Some posts bear rereading. I’ve found one such post over at Musings of a Wandering Spirit. Miss H~, the blog’s author, is a teacher. One particular line stood out to me yesterday evening as I reread a certain blog entry of hers. The line is, "I needed to be reminded of why I teach -- to help kids..."
Teaching is hard some days. Often it’s not the kids that tire you. Usually it's the other stuff: paper work, uncooperative printers, criticism, budget issues, etc.
Because of the stressors, we need reminders from fellow encouragers as to why we do what we do. I was reminded by Miss H~’s post why I went into teaching. I went into teaching to help kids. It's that simple.
Miss H~’s post helped me to refocus, recalibrate, and reassess my successes. Today, for a few of my students, I made a significant difference. That's why I teach. (Now I remember!)
I was reminded also of a story called The Starfish, author unknown. Here’s one version of the story…
Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.
The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.
As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"
Teaching is a profession, like others, that can feel overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to revisit why we make the effort. Me? I want to make a difference. That’s my “waking dream.”
I have a very, very hectic semester coming up.
ReplyDeleteOne that I am, in no means, prepared for.
I know my tendency will be to get bogged down with the stress. Thank you for starting me out in the right direction by reminding me why I love to teach.
(Miss H reminded you. You reminded me. It's like pay-it-forward. Guess the ball's in my court.)
I loved the starfish story. I shall take the liberty of borrowing it for a future post if I may.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
John
I haven't heard the starfish story before. It's wonderful and I'll use it too.
ReplyDeleteWell, the last fortnight back at school has been non-stop punishing days as the everyday whirl takes shape, and my final years students have stayed until 6 or 7 in the evening, finishing their films and websites.
On top of that there's a slew of meetings, parents' evenings and other stuff to keep on top of, plus of course, the dreaded marking to do.
At my school we're divided into Houses, smaller communities within the school. Most of us in my House (that's staff and students) have had a gruelling week and quite a few people have been beset with bad and upsetting news too. So today, the Housemaster, who is a wonderfully kind and sensitive man, presented us all with a small chocolate cream egg. It was, he explained, a small gesture to remind us that we all have a duty to watch out for each other, and not to forget the sweet things in life.
We sat silently munching our eggs and by the time we set off for the first lesson of the day, most of us I think felt a little better than we did when we entered the communal meeting room.
Our job as educators is never easy, but I know that for me being called into the profession seven years ago was the best decision I could have made.
It was then and it still is now.
Sacha
I love that starfish story. It's one of those stories that is so profound I don't think one could ever truly glean all its meaning and worth and comprehend all of it at one time.
ReplyDelete