It was a little over eleven months ago that I walked out of my interview at South Knoll Elementary for a Math Lab Assistant position and felt it went well. Within in the hour, I was called and offered the job. It was an awesome moment of relief and at the same time two sudden fears:
I'm terrified of little kids.
And how exactly does one teach small children the concept of long division?
I wanted to get into education anywhere I could to see if teaching was what I wanted to really do. I figured I'd do the paraprofessional thing for a year or so, get certified if I liked it, and try to teach High School when that was done. I just had to survive all the hugging that was coming my way at an elementary school (See this post for more on that statement). It took me only a few weeks to decide teaching is where I was meant to be, so I started my certification early. My "student teaching" would my every day job. And along the way, I'd learn far more than I ever could have learned from any certification or classroom.
Lessons from Teachers
On my first day, I received a standing ovation from Mr. Weir- the only male educator on the campus until I arrived. It was a good start. And it was the kind of reception I got from everyone at South Knoll- they were welcoming and glad I was there with them.
They were encouraging and helpful, and I learned so much from them about more than just how to teach a lesson. I learned from example after example just what "teacher voice" is. I learned that sometimes a lesson takes a backseat to a student who just needs someone to be present in their life for a few minutes.
I learned that the best teachers don't always have the quietest classrooms, but they do have the most engaged. I learned that even the best teachers have a bad day, and they stay the best teachers because they allow the students to see their regret over their mistakes.
I learned the best correction is sometimes to not raise a voice, but to simply give the student a look (a soul piercing one, but a look nonetheless). I learned that teaching is not a solo sport, its a team-a family- event.
I learned that to be a teacher is take on not the burden of lesson plans and discipline and schedules, but to take on the calling of being a light of encouragement and hope and integrity to students who may not get it anywhere else.
Lessons from Lunch Duty
I was assigned lunch duty. The looks of pity from the teachers and aides were very telling. As if that weren't enough, I got some "I'm sorry" comments as well. The first days weren't so bad. I kinda enjoyed it.
By the second six weeks, I realized that one lunch duty is not bad. Two is not bad. But the cumulative effect of lunch duty is in fact catastrophic. I will have nightmares for years to come.
I learned that the idea to start off strict and lighten up as the year goes along is a great theory. I also learned that it still won't matter in the last few weeks of school. If I had a helmet and bulletproof vest, I'd wear it.
I learned that lunch duty is where problems are worse in the eyes of students- but it is also a place where good and meaningful conversations can be had with students. It is where I really got to know the students, and in turn, they got to know me.
I learned that apparently, boys and girls discover each other in the 3rd grade. As my oldest daughter is going into 3rd grade next year, I am preparing. And stockpiling. I'll leave that part vague.
I learned that some classes are great together, and others are at war constantly. And for that second group, no manner of rearrangement of seating charts will help.
In the movies, you know how when one person vomits, then EVERYONE vomits? I learned that is a real thing. And I learned from Nurse Mullet that it is called vominoes.
I learned from Jesus the Custodian that apparently spaghetti has a greater mass than other foods, so you only fill the trashcan half full.
I learned that you want to wear jackets in the cafeteria, not because it is cold, but because the waterproofing makes the food slide right off.
On waffle days, everything is sticky. Everything.
Lessons from Students
Some students are happy and excited no matter what- they make life easy. Some students are angry and broken- and it hurts because they are so young and have no sign of that childhood innocence that I remember so clearly.
It is terribly difficult to teach a concept that is like second nature to you now to someone who has never seen it before. ( For example, explaining what 'before' means. Or long division.)
The younger the student, the more unabashedly honest they are. About you anyway. Kindergarten and Pre-K teachers must have the thickest skin on earth.
Conversely, some kids never say a single thing you can believe. Teachers become pretty good lie detectors.
It is really important to listen to what kids say. It goes a long way toward helping you understand how to reach them.
You know those "It's Not Complicated" AT&T commercials where the guy asks little kids questions and they give crazy answers? Every. Day. Of. My. Life.
Some days, a kid just needs someone to sit there with them while they try to process something that they are going through. On those days, that is the lesson you need to teach, that someone is there and cares.
Moving On
My tenure with the little ones will only be for this one year. In the fall of 2013, I will be a Social Studies teacher at College Station High School. I know the kids will be bigger, and the hugs fewer, but my time in the world of elementary education was instrumental in preparing me for this new challenge. There will be new obstacles, new attitudes, new objectives- but at the heart, the goal is the same:
Reach the students at all costs.
During my time in the ministry, I used to say that God meets people where they are, and so should we. As a teacher, we are tasked with meeting students where they are, finding out who they are and how to challenge them to greater things. The teachers and staff of South Knoll do that every day. I look forward to finding out how the educators of CSHS meet their students where they are.
Because, see, I see my teaching career as my ministry now. It is a ministry that forces me to rely on living out the principles of my faith instead of preaching them. It requires me to share my compassion and concern for others, rather than talk about it. I must demonstrate sacrifice instead of teach a lesson on it.
I pray that the students I have worked with and will work with- as well as the teachers I have worked with and will work with- see that about me. I want to be a teacher of character not so I can be lauded and praised, but so that students- and teachers- will be inspired to strive on. I want all I encounter to find a path to greater things.
As a Christian, I want my students and other teachers to know Christ because I have lived as He did- or at least attempted rely on grace to live that way. I want others to know I've loved and cared for them by my actions.
Perhaps that goal is not exclusive to teachers. Perhaps we all could strive to let our sharing of Christ be as much or more in our actions than our words.
I have learned from the teachers in my life that teaching is not about "just the facts." We are to teach students to ask the harder questions, to dig deeper, to form opinions. We are to give them the kindling and/or the fuel to light a fire of inspiration to grow in knowledge...and character.
The most important thing I've learned this year- above all else- is this:
Teachers who care help build- sometimes only by a brick or two- into the lives of students every day. And every student leaves an impression and a lesson on their teachers. Education is not a one way street- we are all learning together.
The second most important thing:
Getting hugs aren't so bad after all.
