by Lisa
For me, March, April, and May are the most trying months as an educator. At my school, we refer to this period as the testing season. Freshmen and sophomores are taking standardized writing and reading tests. Honors students are taking their AP and AICE exams. Math, science and social studies students are also taking EOCs (end of course exams). It is also the time of year when almost every discipline and club take a field trip- or two.
For me, March, April, and May are the most trying months as an educator. At my school, we refer to this period as the testing season. Freshmen and sophomores are taking standardized writing and reading tests. Honors students are taking their AP and AICE exams. Math, science and social studies students are also taking EOCs (end of course exams). It is also the time of year when almost every discipline and club take a field trip- or two.
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| Okaloosa Island |
Along with the multitude of tests and excursions, illnesses run rampant. Yes, flu and strep seem to be epidemics this year, but more than that Spring fever and senioritis have hit campus earlier than usual and plague the student body. Living 30 minutes from the most beautiful beaches in the world makes coming to school a challenge when the temperature is 78 in February.
Nothing gets my cornflakes soggier than when a student comes in after missing a critical lesson or assessment with freshly sunburned cheeks and has the audacity to play the sick card. (I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday, Sweetie. Don’t forget that earlier this week you could have passed for a member of the Cullen family from Twilight.)
It takes an overwhelming amount of patience and flexibility to maintain a steady pace with the curriculum when every day handfuls of kiddos are missing in every period. Even the ones present are more distracted than ever. Spring sports are in full swing, and summer break is nearing. The girls are talking about prom dresses, and the boys want to be outside doing something other than reading Macbeth or Animal Farm. They are less focused on school than they were the first semester, but it is the most critical time of the school year for most of them. I am teaching like my britches are on fire, but all they seem to be worried about is finding someone in class with a charger so their phone doesn’t die.
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But even though it seems that this brief period takes years off of my life, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am where I belong, doing what I love.
I teach because I love my students. I end each school year thinking that I can’t get a better class of students than those who just left, and the next year’s group comes in and steals my heart. Literature and grammar and writing are all passions in my life, but I love all the kids who walk through the door of room 820.
The sad thing is many educators don’t. Many got into teaching for the wrong reasons. Their parents were educators. They wanted summers off. They couldn’t decide on another major. They love their subject matter. Most of those are good reasons to teach, but if students aren’t the first reason, then the others don’t really matter.
You can’t be an effective teacher if you don’t love each kid who walks in your room- even the tough ones to love. You can’t be an effective teacher if you don’t build relationships with those students. Educational institutions were not built to employ teachers, but they were created to empower their pupils with knowledge. We are there to serve them, but so many educators do not view teaching as a servant role.
As I drove to work the other day, I listened to a message on 1 Corinthians 13. Most people know this to be the greatest chapter on love in the Bible. I have heard plenty of sermons on this topic and know these verses well. But on that day, the message didn’t make me contemplate the love I show my family and friends or even strangers around me, but it resonated with the teacher in me.
So as I begin the months of teaching that test my mental and emotional stability, I will remind myself that I am not in it for any other reason than to make a difference in the lives of my students. If I make a difference with a few, the gray hairs and sleepless nights are all worth it.
What if all educators approached teaching with a 1 Corinthians 13 attitude?
What an impact we could make in the lives of our students!
If I have a Master’s degree, but I don’t love my students,
I am nothing.
If I have effective lesson plans and engaging activities, but I don’t show love,
what good am I?
All of the knowledge of my subject matter and best practices are worthless
if my students don’t feel like I truly care about them.
All of my Pinterest inspired bulletin boards and handouts are useless
if I don’t have love.
