Remember Why You Teach

“I'm listening,” you encourage us.

“Come on!

Join our conversation,

let us hear your neon certainties,

thorny doubts, tangled angers,”

but for weeks I hid inside.

excerpt from Ode to Teachers by Pat Mora

It's August, and that means that the school year is either just around the corner or has already begun. Whether you are a teacher, a home educator, or a mentor, you are embarking on a year with young people who are anxious to be seen, heard, and understood.

Some students are eager to learn and they gobble up the information like they're starving. Others are reticent, and whether that's due to personality or ability, you may not even know yet. As teachers, parents and mentors, we are given the enormous privilege of being present for the light bulb moments, those moments of triumph and celebration as a fact is learned, a skill is achieved, and a barrier is overcome. But just as important, we are blessed to be allowed to enter into a student's fear and struggles. We have been given the opportunity to listen, understand, and guide a young person on the road to maturity.

Your job as a teacher is not an easy one. You will have moments of doubt and frustration. If you are educating your own children, you will encounter parenting difficulties on top of the academic ones. But it's worth it! The gains are ultimately greater than the losses. Your role in that child's life may have a lasting impact, as Pat Mora emphasizes when she says that when she couldn't carry herself, her teacher did that for her: "Slowly, your faith grew / into my courage..."

As you enter the school year, may you always remember why you teach. These children are whole persons who need your encouragement and support in all areas of their development. Be patient, with them and with yourself.

Blessings on your new school year!