My sons have had some really good teachers in their few years of school. They have taught them the things they needed to know for school, and have given them the tools they needed to succeed in the following year. I have always had so much respect for teachers, because it is a job that in my opinion gets little recognition for so much work. But until this year, I never truly knew what it meant when people would talk about a specific teacher changing their child’s life.
My oldest son did not want to go back to school this year. He had a ton of anxiety and was a ball full of nerves on the first day. I can still picture his teary eyes as he said goodbye to me that morning. In fact, his last words before going to school were “Mommy, maybe you should just homeschool me this year”.. My heart ached as I watched him walk away. I felt like such a failure as a mom. My son hated school, and I had no idea how to fix it. Thankfully things started to change. Slowly but surly I watched something amazing happen… I watched my little man fall in love with school.
One night as he was brushing his teeth he started to sing this silly song and was laughing, singing and brushing his teeth all at the same time. It was quite the sight actually. When I asked him where he learned the song he said from his teacher…he then added “She’s pretty awesome Mommy”. As the weeks went on he has been racing off the bus to tell me about the cool things his teacher did with the class that day. And each time my heart sang. He not only began to love school, but he has this teacher that for the first time seems to truly gets him.
I never knew how much he needed that. Or how much every child needs that. His confidence has gone through the roof and he actually feels like he is smart enough to be sitting in that chair in his classroom. You see, what has happened here is this teacher, even though its still early in the school year has made it her goal to know each of her students as people. She hasn’t slapped a number on them, or put them into a category. She has invested herself in these kids, and her love for teaching pours out of her, and fills up each child in her class. She has filled my sons cup in a way that until this year I never knew was missing. She has given him a voice inside school, and made him feel worth listening to. My son went from not wanting to go to school, to announcing a few days ago that he wants to be a teacher when he grows up. When I asked him why he said so that he can help kids the way his teacher has helped him. Those words coming out of his mouth made me realize that not only has this teacher changed school for my son, but in many ways she has changed his whole little world.
I think far too often teachers do not realize the impact they really make on children’s lives. Ill be the first to admit that until this year, I didn’t understand the magnitude of which a teachers actions and words played into how a child would view school as a whole, and more importantly how it truly changes their heart. And unfortunately, most parents dont take the time to really tell the teachers. So today, on World Teacher day (yes thats a real day!), I wanted to publicly thank all the amazing teachers out there that invest their whole hearts into their students. Your students feel that. More so, your student fills up on that. You have the option of going into your classroom tomorrow morning and just going through the motions of a job you have done for many years, or you have the option of making your students fall in love with school. Every single minute you spend investing in them now, might end up being the difference of how they view their lives in the years to come. You may have a child sitting in your classroom who needs someone other than their mom or dad to tell them, that they are good enough. And you can be that person.
To my sons teacher, thank you for being that person.
XO Nicole
It’s true. I was just thinking about how sayings and stories teachers have told me when I was little still stick with me today. Their impact is huge.
The teacher makes ALL the difference, for good or for ill! If a child has a bad teacher early on, he may never recover. I don’t think I’m exaggerating, and I am so grateful that most of my kids (all but one) had excellent experiences their first two years of school.
Both or my girls ended up with amazing teachers this year and really it just made the whole school process go easier. The fact they love school and have stories & songs to share hopefully will be an indicator that school is a good place to be rather then dreading stuff.
I am happy that your son has a great teacher that has helped boost his confidence and he’s loving school. It’s so important for children to have teachers that genuinely care about their students.
This is so neat!!!! A truly takes a special kind to be “that” teacher!
Well said, and lucky you having such a great teacher!
I’m sure the magic of teaching wears off after some years. It is a rare find for someone to hold onto that!
What a relief to see your boy so happy at school.