Is Teaching Like Falling In Love?

Posted by PEEPS

Is being a teacher like being in love? Is there an initial attraction where you can't get enough… then the honeymoon is over and reality sets in?

Maybe it's like when you go in with expectations of the other side and slowly you come to realize, "What was I thinking?" as you run in the other direction?

Maybe some people just click with the job, and some don't?

I don't even know what I'm talking about… just ramblings of a burnt out and confused teacher....

Response by Ollie, who doesn't think it's like falling in love

I think it's more like diamond mining. You start with a little scratch on the surface wondering if you've made the right decision to dig here. You keep digging hoping to find something. The deeper you go, the more often you start to find the diamonds and the more excited you get about it and then the more determined you get to dig even further. There will come a time, years after you first started to dig when you feel not so motivated, when you realize you just need to dig in a different direction and that's when you change job assignment and start digging with all the enthusiasm you did when you first started.

A Vent

Posted by 3rdgradeteacher

I love my job. I love my students. I love my principal.
I love my co-workers.
I can't believe how lucky I am.
(I just had to vent.)

I Love You by Jean

A child grabs my hand in "ownership." "Teacher," he calls me. "Miss ______." I call the roll and, instead of his name, he answers this, "I love you."

What do I say while the others laugh? I'm choked with emotion; words fail me. I have to do something, I know in my heart, But the words are so sweet, so lovely.

An "angel" is heckled for loving. I have to reprove him - I do, Just to set an example So the others won't act up, too.

But the words don't stop with the laughter, And the "angel" is not quite through. When the other kids giggle, "He loves her," He stands up and cries, "But I do!"

And my heart sort of pulls at my chest now As I call the names left on the list. But my heart is waiting to hear once more The words that I already miss..."I love you."

(This poem was originally published in May 2003 Teachers.Net Gazette)

Eric Carle on the Power of Teachers

Following is an excerpt from an interview that appeared in the December 2002 issue of The Teachers.Net Gazette. Mr. Carle's words are worth repeating during this month as we observe Teacher Appreciation Week.

Excerpt from A Conversation with Eric Carle

by Kathleen Alape Carpenter

When he learned that I am a former teacher writing for teachers, Eric Carle extended his hand toward me to emphasize, "Please, I must say this." Speaking with emotion he said, "Teachers are the most important people; they have enormous power of good and evil."

In his soft and slightly accented voice, the internationally known and beloved author-illustrator recalled his experiences with teachers who exhibited "good and evil" during his earliest school years. One he considers pivotal in his development as an artist.

"Miss Frickey," he pronounced with reverence. She was the first grade teacher who praised and encouraged little Eric's artistic endeavors in her Syracuse, New York classroom. It was Miss Frickey who called his mother to the school, alerting her to the child's special talent and the importance of nurturing that talent. Carle's gratitude was obvious as he spoke fondly about this early teacher, recalling with breathless wonder the thrill and "awakening" he experienced when first given the opportunity to explore the beauty of watercolor on paper, speaking as though he was reliving the experience right there in the small conference room of the museum which bears his name.

[The complete Teachers.Net interview with Eric Carle: http://teachers.net/gazette/DEC02/ericcarle.html]

I am not a teacher. I am an awakener.
~ Robert Frost

If you are planning for a year, sow rice.
If you are planning for a decade, plant trees.
If you are planning for a lifetime, educate a person.
~ Chinese proverb

» More Gazette articles...