.
I felt the spirit.
I felt blessed.
I felt content.
My crazy, loud, hyper, sometimes (most times) out of control 4th-6th grade drama class performed their play last night and today.
They were amazing.
Seriously.
It was without doubt one of those "I LOVE my job" moments for me.
When the kids called me up on the stage to thank me and give flowers I could not stop smiling.
As they hugged me (like all 31 of them) and told me that they loved me and that I was the best teacher eeeeeeeever I was reminded of why I do what I do.
I don't know that any of those kids will ever be an acting star.
I don't know that drama will ever matter to them in their lives.
But I had the honor of helping to give them an experience that they will remember.
An experience that meant something to them today.
I watched shy and timid kids smile and laugh as the crowd cheered for them.
I watched holy terror children commit and give their all to something.
I watched 31 kids stand on a stage proud of themselves.
Happy.
The past two weeks have been amazing for me at work.
One day last week I was coaching some of my high school drama students as they worked on their scenes.
They paid attention to me, they looked at me, they cared what I had to say.
They wanted my help.
I got to share what I love with 14 year olds.
I helped them improve, I helped them feel successful.
It was so rewarding.
It was so fun.
I also have really tough students.
Ones that make me want to pull my hair out.
But I'm finding ways to reach them.
I'm not perfect at it.
But I'm learning what they need.
I get to spend an hour a day in the lives of kids and teenagers.
I have the opportunity to make a difference in their lives an hour at a time.
I think sometimes I forget how incredible and important that is.
And so the answer to the question of why I chose to be a teacher is:
I really didn't choose to be a teacher just to teach kids how to act or how to write or how to create a yearbook or how to give a speech.
I became a teacher to give kids the opportunity to do great things, to find strengths they didn't know they had, to be successful, and to find reasons to be happy with and proud of themselves.
To be a role model, to give kids someone who cared,
to make a difference.
I can't even explain the incredible feeling that comes with knowing that I have touched the lives of kids.
That I have been that teacher.
That teacher that makes them smile and makes them feel important.
Because they are
Important.
I feel honored to have been given that opportunity.
One of my New Year's resolution is to not let myself forget why I chose to be a teacher.
Because remembering makes it so much more rewarding.
Even on the hard days.
