In my daughter’s classroom on Monday, her teacher sat beside her during her time to journal and listened to Delaney’s reasoning for selecting her outfit for the day, her excitement about Christmas and Santa and seeing her cousins and receiving new dollies.
My son’s teacher brought out puzzles and challenged her students to work together to overcome the most difficult ones, and as she did, she checked in with each student, asking about his weekend, commenting on her new birthday book.
A teacher at KHS became teary-eyed as she described the joy she had in spending a semester with her students and seeing them grow and mature. Another consoled a student in the hallway, hand on his shoulder, listening and offering advice for the everyday challenges our students face.
The teachers I know keep teaching. They teach love. Of numbers, experiments, history, literature, business, carpentry, art, performance, health, language, food, engineering, and more, but most of all, they teach a love of learning and a love for others.
During this holiday season I choose to think about love.
It is indeed hard not to become overly involved with those that we teach. The passion it takes to constantly be concerned about their success and be apart of them as well as their failures. It is almost as if you are a small portion of their guiding force (i.e. like a little parent) in their lives.
Very true, and the teachers I know love being a part of their lives and helping guide them with questioning and listening. Thanks, Michael!
Just the right thought at this time in the world and in the year. Beautiful post!
Thanks, Aim. Thinking of the new love you will bring into the world shortly and all the ways you will inspire love in him and in the many lives of all the students you teach.
Well said, Kerry. I think this is timely in more ways than one. A teacher’s genuine concern for students has never been more important. In days of numbers and stats and scores and data, it really is the love and time we invest that makes a difference. Thank you!
Your kids would attest to that, Mitch. You teach them so much more than journalism.