I’m A Teacher

The following is a blog post that I wrote on September 24, 2015.

 

I’m a teacher.

Every day approximately 170 students walk into my classroom. I am a teacher because I want to inspire and touch lives. If I were to only touch one life in the course of my career, then it would all be worth it. It would also be okay, if I never knew which students were the most inspired. My purpose is that clear to me. I am where I need for a reason.

What many people don’t realize is that means 170 lives are also touching my heart. My relationship with these students is clear. I’m not their mother, their sister, or even their friend. I am simply their teacher. I spend and engage with them for almost 142 hours during the course of the school year. They say adorable things, and sometimes act in not so cool ways. When they feel joy, my heart smiles. When they are funny, I laugh. When they hurt, I hurt.

As they move on from my classroom, the connectedness doesn’t stop. I love to see them succeed in their educational endeavors. My heart warms watching them marry and have babies.   Some of them invite me to be a part of their special days. Some of them know me when they see me and have kind words. Others turn the other way. That’s okay, each one leaves a footprint on my heart and I’ve fulfilled my purpose to do my best to inspire with the time that I had….

Today my heart hurts. These past few weeks my students have dealt with stepmother suicide, two traumatic brain injuries, sibling surgery, and who know what they haven’t told me about. Some of them come to school hungry every day and others don’t even sleep in a bed. My heart bleeds for them.

I’m thankful that I’m the type of person that feels empathy. I feel blessed to be sensitive to others’ feelings. No one ever said that it was going to be easy. They said it would be worth it

I’m a teacher.