Teacher Leadership Subscribe to RSS
Why Do You Teach?: What Sustains Us in Our Work
September 4, 2008 | Elena AguilarIn my previous post, I discussed how important it is for me to connect with my students, and how one way I do so is by eliciting their stories.
I also need to make connections with other teachers. So I ask, why do you teach? Most teachers get a dreamy look on their faces when I ask them this question. Most haven't thought about it in a while.
Recalling the reasons why we teach -- keeping them fresh and foremost in our minds -- is, I believe, the key to sustaining ourselves during the long and challenging school year.
I teach because, for me, it's the most effective and most enjoyable way to change the world. That's the bottom line: We need to change this world, and this is the way I'm choosing to do it. Teaching allows me to work on hearts and minds, to guide people in becoming empowered, literate, engaged, creative, liberated human beings who want to join in this effort to change the world.
I've seen it happen. I always believed that my students could transform and find themselves, in addition to becoming literate people and graduating from high school, but now I'm witnessing it. I'm seeing students I taught in elementary school and middle school graduate from high school, discover their skills and passions, and go to college. I always knew they could do it, and now they're doing it. That's why I teach.
I also teach because some didn't make it. Some of the sweet, brilliant, gentle sixth graders I taught many years ago are now on the streets, in gangs, in jail, in trouble. Their names and faces come to mind fast. I vividly remember their inquisitive faces, probing questions, musical compositions, and acting skills when they were twelve years old. I knew them as little boys. They don't look like that anymore. My heart aches. I keep teaching because we're losing too many kids in Oakland.
I work in middle schools because that's where the battle gets most intense but also where we can still reverse problems. I love middle school kids. I love where they are intellectually and emotionally. I love being able to engage them in the kind of rigorous discussions they aren't ready for until around sixth grade, and then I love getting hugs once in a while (in contrast to elementary school kids, who want hugs eight times a day, every day). You can still turn their lives around in middle school. I know; I've seen it.
I remind myself of these reasons, and all the others, quite often. Teaching kids, and adults, is hard -- really, really hard. I need to regularly remind myself why I do this. I have dozens of visual cues on my walls: quotes, photos of old students, and student artwork and writing. I list the names of those who made it, and those who didn't. I have photos of my family, because I also do this work for my son, because of my mother and grandmother, and with the endless support of my husband. I need to have all my intellectual and emotional receptors regularly tuned in to the reasons I've chosen this profession, because it's really hard, and exhausting, and never ending, and overwhelming.
So, why do you teach? Why do you teach reading, or science, or art? Why do you teach kindergarten, or ninth grade, or college? Share your stories. Share them here, share them with colleagues as the year starts, and share them with your students.
And, most of all, remind yourself why you teach.
_0.JPG){kind=small}
Comments (143)
Comment RSSSign in or register to post comments
Why do you teach?
I feel this is a question that pops into every educators mind from time to time. For me it's an easy answer. I teach because I love children and making a difference. I also love to learn, which I continually do each day along with my students. I love seeing their excitement on their faces when they answer a question correctly. I love seeing each child's personality come alive in my classroom. I teach because I love making a positive impact. I teach for the children, but also because I love how rewarding being an educator makes me feel.
I thoroughly enjoy reading
I thoroughly enjoy reading the reasons people teach! With everything going on in education today we need to be reminded of the reasons we do what we do. It is obvious that all of the reasons given are heartfelt! No one says they want to go into teaching for the recognition or the money! We do it for the kids! I cannot imagine a more satisfying job. Sure there are times I have a hard time getting motivated in the morning, but the minute I see those bright faces I am filled with motivation and love for what I do. Teaching is not a job, it's a way of life!
Why I teach
I am a third year kindergarten teacher. I enjoyed reading the comments on the blog pages about why people teach. I think that most of us are teaching for the same reasons. The biggest reason is that feeling we get when a student finally gets a concept or skill. There is not a better feeling in the world than the feeling I get inside when one of my students finally learn something that we have been working on for awhile. Their faces seem to light up and they have an enormous sense of pride. This is one of the reasons that I teach.
Why Do I Teach?
I love this topic. I feel that educators often forget why they started teaching in the first place. It's understandable...we get work piled and piled and piled upon us. The joy of our job is often blurred by the expectations set by the state and NCLB. But the state is not the reason we teach. It's certainly not the reason I teach.
