Teachers have many day-to-day responsibilities and sometimes our real purpose can get lost in paperwork, meetings, grades, discipline, and (wait for it…) Test Scores. I KNOW that the child is more than a grade or a score, but boy can it become difficult not to get swept up in the craziness that is STAAR.
I began to wonder why I was becoming so stressed recently after a long day of teaching. Was it because the students weren’t listening, were my lessons engaging enough, why are the scores not reflecting what I have taught, blah blah blah. I felt like I had hit a wall and I wasn’t strong enough to knock it down. I spend a lot of time thinking of ways to empower the students, make learning fun, have students think critically, but it still didn’t seem like enough.
On the way to school this morning it hit me in the form of a song by Sidewalk Prophets:
The line “But don’t forget why you’re here,” is what knocked down that wall for me. I am here to show God’s love to others. As a teacher, I am here to show God’s love to my students and then (yes the relationship comes first) teach them.
Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. We still need to plan engaging lessons, find ways to empower students to take ownership of their learning, reflect on what is and is not working, and so on. We just need to take the worry out of our day, LOVE the kids, and just keep going. WE’VE GOT THIS!!!
Brandi Witherspoon 