Update: This has been the kind of week where it seems ridiculous to think about retiring. I am reading slant essays and unit reflections with my first year college writers while supporting my professional writing students as they craft proposals for their passion projects. Everyone has had time to learn my teaching methods and we are all reaping the rewards of community building. While I still love teaching for the challenges and opportunities and genuine human connection, I am at my happiest when my students realize the joy and power that writing offers and that the journey of growing as a writer is well worth taking. There was a great deal of that in my classroom this week. What brings you joy as a teacher?
Original: I have always loved teaching. I played school as a little girl by lining my stuffed animals up on my bed to teach them to read. While I also love writing, one of the things that I love about it is the way my words can teach others.
However, first and foremost, teaching is about learning and that is what drew me to this profession as an adult. I have a voracious appetite for learning and teaching is a marvelous excuse to feed that appetite. Teaching has taught me important lessons about myself, my students, and my world. I am a better person because I am a teacher and I hope the world is a better place because of the lessons my students and I have shared.
Teaching is about humanity. While covering a wide range of topics, at the heart of every classroom are lessons about what it means to be human and to live together as humans and to foster the success of humanity. My students regularly restore my faith in humanity and give me hope for the future. It means everything to me that I am able to play a small part in their development as humans.
Teaching is also about change. Teachers change lives by giving our students the tools they need, from literacy to critical thinking, to make their way in the world. Teachers change lives by believing in their students and giving them the confidence to change the world. Teachers change lives by asking simple questions such as “why” and “why not” as well as complex questions such as “what next.”
Even now, as teachers and our schools continue to come under fire from every direction and the pressure to choose another profession rises, the classroom continues to be the highpoint of my week and teaching is my lifeline. Hardly a day passes without students offering inspiration, challenge, and motivation for me to be more and to do more. In the end, I love teaching because of my students.
Why do you #LoveTeaching? There is still time to share your passion for teaching during #LoveTeaching Week 2016. Learn more here: weloveteaching.org.