Students often come up to my desk and ask me “is that cho moms in the picture?” They are referring to the picture of me and my mentor, Dr. Kathy Gerard, with whom I had the pleasure of working with during student teaching at University of Delaware ( go Blue Hens!!). “No, that’s the person who inspired me to be the teacher I am today” I simply tell them. She made me realize that I am made for this job. She taught me that integrity is one of the core principals of good teaching, that passion is contagious, that students will respond to consistency, humor, and my own humility. She taught me everything from effectively tracking attendance to effectively motivating a student recently transferred from a juvenile detention center. (He became inspired by Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird).
She did all this with tremendous natural wisdom and grace; I was thankful, but didn’t realize how much she would influence my professional life. Over the past four years of teaching I have combined her ideals with some of my own. This I believe: every student can learn and be motivated and sometimes the means may be outside the constraints of standards. I believe that in addition to content, we teach our students how to live, think, dream, accomplish, respect, and fight for what they believe. I get chills every time I see a face look at mine with a true hunger for knowledge and appreciation for learning. (wish I could see that more frequently). I believe that I can always be a better teacher and I believe that I can unlearn whatever holds me back.
I was discussing this poem with a wonderful colleague and wanted to share it with you. (format is way off)
What Teachers Make, orObjection Overruled, orIf things don't work out, you can always go to law school
By Taylor Mali
He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.
I decide to bite my tongue instead of his and resist the temptation to remind the other dinner guests that it's also true what they say about lawyers.
Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.
"I mean, you¹re a teacher, Taylor," he says. "Be honest. What do you make?"
And I wish he hadn't done that (asked me to be honest) because, you see, I have a policy about honesty and ass-kicking: if you ask for it, I have to let you have it.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face. How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups. No, you may not ask a question. Why won't I let you get a drink of water? Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why.
I make parents tremble in fear when I call home: I hope I haven't called at a bad time, I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today. Billy said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?" And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids wonder, I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them write, write, write. And then I make them read. I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of those words again. I make them show all their work in math. And hide it on their final drafts in English. I make them understand that if you got this (brains) then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you give them this (the finger).
Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true: I make a goddamn difference! What about you?
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4 comments:
Taylor Mali's poem is one of my favorites! I actually printed a few copies, framed them, and gave them to my teacher friends as Holiday gifts. I think it speaks so very much about the lack of respect our profession unfortunately receives at times. Above all, what I really love about it is the passion he speaks of when he talks about his work with students in the poem. It's so important to keep that passion going to avoid teacher burn-out and to keep students coming back for more
I concur; I love the poem as well. There is nothing more frustrating to a principal to a teacher who either a) stopped trying to make a difference b) thinks they are making a difference, but is not. I think they'd prefer a teacher who wants to make a difference but is looking for help in how to do so.
Hello! I am a fellow University of Delaware Alumna ('06) and I have to say that the school more than prepared us to be successful teachers in addition to providing us with a phenomenal undergraduate experience. I enjoyed reading the poem that you posted as it exposes the essential, yet thankless service we provide to students each day.
One of our vice-principals emailed this poem to the entire staff. I printed it and hung it at my desk...it's there to remind me (and us) who we are and what we do. Your passion really comes out in your writing. The relationship that you have with your mentor is exatly the kind of relationship I hope to form someday...and parallels the relationship that helped to shape who I am today.
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