On the bus ride to Beaver Park a few weeks ago a parent volunteer and I were having a discussion about second grade placements. The parent said to me, “The only criteria I have for my child’s teacher is that her teacher be passionate about teaching.”
I thought that was a brilliant statement because, not only in teaching, but probably other professions, you must love what you do to do it well. Kids don’t learn from teachers who don’t like to teach. Kids don’t behave when they are in the classrooms of teachers who don’t like to teach. Kids don’t want to be in school when they are in a school full of teachers who don’t like to teach. My passion for teaching helps get me through all the hoops: the lack of money and time, the unrelenting mandates made by people who have never been teachers, and the difficult scheduling of stuff unrelated to teaching during the school day. And I hope, if you are fortunate enough to be in a position to teach, that you love it and that it is something that you truly want to do. Plus, if you are really lucky, you’ll not only be doing work that inspires both you and your students to do their best, you’ll also occasionally get a lovely thank you card.
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