Why Teachers Teach

Okay, let's get it out of the way right now, it's not for the money!  And it's not for those long summers off (most teachers use time in summer to take classes and work a second job).  The more I work with teachers in my new job as an instructional coach, the more I see teachers who themselves are passionate about learning.

One thing I have always loved about teaching is that I am always learning new things!  I learn from kids and their parents - I learn from colleagues - I learn from classes I take - I learn from research and books - I learn from conferences I attend - I learn and learn and learn.  To be able to apply what I learn in my practice is deeply rewarding.  Sure, I wish I was paid more, and frankly, teachers deserve to be paid more.  We deserve more respect from the media too, and that's another blog post at some point.  But if someone asked me why I teach I would have to say it is because I love to learn, and I want to get my students to love to learn too.  I want them to see a wide world, to ask questions about the world, to understand the world (as much as possible), to make their way in the world and leave their mark on the world.  

Too many students don't have access to that wide world due to circumstances beyond their control.  They are in our classrooms and we often don't see them.  My colleague and friend Bob Downs was so good at seeing them.  They may be the "invisible" students with special needs like I wrote about in my last post, or they might be students with lives full of heartbreak and heartache.  These students need teachers like by Anthony Mullen, National Teacher of the Year for 2009.  He is a remarkable man who, like Bob, has a heart for the hard-to-reach kids.  Read his story about empathy, self-reliance, unpredictability, perseverance, and redemption by clicking here.  Find out why he became a teacher and why he is STILL a teacher.

Are you teaching today? 
 Let's Go Change Some Lives!