Coach Roland Jones share this with me and I now with you.
What Students Remember Most About Teachers
By Lori Gard-
Dear Young Teacher Down the Hall,
I saw you as you rushed passed me in the lunch room. Urgent. In
a hurry to catch a bite before the final bell would ring calling all the
students back inside. I noticed that your eyes showed tension. There were faint
creases in your forehead. And I asked you how your day was going and you
sighed.
"Oh, fine," you replied.
But I knew it was anything but fine. I noticed that the stress
was getting to you. I could tell that the pressure was rising. And I looked at
you and made an intentional decision to stop you right then and there. To ask
you how things were really going. Was it that I saw in you a glimpse of myself
that made me take the moment?
You told me how busy you were, how much there was to do. How
little time there was to get it all done. I listened. And then I told you this:
I told you to remember that at the end of the day, it's not
about the lesson plan. It's not about the fancy stuff we teachers make -- the
crafts we do, the stories we read, the papers we laminate. No, that's not
really it. That's not what matters most.
And as I looked at you there wearing all that worry under all
that strain, I said it's about being there for your kids. Because at the end of
the day, most students won't remember what amazing lesson plans you've created.
They won't remember how organized your bulletin boards are. How straight and
neat are the desk rows.
No, they'll not remember that amazing decor you've designed.
But they will remember you.
Your kindness. Your empathy. Your care and concern. They'll
remember that you took the time to listen. That you stopped to ask them how they
were. How they really were. They'll remember the personal stories you tell
about your life: your home, your pets, your kids. They'll remember your laugh.
They'll remember that you sat and talked with them while they ate their lunch.
Because at the end of the day, what really matters is YOU. What
matters to those kids that sit before you in those little chairs, legs pressed
up tight under tables oft too small- what matters to them is you.
You are that difference in their lives.
And when I looked at you then with tears in your eyes, emotions
rising to the surface and I told you gently to stop trying so hard- I also
reminded you that your own expectations were partly where the stress stemmed.
For we who truly care are often far harder on ourselves than our students are
willing to be. Because we who truly care are often our own worst enemy. We
mentally beat ourselves up for trivial failures. We tell ourselves we're not
enough. We compare ourselves to others. We work ourselves to the bone in the
hopes of achieving the perfect lesson plan. The most dynamic activities. The
most engaging lecture. The brightest, fanciest furnishings.
Because we want our students to think we're the very best at
what we do and we believe that this status of excellence is achieved merely by
doing. But we forget- and often. Excellence is more readily attained by being.
Being available.
Being kind.
Being compassionate.
Being transparent.
Being real.
Being thoughtful.
Being ourselves.
Being kind.
Being compassionate.
Being transparent.
Being real.
Being thoughtful.
Being ourselves.
And of all the students I know who have lauded teachers with the
laurels of the highest acclaim, those students have said of those teachers that
they cared.
You see, kids can see through to the truth of the matter. And
while the flashy stuff can entertain them for a while, it's the steady
constance of empathy that keeps them connected to us. It's the relationships we
build with them. It's the time we invest. It's all the little ways we stop and
show concern. It's the love we share with them: of learning. Of life. And most
importantly, of people.
And while we continually strive for excellence in our profession
as these days of fiscal restraint and heavy top-down demands keep coming at us-
relentless and quick. We need to stay the course. For ourselves and for our
students. Because it's the human touch that really matters.
It's you, their teacher, that really matters.
So go back to your class and really take a look. See passed the
behaviors, the issues and the concerns, pressing as they might be. Look beyond
the stack of papers on your desk, the line of emails in your queue. Look
further than the classrooms of seasoned teachers down the hall. Look. And you
will see that it's there- right inside you. The ability to make an impact. The
chance of a lifetime to make a difference in a child's life. And you can do this
now.
Right where you are, just as you are.
Because all you are right now is all you ever need to be for
them today. And who you are tomorrow will depend much on who and what
you decide to be today.
It's in you. I know it is.
Fondly,
That Other Teacher Down the Hall