We are not always familiar with the agonies, the joys, and the wonders that occur daily in school classrooms, and how they affect – and are affected by! – our teachers. If we were, perhaps we could better appreciate, value, and support the miraculous work they do.
Last time, I shared part of a blog called “Why I Teach” by a middle school teacher named Stephen Singer. I had to edit out roughly the middle third, and I’d like to finish the sharing today, with some minor repetition near the end.
(You can see the entire piece at https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/01/why-i-teach/ or by contacting me.)
We re-enter the scene in the middle of his first week (recall the piece was written at the start of a school year). And, with very little additional editing, I’ll let Stephen finish:
“One of my first assignments is to have students write a letter about themselves. It’s now day 3 and I’m sitting at my desk reading through them. It’s heartbreak city. Dead or absent parents, lost friends and pets, moving from place-to-place, older brothers and sisters serving as caregivers, pledges to work hard this year and make some missing adult proud. I find myself tearing up and writing supportive comments.
“I go through my Individual Education Plans and see a catalogue of hurt and trauma. Babies, they’re just babies, and they’ve gone through more than I have in my whole life. And I’m more than three times their age! How can I not come to school every day and give my very best?
“A public school is more than a building to me. It’s a temple to humanity. It’s where we go to offer ourselves to other people. Every action, every thought spent on these children is holy. The tiniest gesture is magnified through infinite time and space. When I help a child gain confidence in her reading, I help not just her. I help everyone she will ever come into contact with – her co-workers, her friends, family, even her own children if she someday has some.
“It’s humbling. Amazing. Staggering. Where else can you see the accumulated hurt of the world and actually make a dent in it? Where else can you reach out not just to a cause or an idea but to a living person?
“I am so lucky. My circumstances allowed me to do whatever I wanted with my life. I could have become a doctor or a lawyer. I could have gone into business and made a whole mess of money. But I never wanted any of that. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to help people.
“I remember the pitying looks peers would give me in my 20s. What a waste, they seemed to say. But I’ve never regretted it. This is what I was meant to do. It’s the only thing I ever could and still respect myself.
“Some folks will tell you teaching is about numbers and data. Increase these test scores. Cut costs by this much. Boost profits, escalate the graph, maximize effectiveness. These people are fools. Teaching has nothing to do with any of that. It’s about the children. Being there for them. Being an active part of eternity.
“Thankful eyes, delighted smiles, joyous laughter. Ameliorating hurt. Igniting a tiny candle whose light will grow to encompass sights I will never see.
“That’s why I teach.”
Thanks, Stephen. You may help us as much your students.
Comments are closed