I must confess! I am a Teacher and I love my job! I know it’s hard and some things we have to do are ridiculous and make no sense, but I do them anyway, just my way.
I’m in it for my students, my kids, my littles. I just love them! I make sure to spend time with them, getting to know them, building community with them and getting to know their families. We are a village! We need each other!
I have to remind myself that it takes a whole year for the light bulb to come on. Lately, it has been shining brightly in my class. I have watched high flyers fly higher, low flyers take flight and soar, introverts make conversation and extroverts become Teachers. I have seen intrinsic rewards. Successes on faces as well as defeat. But we’re not in it to win, we’re in it to fall and get back up. Because Ms. Brooks says, “Practice Makes Better!” Consistency and Perseverance make my character.
It refreshes my soul to see this mysterious and magical automatic timer of information hit their minds and see the extensions of the learning taught and gathered in one single place. I am so proud of them. Each year, they have taught me to be resilient, patient, humble and to receive. I may have learned more from them than they did from me.
Teaching is so much more than just a job description and so much more than money. It is a purpose given by God to be passed on to others through knowledge and forgiveness. No one is perfect at it, ever. Every year is different, because your class is full of eccentric personalities. You really learn alot about yourself through this change. I have to stop and take it all in or I may miss it. The end of the year is upon us and I get weepy knowing my babies are leaving and ready. I want to keep them forever, but I know their future is set.
I’m in Kindergarten for the first time and I know when I read those names to come across the stage at Graduation, I’m gonna cry. I’m gonna hug them, tell them I love them always and see them next year in a different class down the hall. But secretly, I will miss them as I do all my littles while knowing that their future is bright and purposeful!
