Wednesday, January 1, 2014

My 2014 Teacher Resolution

Day to day, a high school teacher works very hard and receives very little gratitude.  We stay late to tutor students, we deal with behavioral issues both inside the classroom and out, and we sometimes get called names.  All of this began to weigh on me last semester.  I would come home feeling deflated and unable to stop thinking about work.  I felt like I wasn’t really making a difference.


But then the week before Christmas break, little bits of gratitude began to roll in.  My seniors’ scores in reading comprehension rose pretty dramatically (there are few things more satisfying than witnessing students feeling proud of themselves for improving, knowing you played a part in that).  Then came the student made cookies, candy, and brownies with little notes that thanked me for being their teacher.  By Christmas break, I had quite a stack of notes and gifts of thanks and well wishes piled on the corner of my desk.  As I placed them in my bag to take home, my heart felt full.

Going into the next semester, I resolve to take these good feelings with me.  And when I’m feeling low, I will read these notes from my students to remind myself what this job is really about: taking care of my students and making them feel special.


What is your teacher resolution for 2014?

2 comments:

  1. No matter what, tomorrow is always a new day. You only have them in your classroom for 180 days, but you may stay with them forever.

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