Reasons why Teaching is the Best Job in the World (take 2)
I first posted this back in 2006...but I've been thinking a lot about teaching and our lives as teachers as I make the transition from yet another school! I've edited and added some new stuff too...
(This could also be titled "Reasons Why Being Parent is Awesome" because I think many of these statements would apply in parenthood as well...)
REASONS WHY TEACHING IS THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD (Version 2)
1) Your day as a teacher is rarely, if ever, dull.
2) Kids are brilliant, funny, and endlessly surprising.
3) Even when you're having your worst day-- you have a cold, a headache, the flu, cramps, or you're so grumpy you want to growl at the next person who talks to you-- all it takes a smile from a kid to remind you how beautiful the world is.
4) You can reference Spongebob SquarePants or the Simpsons and no one tells you to grow up already.
5) Kids get to make you laugh.
6) You get to make kids laugh.
7) You're teaching a unit on the Civil Rights Movement and, later, a group of students who feel they have been punished unfairly are seen on the recess yard linking arms and singing "We Shall Overcome." And you're so proud you start to cry.
8) Sometimes it's so hard and so tiring and you mess everything up...but then there's the next day, and you get to try all over again.
9) You meet the most amazing people.
10) You learn there is something awe-inspiring, fascinating, and wonderful about every kid.
11) You honestly hear yourself use the phrase, "Watch it! You're going to put someone's eye out." And, "I can wait all day if I have to."
12) You swore you would never say, "Because I said so," and then, next thing you know, you're saying "Because I said so," and you really don't understand why they don't just do it BECAUSE YOU SAID SO. (Okay, maybe that's not a reason why it's the Best Job...)
13) You learn how to have buckets upon buckets of patience.
14) You get to stall the progression of time. It's like living in Never Never Land.
15) You feel useful every single day.
16) You get to be taller than at least SOME of the people in the room.
17) You get to be a storyteller.
18) Every school year, every group kids, surprises you somehow and in a way that you never expect.
19) Some days you find yourself in a heated debate with a kid about the fairness of a game or the amount of homework you are giving...and you think to yourself, "This is insane. I'm debating with a KID. And why do I feel like I'm losing?" Because, honestly, sometimes they challenge us and THEY'RE RIGHT. What we did to them or to the class wasn't fair. And at the same time you realize you're losing, you can't help but feel kind of impressed at how brazen and clever that kid is.
20) To borrow a quote from my friend Bronwyn: "Sometimes, they're all anarchists. And don't you kind of love them for it?" Yes. Yes I do.
21) Kids are way funnier than adults, even when they don't mean to be.
22) You get to watch the joyous reaction of a student who has just learned something new or mastered a new skill. It's great to see them proud of themselves.
23) You learn from the kids how to notice the little things: Your class gets distracted for twenty minutes because of a butterfly in the classroom (or, in Monteverde, a monkey outside the window! Or cows in the field!).
24) Kids remind us to never lose our Sense of Wonder. This year my students and I grew mold on bread-- I thought it was so gross I might throw up--my students thought it was the Coolest Thing Ever.
25) They work so hard, they struggle, they cry, they question and question and question. And then-- they get it. They look up at you, eyes wide, and say, "Ohhhhhh. I GET IT." And you are so excited you actually throw your hands in the air and cheer.
26) It's trite, but true: You truly are making a difference in someone's life. Whether you're helping them resolve out a personal dilemma, teaching them multiplication, or showing them how to use a compass, you're making an impact.
27) There are those moments when the kids blow your mind with some brilliant and profound statement- when they come out with something wiser than what is said by all the politicians in the world put together. And I'll tell you, it happens all the time.
(This could also be titled "Reasons Why Being Parent is Awesome" because I think many of these statements would apply in parenthood as well...)
REASONS WHY TEACHING IS THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD (Version 2)
1) Your day as a teacher is rarely, if ever, dull.
2) Kids are brilliant, funny, and endlessly surprising.
3) Even when you're having your worst day-- you have a cold, a headache, the flu, cramps, or you're so grumpy you want to growl at the next person who talks to you-- all it takes a smile from a kid to remind you how beautiful the world is.
4) You can reference Spongebob SquarePants or the Simpsons and no one tells you to grow up already.
5) Kids get to make you laugh.
6) You get to make kids laugh.
7) You're teaching a unit on the Civil Rights Movement and, later, a group of students who feel they have been punished unfairly are seen on the recess yard linking arms and singing "We Shall Overcome." And you're so proud you start to cry.
8) Sometimes it's so hard and so tiring and you mess everything up...but then there's the next day, and you get to try all over again.
9) You meet the most amazing people.
10) You learn there is something awe-inspiring, fascinating, and wonderful about every kid.
11) You honestly hear yourself use the phrase, "Watch it! You're going to put someone's eye out." And, "I can wait all day if I have to."
12) You swore you would never say, "Because I said so," and then, next thing you know, you're saying "Because I said so," and you really don't understand why they don't just do it BECAUSE YOU SAID SO. (Okay, maybe that's not a reason why it's the Best Job...)
13) You learn how to have buckets upon buckets of patience.
14) You get to stall the progression of time. It's like living in Never Never Land.
15) You feel useful every single day.
16) You get to be taller than at least SOME of the people in the room.
17) You get to be a storyteller.
18) Every school year, every group kids, surprises you somehow and in a way that you never expect.
19) Some days you find yourself in a heated debate with a kid about the fairness of a game or the amount of homework you are giving...and you think to yourself, "This is insane. I'm debating with a KID. And why do I feel like I'm losing?" Because, honestly, sometimes they challenge us and THEY'RE RIGHT. What we did to them or to the class wasn't fair. And at the same time you realize you're losing, you can't help but feel kind of impressed at how brazen and clever that kid is.
20) To borrow a quote from my friend Bronwyn: "Sometimes, they're all anarchists. And don't you kind of love them for it?" Yes. Yes I do.
21) Kids are way funnier than adults, even when they don't mean to be.
22) You get to watch the joyous reaction of a student who has just learned something new or mastered a new skill. It's great to see them proud of themselves.
23) You learn from the kids how to notice the little things: Your class gets distracted for twenty minutes because of a butterfly in the classroom (or, in Monteverde, a monkey outside the window! Or cows in the field!).
24) Kids remind us to never lose our Sense of Wonder. This year my students and I grew mold on bread-- I thought it was so gross I might throw up--my students thought it was the Coolest Thing Ever.
25) They work so hard, they struggle, they cry, they question and question and question. And then-- they get it. They look up at you, eyes wide, and say, "Ohhhhhh. I GET IT." And you are so excited you actually throw your hands in the air and cheer.
26) It's trite, but true: You truly are making a difference in someone's life. Whether you're helping them resolve out a personal dilemma, teaching them multiplication, or showing them how to use a compass, you're making an impact.
27) There are those moments when the kids blow your mind with some brilliant and profound statement- when they come out with something wiser than what is said by all the politicians in the world put together. And I'll tell you, it happens all the time.
posted by Rebekah at 1:33 AM
1 Comments:
Well said, Rebekah. This was perfect end-of-the-year reading for me:)
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