February 14, 2017

Don’t Quit (part 2)?

I wrote Don’t Quit to encourage new teachers to stay in the game. I was teaching a graduate course at the time and not yet an administrator. My perspective is different now, but not my message. Now I see young teachers in the early years of their career struggle with the daily grind of lesson planning, standards requirements, and student interaction. I see them fall and get up again and again and again. I see the wear on their faces and on their bodies. Teaching is hard work, and the reality of the classroom can be like hitting a wall.

Struggling teacher, I encourage you to look at the students in your classroom. You are their learning guide for life. More important than the content that you teach is the way you teach young people to learn and live. They are watching you struggle. They know it is difficult. They understand that you care. They want you to succeed. Yes, they will challenge you; that’s their job. You are there to meet their challenges and guide them to a place of better understanding and achievement. You are their lifeline; and they are the largest source of inspiration in your life.

So be inspired. If you give up, they will too. They don’t challenge you to trip you up; they challenge you to test your mettle. It is the greatest of honors to be their teacher in your classroom today. You are molding and shaping their lives. No, not everyone can teach – but you can! You made the decision to teach and have lasted this long. You are there on purpose. Don’t quit on the students and they will not quit on you. Trust me, I know, and so does the teacher in the classroom next door. Go ask them today.