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Challenge of teaching proves enriching for many reasons
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Posted by admin Mon Jul 21, 2008 15:27:14 PDT
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For some people, going to work every day is monotonous because their tasks never change. One of the many perks of teaching is that no two days are the same. Yes, we do paperwork and have meetings, but once the students enter the classroom, absolutely anything is possible. Once a lesson begins, so does the challenge of reaching every student and enabling each one to realize his or her potential.

On one particular day, as a second-year junior high teacher, I received one of the greatest challenges of my career. During a conversation in reading class, I asked a routine comprehension question of one of my students. This student, always happy and very willing to make the class laugh, responded by letting me know he was not good at reading, and since his mother was aware of this fact, it was OK if he failed reading class.

Knowing my personality, a calm fell over the class — they knew this student had just waved a red flag in front of a bull’s face. Thinking his smile would get him out of the situation, he just looked at me waiting to be passed by for a response from someone else. He quickly learned otherwise, and with help from his peers, was guided to the question’s answer — but he was in no way off the hook. Having set low expectations for himself, this student was challenging my expectations for him. Through this experience, I learned that students sometimes rely on teachers to build self confidence and ability.

After many, many hours of work, this student earned passing grades in reading class and admitted he was capable of doing the work. He was a wonderful challenge. Unlike some jobs, teaching offers an element of unknown surprise every day. The challenges come in all shapes and sizes, and I look forward to every one of them.

— Amy Luther is a teacher at Warren Junior High School in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District.

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Comment From: dweaver3

It's reassuring to know that you hold your students to high standards of achievement! As a steward of the future of our nation, you take your job seriously - I appreciate you teaching your students to expect the best of themselves, and that you teach them to overcome challenges instead of hiding from them!