I began teaching because I wanted to make a difference in an urban area. I went to college in a low-income, urban area and was always seeing children who were poorly motivated and in danger of gang violence. I was given an opportunity to help some of these children and it got me hooked. Since then, I can't get enough of the feeling I get when I truly reach a child.
Why Teach
I teach because I enjoy working with children and making a difference in their lives. Teaching isdefinitely a challenge and hard work, but that'swhat makes it all worthwhile. Children come from different backgrounds with different experiences
and I feel as a teacher I can help guide some of these students in the right direction. I changed professions to become a teacher and I have no regrets.
I love coming up with creative ideas to help teach the children and finding ways to help the struggling learners.
Why I teach....
There are so many reasons for the question of why do you teach? I teach because like most other teachers, I want to touch the lifes of children like my teachers touched my life. I am a Kindergarten teacher at an elementary school in Willowick Ohio by the name of Royalview Elementary School. I have been teaching for four years and I absolutely love every minute of it! I started out in Kindergarten thinking that I would want to move to another grade, but it has grown on me! I think that I will stay teaching Kindergarten for a very long time. This is the time to shine with these little ones. They come to you as a clean slate and they leave like a wet sponge waiting to be squeezed out with information. They make me smile they make me laugh and they make me cry sometimes. I love them dearly. The saying 'kids say the darnest things' must have originated in Kindergarten, because by god they do say some memorable things! I teach to let them learn, to let them thrive and to let them have fun! Everyday is a new experience and I could not imagine my life without teaching in it!
What Keeps Teachers Going
I find all of your comments inspiring. I am currently working on my Master's Degree at Walden University and we are actually studying a book titled "What Keeps Teachers Going?" Some of the things discussed thus far include love, hope and possibility. I can truly relate to these as reasons which keep me going as a teacher. The love you develop for your students is deep and the hope and endless possibilities that you give them is so satisfying.
Why Do I Teach in the South Bronx?
First and for most, I am excited to have found this blog because it presents a very important question: why do you teach? I have been asked that question numerous times and my response has always been the same: because I believe every child has what it takes to succeed and I want to be the one to push them into succession. Then I have been asked another question: "Michelle, why do you teach in the south bronx?"
The reason why I teach in the south bronx is because that is where I grew up. Living in the Bronx is what made me want to become a teacher. I remember seeing a lot of my friends in middle school and high school drop out and start their families at a young age. If only they had someone to push them, I thought to myself. Then, all of a sudden, I felt like I had a mission. I began to care for these people who were so intelligent but didn't have the will power to continue on with their academic career. The highlight of it all was when I convinced my mother to get her GED. My mother was a high school drop out. She left school when she was in the ninth grade. She didn't leave school because she felt inadequate. She left because there was no one in her life to push her. My mother had the "smarts" and she just needed to be pushed. So, lo and behold, I pushed her and she completed her GED and now has a decent job.
So that is my passion for teaching in the South Bronx. I currently teach fourth grade and as stressful as it is, I love it. I love seeing my students light up when I tell them that they are smart and they have what it takes to have a house in the future, with a good job, and support their family. These are the things that they long for their own families to have and they are inspired to make it!
I can easily teach in a suburban area but I choose to teach where I felt the need to educate. The 2 hour commute does not bother me at all because I know I have 28 4th graders who need me.
Why I teach...
Many people have asked me this question and my answer has always been "because a teacher inspired me". Now, that I have been teaching, I see more reasons why I continue to teach and why I need to. Reading this post reminded me so much of the school I work in now in New York. Some of the students are in gangs, pregnant, and have poor self-esteem. I keep a positive atmosphere in my room and I encourage students to try their best. I know many of my students have many responsibilities at home and are not able to spend as much time studying as they should. I try to give the students a lot of time in the classroom to study and show them different ways to study.
Why do I teach?
I work in a low income area in Cleveland, Ohio. I teach students in grades K-3 with emotional disabilities. The reason I teach is to make a difference in the lives of my students. I believe that God gave me a gift and that gift is to teach. I go to work every day to make an impression (small or large)on the students in my class. At the end of the year, it always amazes me how much my students have grown. That is why I stay in the field of teaching.