You know, I was so busy with end-of-year busyness that I
haphazardly read the first chapters of this book. The week went by in a whirlwind. Each day brought about more stress,
frustration and serious questioning as to my future in teaching. I’m burned out and have spent more time
thinking about my options for the coming year than thinking about the end of a
two year run with these 18 students whom I taught in both 2nd and 3rd
grade. And then I read (again). But this time I read from a broken
state. And what I read was
powerful. It reminded me why I went into
education. It brought back memories of specific
kids: Tristen, Ethan, Cody, Violet,
Robyn and this year, Elijah. You see
these are all students that had been written off by a majority of their
educators. These are the tough
ones. They are kids that don’t have a
kiss good-bye in the morning, and are lucky to have food on the table on any
given evening. These are the kids that
will look back at their academic career and my name will be one they remember
as someone who made a significant contribution in their lives. Sound arrogant? It may be.
But I know, deep down that it is truth.
These are the kids that stop by my room in the morning, and who call my
home in the evenings when they need help with homework, or a listening ear, or
who need a home when the state has come to remove them from theirs. I have been a gift to many students who no
one else believed in, listened to, or cared about. I have been a contribution.
The author states that there isn’t a one side or another,
like as in success and failure. But I
disagree. The opposite of contribute is
to take away, neglect, shun. If I am not
consciously being a contribution, I
am stealing from my student.
My rewards are indeed deep.
Meaningful. This text spoke to me
today. Awakened me from my deep sleep
and erased my overwhelming sense of worthlessness (brought on by lower than
desired test scores and a negative work environment). I only have to allow myself to recognize that
yes, I am being a contribution in the
lives of students. How far reaching that
contribution will be has yet to unfold, but I believe it will. We are ALL being a contribution. When you wake up in the morning and look at
yourself in the mirror, tell yourself that you are making a difference. And believe it. Then go, and do it.
Give yourself an A, Karen. May I even say...give yourself an A+. We have had it rough in Florida the last few years. Each year it seems to get more stressful to us and to our students. It is easy to lose sight of why we chose this profession. The FCAT and the new teacher evaluation system have a way of making us feel like failures, but as you said, we need to recognize that we do make a difference. We need to stop focusing on what the lawmakers and higher ups feel we need to focus on. We need to focus on the little human beings that are in our charge all day. For some, we are the only one that tells them good morning or gives them a hug when they need it. That IS our contribution! We are shaping young lives to help them become productive members of society. We are NOT here (as much as our administration would like us to be) to make little test taking robots. Keep making a difference. I am glad that the readings this week were meaningful to you. They were certainly powerful for me as well.
ReplyDelete