Why I Teach

Today was the last day of my school’s state mandated standardized testing. Today my students (and the other 1,000 students at PJHS) sat down and had to choose correct answers for the English portion of the ACT ASPIRE. They also had to write a well thought out, well planned, well explained essay in 30 minutes. And as I sat there wincing and wanting to shake them and ask, “How could you forget to indent your paragraphs?!?!?!” I couldn’t help but think about why I teach.

I do not teach for standardized testing.

I teach for the kids.

That is what it boils down to. To these precious 12 and 13 year old kids who are too street savvy for their own good, but still innocent and ignorant in some of the most basic ways.

I teach for the kid who draws me a new picture every week just because he loves to draw and wants to give them to someone who will appreciate it. He tells me I am the best teacher in the universe. (I know this isn’t true, especially since some of the best teachers I know are friends and mentors. Still it’s nice to hear.)

Yes, that is me riding a dinosaur. Are you this cool? I think not!

I teach for the kid who is severely Autistic, but since hearing I used to live in Taiwan has read all of my tour guide books and is a veritable fount of information about that country. He has decided he wants to live in Taipei one day.

I teach for the kid who, last year, hated everyone and everything. This year, when I talk to him, he is staying out of trouble and credits myself and a coach with teaching him how to control his temper. This child gave me a candle last year for Christmas that was half burned and unwrapped. Did I mention that it is one of my favorite gifts EVER! When he does big things one day, I will totally claim responsibility.

I teach for the girls who talk to me about boy issues. I teach for the kids who come and ask me for snack because their parents don’t send one for them and they don’t have money to buy one. I teach for the small moments of time where I can teach a morality lesson because of something we read in class. I teach for the kids who ask to stay in at break and sweep my room. They know they have a safe place with me.

I love that he was so concerned with correct grammar. And he labeled at least one part of speech!

 I teach for the kids who become readers after reading “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. (You mean there are more books after this one? Can I borrow it?) I teach for the kids who suddenly understand what it means to cite evidence in a response. I teach for the kids who understand that I teach a much harder concept so that they will better understand the easier concept.

I teach for the kids that I can encourage and be their cheerleader. That is why I go to every single sporting event, band concert, funeral, and club event that I can. And they know that I am there. And it means so much to them (most of the time). I teach for the kids that I can comfort and reassure when they cry. As good as I am at making kids cry, I am equally as good at stopping tears just by being a tad bit weird and blunt.

Now granted, I have bad days. There are days when I cry and get angry and throw away papers that they STILL didn’t write their name on even after I reminded them twice! There are days when I raise my voice, and days when I make kids cry because of their behavior. (I am really good at making 7^th grade boys cry.) There are days when I get frustrated because everyone understood the concept YESTERDAY, yet failed the test I gave today.

But I teach on. I teach for the opportunity to affect someone’s life, to help a child find his love for poetry, to have a safe place to talk, to teach correct behavior to. If I only affect one person, one child I will consider it well worth it.

That’s why I teach.

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