When I look out across my classroom every day, I see doctors, lawyers, rocket scientists, Nobel Peace Prize winners, NBA stars. I see nurturing caregivers, firefighters, professors, and librarians. Every day.
I am sometimes acutely aware--and sometimes only vaguely--of this massive responsibility I hold in my hands. The random words that I speak or the message I fail to convey has the potential to build up or tear down the lives in front of me. The comment that I write tonight on a student's paper may be one he remembers this week when he revises his essay, or--more importantly-- may be one he remembers when he is 95 and looking back over his life.
What are the turning points in their lives going to be? What will be the moments that punctuate the decisions and spark a chain reaction of life events for good or bad? Sometimes it is the everyday, incidental, minutiae--the expression made without a thought, the comment spoken in routine, the body language created out of sheer exhaustion--that strikes an individual profoundly, rocking her to the core and moving her to think about something in a different way.
Like so many teachers, I wrestle with this responsibility regularly. I'm both haunted and motivated by it. The thought of succeeding in inspiring a new generation rockets me into each new day, and the thought of failure wrenches me from the depths of sleep at night.
While walking this tightrope of responsibility for two decades, I have lost countless hours of sleep, but I have also grown as a professional educator. I teach because the future matters. I'm careful because my actions matter.
I wish the "reformers" on our school board took the weight of their responsibility for the future equally as seriously, and, instead of negating the hard work of thousands of professionals, carefully chose the words to build up the future for students and for the educators who have developed a fine-tuned balance in order to best lead this new generation. Every day. --SJ
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