Teacher

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. And if you didn't know that before, you'll probably have a bajillion blogs to remind you with their cute ideas and projects to honor teachers. I have to admit, I haven't done any of those projects yet, but I sure have been doing a lot of teacher appreciating lately. I've especially been appreciating the teachers who helped me become a teacher. (Because did you know that I was one once? Yeah, for a whole entire, single year before my son was born.)

This was my classroom--half torn down after the school year ended. Notice my baby's car seat?

During my teaching program in college, I would sometimes (lots of times) walk from class to class on campus and wonder what the heck I was doing. It took a lot of praying and pondering to finally arrive at that choice of profession, but I definitely wasn't the most talented, I didn't know the subject matter as much as many of the other students, and I didn't feel as enthusiastic about it as other students seemed to. But somehow, in the classes of my FAVORITE professors, that feeling was so different, and like magic I felt like the best student in the whole class (I'm sure everyone felt that way). Somehow, in their classes, I felt like I was MADE to be a teacher. I felt smarter, more talented, more confident, more excited. In my mind, my best teachers were the ones who made me feel like the best student. I'm so grateful for these few, specific, GREAT teachers--these were the teachers I tried to copy and be like when I had my own students.

I LOVED being a teacher. It was so hard every single day I did it, but I saw the faces of those squirmy little 8th graders every night in my mind when I was planning for the next day. I would think about them the whole drive to school in the morning, and about how I could make 8th grade English change their lives. I loved those students even though they made me crazy, and made me think true evil at times. They made me laugh, and taught me patience, and creativity, and patience. And, I wasn't always the most patient teacher, so they tried to teach me patience. It was such a great adventure, and I knew I was going to miss it when my Granty was born and I would leave it for a time. But you know, sometimes I miss it more than I thought. I think I have my GREAT teachers to thank in part for that.

I'm so grateful that I still have the opportunity to be a teacher every day. I knew that I wanted to be his main teacher--even if that meant dramatically decreasing my class size. It's so hard every single day that I do it, but I know it's a privilege to watch him learn and grow. At SNAP, one of my favorite presenters, Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl said something that I absolutely loved. The class was about power tools, but of all the things to stick out in my mind, I most remember what she said about teaching her sons. She simply said she wanted to teach her kids everything she knew how to do. How to use power tools, how to cook, how to clean, everything.

Don't you think to be taught and to get to teach is one of life's greatest exchanges? I'm so thankful for my GREAT teachers, and for all of my little teaching moments.

Somebody had to teach Grant how to eat a donut from a string, and I'm so glad it was me.