In Teaching You Will Learn

"In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn." Tarzan

It's Friday.  Fridays are not quite what they used to be.  I used to anxiously await the weekend so that I could be free of work, but I no longer feel that way.  Maybe because I do not feel like I am going to work every day.  Teaching is just too special to be classified as work.

Three weeks of school are gone.  I cannot believe how fast the time has gone.  I wish I could freeze time so that I could spend just a little more time getting to know each of my students.  They all have such special and unique stories.  Some of their stories break my heart into a thousand pieces, and some of their stories absolutely blow my mind.

It amazes me to see just how strong such young people are.  The things they have been through and the things they are going through are sometimes hard to even fathom.  I realize more and more just how blessed I have been all of my life and how blessed I still am.  I realize, too, that all of my blessings were not meant for me alone.  I was meant to pour out everything that was poured into me.  And, as a teacher, I hope to never do any less than that no matter how many years I spend teaching.  I never want to forget why I am in the classroom.

Teaching is the most humbling experience of a lifetime.  Everything I do now is for my students, not me.  I can honestly say I have never been so selfless in all my life.  But, I have no time to think about myself when I have over a hundred students to think about.

In three weeks, I have had the pleasure of watching a shy, new student make new friends.  I have had the pleasure of watching a boy who sometimes sits alone blend into a welcoming classroom environment. 

My favorite part about teaching is seeing my students smile.