What Teachers Make...
I remembered seeing this slam poet, Taylor Mali, on Def Poetry a few years ago. I absolutely love this poem. When you become a teacher, you learn quickly that respect is hard to come by. Whenever I feel like I'm not making a difference, I remember this:
To further prove this point, I saw a former student yesterday. I remember a chubby faced third grader. He's now a tall (my height and still growing, I'm sure) teenager. I was walking to my car when he called out, "Hey, Ms. _____!" He was pretty far away, so even with my glasses on I couldn't make out his face. At first it seemed like he was going to keep walking, but he turned around and started to walk in my direction. As he got closer, I recognized his face. I got excited because this not-so-little boy was one of my favorite students that year. He was very funny; he made me laugh every day. Anyway, I suppose I made quite an impression on him because he went out of his way yesterday to come talk to me and give me a hug. It feels good to know that the work that I do is appreciated by the ones who matter most. I need to keep reminding myself of this, otherwise I'm going to lose it one day.
On a funnier (but sadly accurate) note, Erykah Badu has some advice for females who want to make it in the music industry.
Click to viewTo further prove this point, I saw a former student yesterday. I remember a chubby faced third grader. He's now a tall (my height and still growing, I'm sure) teenager. I was walking to my car when he called out, "Hey, Ms. _____!" He was pretty far away, so even with my glasses on I couldn't make out his face. At first it seemed like he was going to keep walking, but he turned around and started to walk in my direction. As he got closer, I recognized his face. I got excited because this not-so-little boy was one of my favorite students that year. He was very funny; he made me laugh every day. Anyway, I suppose I made quite an impression on him because he went out of his way yesterday to come talk to me and give me a hug. It feels good to know that the work that I do is appreciated by the ones who matter most. I need to keep reminding myself of this, otherwise I'm going to lose it one day.
On a funnier (but sadly accurate) note, Erykah Badu has some advice for females who want to make it in the music industry.