Well, I'm more than half way through my second professional semester of teaching. My days and weeks have blurred together, I have made so many mistakes, my brain feels like it can't possibly take in anything more, and I've never felt so inadequate in my entire life. Still, I know that I am exactly where I belong and where I want to be.
When I was in high school one of my teachers had a poster on the wall that said something to the effect of "nothing worthwhile in life is easy." I think it was a Simpson's poster. While I always knew this sentiment to be true, I had never come face to face with it until last weekend when it took all my strength not to give up and quit.
Not only did it take all of my own strength to stay the course, but I also absolutely needed the support of the important people in my life. Here's another truth I had never before understood so deeply: support systems are essential. Essential - in an absolutely indispensable, could-not-survive-without, fundamental-to-the-success-of-the-organism kind of way. (Yup, I'm a science major.) Life is hard at the best of times; I can't imagine what it must be like for those people who feel like they're on their own.
You know who feels like they're on their own? Teenagers. Some of my students must feel like this on a daily basis. It's no wonder they act crazy sometimes. This is why it's so important to establish relationships with students: to make them feel cared about, and to make them feel like there's at least one person in the world who's in their corner. Of course, most students will have some kind of support system at home, but I'm talking about the small percentage of students whose lives may take completely different courses depending on how they're treated in "The System".
The purposes and intents of the school system are debatable. Everyone's got a different opinion, it seems. My purpose in the school system is to try to reach that small group of kids who hover dangerously on the line of good and bad life choices.
Well, this post has quickly escalated to dealing with some pretty serious issues. I don't think it was my intent to uncover my personal purpose in the education system but there it is. Let it be noted that although I know I have learned a lot about education and teaching, I realize that I'll never stop learning new things about it and thus my views are likely to morph into new ones. This is where I stand today: life is hard for everyone, but it makes me happy to know I have people supporting me through my tough times so I can support others through theirs. Or something like that.
When I was in high school one of my teachers had a poster on the wall that said something to the effect of "nothing worthwhile in life is easy." I think it was a Simpson's poster. While I always knew this sentiment to be true, I had never come face to face with it until last weekend when it took all my strength not to give up and quit.
Not only did it take all of my own strength to stay the course, but I also absolutely needed the support of the important people in my life. Here's another truth I had never before understood so deeply: support systems are essential. Essential - in an absolutely indispensable, could-not-survive-without, fundamental-to-the-success-of-the-organism kind of way. (Yup, I'm a science major.) Life is hard at the best of times; I can't imagine what it must be like for those people who feel like they're on their own.
You know who feels like they're on their own? Teenagers. Some of my students must feel like this on a daily basis. It's no wonder they act crazy sometimes. This is why it's so important to establish relationships with students: to make them feel cared about, and to make them feel like there's at least one person in the world who's in their corner. Of course, most students will have some kind of support system at home, but I'm talking about the small percentage of students whose lives may take completely different courses depending on how they're treated in "The System".
The purposes and intents of the school system are debatable. Everyone's got a different opinion, it seems. My purpose in the school system is to try to reach that small group of kids who hover dangerously on the line of good and bad life choices.
Well, this post has quickly escalated to dealing with some pretty serious issues. I don't think it was my intent to uncover my personal purpose in the education system but there it is. Let it be noted that although I know I have learned a lot about education and teaching, I realize that I'll never stop learning new things about it and thus my views are likely to morph into new ones. This is where I stand today: life is hard for everyone, but it makes me happy to know I have people supporting me through my tough times so I can support others through theirs. Or something like that.