Third quarter is always the most challenging time of the school year, and it’s difficult to persist with the demands that inevitably come. Fortunately for me, I recently had someone ask me why, with all of the difficulties of this career, I choose to teach. While I knew the answer, it was a perfect opportunity for me to remind myself of the many reasons why I pour so much of my life into this incredibly rewarding part of my life.
Every answer that I have leads back to one common thread: human beings.
I teach human beings because I love them and want to help them be the best that they can be.
I teach human beings because it provides an opportunity for my own children to live the best life I can give them.
I teach human beings because we are all stronger than we think; we just need someone to give us the opportunity to see that it’s true.
I teach human beings because, no matter how much people fight against it, we are all connected on that most basic, powerful level.
I teach human beings because I believe that we are the most beautiful of God’s creation, made in His image.
I teach human beings because love can’t let me do otherwise.
I teach human beings because no word, number, career, or relationship can exist without people.
I do what I do because I have faith.
I have faith that God has placed me right where I am for such a time as this to do what I am doing, equipping me to hold on when I’ve spent all of my emotional resources.
I have faith in the humans that I teach. They test me and my faith, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes they get lazy and cranky and try to avoid dealing with what they should be dealing with. But I know that they have more in them than those responses we all tend to have when we are challenged to grow.
I have faith in the fact that they think critically and independently. Even when they resist it in some ways, they prove that they do it in others.
I have faith in the fact that I’m making an investment in the future. My students don’t stay the teenager with a goofy haircut, displaying sass instead of assignments. They have been and will become the people who will be there for me in my own times of need – wheeling me back for surgery, caring for my own children, saving lives and teaching the next generation. They are creating the society of our future.
I have faith because they encourage me with theirs. They will write that story that moves me, say that sweet word of encouragement that humbles me, and laugh with me about the weird things that come with being in a high school classroom.
I teach because, in spite of myself, it has made me better. It has challenged me to dig deep within and accomplish far more than I thought I could. It has made me strong. It has made me exhausted and empowered. And it’s all because of the human beings who make up my world.