Teaching is a noble profession. I truly believe that. I also believe that God gives some people the gift of teaching. You know the difference. There are those who decide to be a teacher & impart information. They sincerely love their subject, but they are so dry that you feel like you've been tortured for the 50 minutes you spent in their world. And then there is the gifted teacher who makes time stand still and inspires and challenges you to greater things. You want to please them and get their mark of approval.
This is my first year teaching in public school, and I love teaching. I hope to be a great teacher some day. I think, though, that to be a great teacher, you have to be a great learner. And boy, am I learning! Every lesson, every concept, every student, every day...I'm learning. Working it out as I go. Everyone said the first year would be the hardest, and they were not exaggerating. If there is a weakness in your plans or in yourself, it will be exposed by the 100+ darling students that you have in class each day. (Ugh, more self-improvement plans...) So, I live and learn. And make better plans and stronger moves in classroom management, even though my general nature is to go with the flow, don't rock the boat, live & let live. Yeah, those philosophies do not work in the classroom setting. Not unless you want to go home feeling like a you've been hit by a truck every day & have footprints all over your backside where you've been trampled on. So, why in the world do I want to teach then? Because, I love it.
I love watching students "get it". I love hearing one student who "gets it" explaining "it" to another student. I love those moments when the students are listening raptly and soaking up new knowledge. You can almost see the wheels turning in their heads as they absorb it and work to make it their own. I love when a student who I didn't think was going to "get it" gets it. (Learning once again, not to make quick assumptions.)
Yeah, everyday is a roller coaster ride, and I never know which way it will go. But I'm going to school and learning more than I ever imagined as I try to be that teacher who inspires and challenges their students to greater things.
