Teacher Truths

I have sat down to write this post many times over the last few months, but I had writers block. I think we as teachers have a hard time admitting when we have had it tough. (Me included) I went into this school year with rose-colored glasses with all of these ideas and amazing things I was going to do in my classroom. I definitely had new ideas  to share, but my role as a teacher was tested by a student like no other.

We go through the education program with these idealist views of what teaching is going to be like. Over and over we are told about the impact we will have on molding these little minds for the future. While this is true... nobody ever took the time to mention how much I would learn from them. There was never a class that started with... "Here is the truth about teaching. Sometimes it's hard."

The second day of school a child entered my classroom that rocked my whole perspective. The student was one of those that is in everyone else's room but yours. The one that kicks walls, throws things, hides under tables, and on occasion hisses like a cat. Maybe not everyone else has experienced the cat hissing, but it was definitely a test of my ability not to laugh. Hah! I grew to learn this child's entire heartbreaking story. The amount of things that had occurred in this six year old's life don't happen to most people that are fully grown. I came to realize that the four walls of my classroom were the only safe place that this student knew. 

I had lessons to challenge my students just as I had planned at the beginning of the year. They just didn't all go according to plan. This basically sums up many many manyyy lessons.

It took all of my time and energy to address this child's needs. It got better as the year went on. There were still many moments where my patience were tested and the lessons I was teaching turned into something entirely different. This student ended up moving into what I still hope and pray was a much more stable and loving place for them.

This child really made me think about how our job is like no other. There is no going home and forgetting about the kiddo who you know doesn't have enough to eat or the one that has no books to read or even the one that has gone through terrible experiences. Teaching is not always about the cute laminated neon colored centers or the pretty anchor charts we create, but more often than not it's about what we can offer to these kids in a stable place to be... even just for a little while. 

I love to create and make activities out of nothing but my own imagination and standards that I have dissected; that's what I get to bring to the table. I get to bring engaging lessons, structure, and a friendly environment. What I didn't know is that these kiddos could teach me more than I even knew I had left to learn. If you've gone through a tough year of teaching or you go through it in the future I hope you can think of what you're learning from the little people and what an impact you are making in lives that may have never before seen the kind of love you have to share.