In the last two weeks, I have been reminded why teaching is a great profession. I don't know why so many things have come together to remind me of this. Perhaps it is the nicer weather that is allowing me not to be so negative and actually see the positive. Nonetheless, I appreciate the renewal.
- Teaching is a great profession because... I get to run into former students. Just last night, I was out for supper with my family, and a former student came out of the kitchen to come see me. This was a student who I often worried about...things just didn't seem to be going well for her. Now in her early twenties, she is working three jobs, going to college, and planning on transferring to university to earn a degree to work with youth in the criminal justice system. She seems to have her life on track, and I am sincerely honoured that I got to be her teacher for two semesters.
- Teaching is a great profession because...I get to send home positive progress reports. I have a student who is having some academic and personal issues. In these last two week, he has really taken to the unit we are working on and has seemed to dedicate himself to getting his work done. I showed him the positive note I was sending home, and I could see him trying to hide his look of pride.
- Teaching is a great profession because...the small things make a difference. For example, students stopping to say "Hi" in the hall, students joking around, students who finally get how to write a beautiful paragraph with a topic sentence, an integrated quotation, and sophisticated analysis.
These are people and situations I need to remember when the pressures of teaching becomes overwhelming. Teaching truly is a great profession.
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