I often get asked why I decided to become a teacher. The pay is low, there is too much stress, and I have to deal with whining children all day long.
The answer is simple. For me, teaching is becoming someone who matters. During the 7 hours I spend with my students daily, I am their whole world. I am their parent, their role model, their nurse, their counselor, their protector, and their teacher. I alone fill all roles. To those twenty-something kids, I matter.
I teach because I have the opportunity to change the future. My influence over the children in my class gives me the power to mold and shape the future of my country and the world. Those children are the future, and they are in my care 5 days a week for 36 weeks.
I teach because every day is a new challenge with a new hurdle to jump. Student behavior changes at the drop of a hat from a variety of different factors. I have to problem solve on the fly and, while difficult, I am assured that my job will never be boring.
I teach because the product of my hard work is not some object to be bought and sold, but a person who functions in society and is capable of great things in their future.
I teach because everyone deserves someone who believes in them and cares about their wellbeing. I want to be that teacher. The teacher that may not give you everything that you ever wanted but the teacher that imparts in you everything you need from the ability to believe in yourself to meaningful life skills.
Contrary to popular belief, the summers are not break time. It is time for professional development and planning for the coming year. The summers are not why I teach. I teach because I can. I teach because I care.