I have learned a lot of tangibles from my job as a teacher for the past 25 year, such as
- Never, ever loan out your favorite pen to a student
- Don’t wear heels on career day or any field trip
- The Wi-Fi or internet will go down when you need it most
- Going to the bathroom in between the hours of 7:30-3:30 will not happen
- And you can eat and digest your lunch in 20 minutes while standing up
But the greatest lessons learned from my job are intangibles. Things you cannot touch or feel except with your heart and emotions.
Kids Can and Do Change
That junior high child with two backpacks, one lunchbox, an untied shoe, and a missing book will grow up to be a responsible young man if you give him your time, your smiles, and your support. Do not think that what you see the first day of eighth grade will be what you see on the last day of twelfth grade. And do not judge said child on the mistakes he made in junior high. Children do change.
A Child With Straight A+’s His Entire Academic Career Is Sad
I don’t think a child should make straight A+’s all 12 years of his academic career. What that says to me is no one ever challenged him. He never learned from adversity and he is ill prepared for the real world. That is sad, very sad.
If You Respect a Child, She Will Respect You
What to say? It is true.
People Who Do Not Like Children Should Not Teach
It seems obvious, but if you do not like kids do not become a teacher. June, July, and August are not off months and should not be anyone’s reason for a career choice. I work more in the summer sometimes than I do in the school year. Why in the world would you surround yourself with people for ten hours a day (teachers do not work eight hour days) if you did not like children?
The People You Work with Are Family
If you spend eight hours a day at work, or eleven hours like I do, you are spending more waking hours with the people you work with than you are with your family. I have a great work family. Yes, much like the eccentric aunt or moody uncle, there are a few family members I want to vote off the island. But all of these people have been with me through divorce, my empty nest meltdown, and sickness to name just a few times. They are my family.
I didn’t learn how to change my motor oil, fix a broken oven, or how to knit, but the lessons I learned from being an educator are priceless. And I think many of these lessons can be applied in other places of employment.
