I have recently been faced with situations at my job that frustrate me. I can’t go into the details, but what it has boiled down to for me is the question of how much of myself and my passion do I invest into what I do and the people I work with. I am a teacher. I love my job. I have a great enthusiasm and passion for my subject area. I teach Family and Consumer Sciences. I provide learning experiences that serve to prepare students to be successful in Career and Technical Education fields if they choose to pursue those avenues, be good employees in any field by teaching workplace skills, be contributing members of communities and society, establish meaningful relationships, and be confident and responsible consumers. I put a lot of effort into my classes and care a great deal about my students. This is what causes problems. I am not satisfied with half-hearted attempts and unengaging lessons. I don’t want to be the teacher who is counting the days to retirement, but checked out months ago. I don’t want to be the teacher who only went in to teaching so they could coach and concentrates the majority of their attention and energy on athletes. I don’t want to be the teacher who pulls out the same tired lessons year after year. I don’t want to be the teacher who resists every new idea or method that is presented. I don’t want to be the teacher who fights technology instead of embracing what is an integral part of student’s lives.
Wait…..Maybe I should be one of those kinds of teachers. It would result in less stress, less work, and less time in my classroom. Yeah, I think I’ll become that teacher….or maybe not. It’s not who I am. No, I will go to school tomorrow and fight for time to spend teaching instead of treating students as if they were incapable of reading a book outside of the school building. I will fight for the right to teach in the way that I see effective for my content area and students. I will work to incorporate technology, including cell phones, into lessons so students can learn that technology can be used responsibly and productively. I will continue to invest my life into teenagers and see each one as special, gifted, and amazing. I will confront the behaviors and attitudes that impede their success both in and out of the classroom. I will love my students, care about my students, and even pray for my students. This also means that I will be disappointed. I will feel frustrated. I will be scared. I won’t win popularity contests with other staff members. I will be mischaracterized by parents. I will get my heart broken. I will shed many tears for and with my students, but at the end of the day, I will know that my passion is making a difference.
