I'm sure many of you understand what it means to be the child of a teacher. For me, it was an inspiring experience in many ways. My mother was truly loved by her students and had even been voted Favorite Teacher on numerous occasions in her school. However, the affection my mother's students had for her did not just end in the actual schooling environment. They extended further out and many of her students took the time to engage with her when they could outside of the classroom.
My mother was the one you wanted to be around at the mall when you were a teenager because of the substantial amount of individuals (including good-looking guys) that would come up and engage her in conversation. There wasn't a place we could take this woman without somebody running up to say "Hi, Ms. Stach." Even when she decided to serve at a her friend's restaurant, her students would consistently come in to visit her and spend time with her.
When my mother got sick, her students took the time to make posters and cards to express their support and the hopes for her to get better. Even further, my sister and I decided to create a page for our mother where her previous students could write about the wonderful memories that they had about her. Considering her page has received over 1,000 likes and continues to gain them shows her popularity even more.
It wasn't until she died that I truly saw the impact that she had made. Even in the short time span of three days that we had for her funeral after her passing, there were still over 100 people that managed to attend, many of them having engaged with her in a school setting. What was so inspiring however was after I read her eulogy we allowed individuals to get up and speak about the impact she had made on them, including family and colleagues, but in this case her students. These individuals had taken the time out of their lives to not only to mourn the loss of my mother, but to express the sorrow felt. Of the three students that spoke about her, not a single one did not break down in tears about losing my mother. One of the individuals could barely get his words together, he was so distraught.
Although, it was only three students at the funeral that spoke, other students did attend, and it was the outpour of messages my sister and I received that furthered moved me. What made their messages more beautiful was how they told me that my mother inspired them, changed their lives, truly cared for them, influenced their passions and career choices, etc. For a period of time, there wasn't a day I didn't go without a message like this.
It was not the sadness that measured my mother's impact, but the love for her that these individuals showed that sparked something in me. It made me realize that life and careers, for me, aren't about money, but rather the impact and difference you can make on someone else. Even further, my mother impacted my life through the qualities that she had obtained through her experiences in teaching. Life is entirely too short to not focus on making the world a better place and maybe you can't do that by your input alone, but rather through inspiring another to do so.
Teachers are the individuals that take the time to care for you and know you outside of your home, and to help you grow and succeed in life. Teachers look at their students as their family and an extension of they are. Everyone can always remember a favorite teacher or one that influenced and changed their life, and this further expresses the power that a teacher has. Teaching is truly a beautiful and inspirational experience by getting to engage and teach other's about who they are and what the world has to offer to them if they go for it.
From watching my mother and seeing the love she had even in death, I realized that teaching is a profession like no other. Despite the pay and the stress, it's worth it to have this kind of love from your students. This is why teaching is the profession I would like to go into, so that can be a part of molding and teaching future minds and helping them be inspired the way my mother did. What we need in this world is more teachers like my mother and I plan to follow in her footsteps. Maybe one day, I hope, my students and children will view me as I viewed my mother and say similar things. Thanks Mom for influencing to become a teacher and I hope that I make you proud.
