As a student, this selected passage has a confusing feeling to it. It reads so beautifully, but as a student, I would wonder why some teachers make it look so easy and if all of the teachers are struggling to bring all these pieces into the classroom. As a practicing teacher, I know the answer is yes. I know that it takes courage and confidence to be a teacher and that it will often tug and pull on the heart.
It’s interesting to take a step back and think about what my perspectives were of my teachers while I was in middle and high school. As a middle and high school student, I thought my teachers were these old, uptight, and boring people who were really good at school and were taught how to teach material, not people. I don’t have one teacher that sticks out in high school, but I do have one I remember bits and pieces of in middle school. She was my 7th grade home-room teacher and she was a tough cookie. She was one of those teachers that had a tough exterior but after being one-on-one with her, you knew she thrived to make us better people and that she really cared. She was always joking around with the class and giving people a hard time (lots of sarcasm) but at the end of the day, she had complete control of the classroom and she paid very close attention to our body language and took note of our struggles. She would often ask people to stay after class/school to “have a chat”. It wasn’t until after I “had a chat” with her that I realized it was her way of giving her full attention and providing thoughtful words and concern. She always wanted me to know that she was an advocate for her students and that she always had an open ear that would listen. She had my back and I will never forget that.
