There are teachers, and there are Teachers. I respect anyone who steps into a classroom, but I adore educators for whom teaching is as much a vocation as a job.
Why?
Because when Teachers go on vacation, they look at ways to exploit their adventures for students. Whether collecting foreign magazines for language class, or foreign coins for math class, or postcards for geography class, Teachers always look for inexpensive ways to make learning more interesting and relevant.
Because Teachers know that The Voice is a super power to be used wisely.
Because Teachers believe that strong coffee (or tea, or energy drinks) can substitute for sleep when they’ve stayed up until 3 am on a school night to attend an online workshop in another time zone, or to play with a new tool that just might have potential for students.
Because Teachers have Facebook friends who are half their age, and it’s not creepy. They answer homework questions from these friends until the wee hours (and again pretend that coffee, tea, or Red Bull is as good as sleep).
Because Teachers support other teachers. It’s not that Teachers are always one, big, happy, egalitarian family. There’s a hierarchy that ranges from (roughly) Ph.D. weilding professors in “real” subjects at the top, to bilingual Teachers working with children at the bottom. However, Teachers take pride in their profession, and in colleagues working to strengthen that profession, particularly when it seems that they’re the only ones who actually consider teaching to BE a profession.
Because Teachers manage to smile rather than scream when facing non-Teachers who think the “people who can’t, teach” joke is funny. Ditto for dealing with people who assume that teaching was their fall-back job.
Because Teachers turn every freakin’ thing they touch into an educational opportunity. Teachers looked at World of Warcraft and thought, this just might motivate reluctant learners. They visited Second Life and said, “Cool place to teach! Look at the potential here!” They looked at Skype and saw a way to connect their students with the world. They looked at Twitter and said, “Great way to share resources!”
Because Teachers fight passionately for education ideals–to include technology, to exclude technology, to abolish standardized tests, to improve standardized tests, to open classrooms to the world, to protect children from the world. But, at the end of the day, Teachers work to help students succeed within whatever reality they face.
Because Teachers are reading this and wondering why I’m making a fuss about the things they do every day. Because they assume that other teachers would do the same, if they were able to. Because they can’t imagine doing anything but Teach.
Happy World Teachers Day! Thank you for inspiring the world’s children.
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This is why I love being a Teacher! You so eloquently put into words what IT is all about – thank you!
Shonah
You make me proud. Thank you!
Happy teachers day to you too.
Thanks Karenne, Shonah, and Anne! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. It was fun to write, too. I never mind bragging on Teachers
Thank you for the wonderful words about the Teachers, you spoke my mind too! A Happy Teachers’ Day to you too!
(I hope I have not changed your positive mood with my tweet today, I didn’t mean to… I just wanted to say that teachers in Romania did not have a Happy Teachers’ Day because of the political changes happening nowadays and the economical measures the government passed last week. That’s why we were on strike today…)
Melania
I also mentioned that teachers fight passionately for ideals. And equitable economic treatment is certainly an ideal worth fighting for.
Good luck with your strike! I hope that next year’s Teachers’ Day is happier for Romanian teachers than this year’s was
May I add a link to your blog on my blogroll?
Melania
I would be honored, Melania!
What a weird but wonderful lot we are! Thank you Barbara for painting that picture with such masteful strokes!
I would put that up on the wall of my training classroom any day to inspire and remind teachers new and not so new of what it takes to be a great teacher!
Thanks, Marisa. That would be extremely cool to imagine my little words on training walls in different countries. I get goosebumps at the way we’re all connected!
I have never dreamed to be a teacher, but surprisingly I have been a teacher for over 26 years, and been determined not to leave my teaching profession. Glad to have been a teacher half of my life time. Bravo teachers over the world!Thank you Barbara. Anything you have written about teachers makes me love my profession more and more. It’s really delightful.
It’s great to hear from such a dedicated teacher! It’s interesting the way our lives sometimes take us in unexpecte directions, isn’t it? I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
Thanks Barbara. I’m on holidays and spending the day with my PLN in Twitter when I had planned to just curl up with a good book.
Hi Barbara
What a lovely piece on us!
Thank you!
It reminded me of the Starfish Tale…
Hope you had a good day yourself!
PS. Incidentally, we’ll be celebrating Teacher’s Day next Thursday 15 Oct in Brazil.
As usual, the party continues longer in Brazil
You’ll have to let us know about celebrations for Teachers’ Day there, too!
What is the starfish story?
You bet! It’s also bank holiday on Monday 12/10 (one of the many saints days) and then teachers day on Thursday 15/10. I anticipate lots of fun!
Start fish story is that one that ends with ‘It made a difference for that one’. Here’s one of the versions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wuSaNCIde4&feature=related
And the entire story here http://www.changeeverything.ca/blog/catherine_ludgate/it-makes-difference-one-starfish
Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing the story, Ana! It’s beautiful
Have a splendid holiday (or holidays, I guess!)
I am so grateful to you for your article. Regarding you with appreciative respect, I’d like to wish you the most meaningful and constructive professional development. Thanks for sharing outstanding experiences. Happy World Teacher’s Day!!
Best regards from Lima, Peru
Thank you for your kind wishes. I hope the same for you!
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for gathering all hard working teachers’ thoughts in one single post! It is reassuring to know that there are so many people out there doing their best for a better future by enabling people of all ages and nationalities to acquire hard earned knowledge.
Happy World Teachers’ day! (the celebration goes on for me, you know!
Best Wishes,
Christina
By the way, I have included your article in the online material to be read by my C2 level students before doing some blogging activities concerning Teachers’ Day. Here is the post with all the links:
http://markaki-students.blogspot.com/2009/10/world-teachers-day-today-relevant.html
Thanks again for the inspiration!
Christina
Thanks for the kind words. You have a wonderful blog (I went and took a peek!). I feel honored to be included in your post