This article is sort of like a "Part 2" of my first article featuring Rochester City School District (RCSD), which you can find here. There I talk about those of us who have "survived" the system and have moved on to college. In this article, I would like to address the teachers that have stuck through it with me – as well as those that have not.
Anyone who is attending school knows that the best teachers are the ones that build connections, the ones that care enough to find out what is going on in the student's life. It's even better when they do anything they can to help. These teachers are the ones that get us through our tough times in school and give us hope for the end of the year. In some cases, these teachers are the ones that save students' lives.
I had a few teachers that were like this, but one teacher specifically that I completely let into my life. This teacher would ask about my life, tell me about hers, and we would cry together when we needed to. When she had rough days, I automatically knew, and when I had rough days, she would understand enough to take it easy. She did this with anyone in her classes. She respected the student, and in turn most of us (I can't speak for the rotten eggs) respected her. She showed empathy and compassion for her students; she wasn't just there to get through the day.
When all of our teachers told us that we would ultimately fail – and trust me, there were a lot of teachers that said this – she was the one to give us hope that we would pave a road for the rest of the students that were like us.
When I graduated, she was the one teacher to hug me and cry until tears wouldn't come out. She knew that we would make it out of the system and prove everyone wrong. Even to this day, we try to keep in touch as much as possible.
Now, in regards to the teachers that did not have faith in us, you should truly be ashamed of yourselves. Yes, the system is not perfect, and yes maybe you got stuck with a district that doesn't have flying colors and amazing students. But that gives you no right to lose faith in your students and tell them that they will result in nothing. You are the foundation for your students, you are the ones that build them and grow them, you are like their second parents, start acting like it.
