“I never ate this morning, can you please feed me?” “I have been wearing this same outfit for two weeks straight and it smells. Now my classmates are making fun of me.” “When I go home today I won’t be able to complete the schoolwork because my family life is so dysfunctional that I at age nine need to take care of my siblings.” “I am scared to go home.” “I am being cyberbullied.” “I am being abused.” “People think I’m ugly and I believe them.” “I feel so stupid.” “I am depressed.”
“Teacher, I need your help.”
Our job would be a lot easier if kids said what was on their mind, but they don’t. Students don’t just come out and ask for help but that does not mean everything in their world is fine.
The most important thing a teacher can learn is not taught in teacher school. It is getting into the heart of a child. Last time I checked there is no 101 course on dealing with unbrushed teeth and kids who are overloaded with adult-like responsibility. It makes me wish we wrote papers on dealing with real issues rather than papers on how we may incorporate Piaget in a Physics 12 course. The best thing I have ever done in my teaching career is to ensure I take whatever time and actions needed to make sure that a child feels safe, happy and respected when in my presence.
Honestly it does not take much. But what it does take is effort and time. We as teachers all have a life at home. I have a beautiful wife, three incredible, energetic boys and a dog that gets so excited to see me that she barks and sounds like a mule in pain while awaiting my entry through the front door. But I also have a family of kids at work who need me too. Regardless of when or how they need me, I want to be a shoulder for them. I want to build them up and then watch them flourish. I want to be someone they can confide in and trust. It is not that I enjoy this but it is that I want what is best for them. The “what is best for them” is what I relish.
Over this past week I have had a wonderful blog and two amazing letters written to me from both students and parents. One of them even gave me a new title as being a mental health advocate. But honestly, I’m just being a teacher and doing what every teacher should do. And that is to CARE for what is BEST for the most important thing on the planet - KIDS.
Please click here to read a wonderful blog a student of mine wrote about me. Thank you Jaylynn, but I am just doing my job.
“Teacher, I need your help.”
Our job would be a lot easier if kids said what was on their mind, but they don’t. Students don’t just come out and ask for help but that does not mean everything in their world is fine.
The most important thing a teacher can learn is not taught in teacher school. It is getting into the heart of a child. Last time I checked there is no 101 course on dealing with unbrushed teeth and kids who are overloaded with adult-like responsibility. It makes me wish we wrote papers on dealing with real issues rather than papers on how we may incorporate Piaget in a Physics 12 course. The best thing I have ever done in my teaching career is to ensure I take whatever time and actions needed to make sure that a child feels safe, happy and respected when in my presence.
Honestly it does not take much. But what it does take is effort and time. We as teachers all have a life at home. I have a beautiful wife, three incredible, energetic boys and a dog that gets so excited to see me that she barks and sounds like a mule in pain while awaiting my entry through the front door. But I also have a family of kids at work who need me too. Regardless of when or how they need me, I want to be a shoulder for them. I want to build them up and then watch them flourish. I want to be someone they can confide in and trust. It is not that I enjoy this but it is that I want what is best for them. The “what is best for them” is what I relish.
Over this past week I have had a wonderful blog and two amazing letters written to me from both students and parents. One of them even gave me a new title as being a mental health advocate. But honestly, I’m just being a teacher and doing what every teacher should do. And that is to CARE for what is BEST for the most important thing on the planet - KIDS.
Please click here to read a wonderful blog a student of mine wrote about me. Thank you Jaylynn, but I am just doing my job.
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