I think back to my first teaching job every now and then and the valuable lessons I learned in my “on the job training”. One lesson stands proud though of all the rest. I was nearing the end of five years of teaching and had decided it was time for me to move on to new challenges, not the least of which would be the birth of my first child. I was dreading having to tell my students. On the day I told them there were a few moments of dead silence after sharing my news. I was choking back my emotions and I could see a number of kids struggling as well. Then the one student I would have figured to be the last kid to care got out of her seat and gave me a hug. This was the kid that never seemed to buy into the program. The one with whom I had butted heads so often over the year. Yet she was the first to come to me and show me how much she cared.
We never know for sure what students are most affected by our work. Often it is the students we least expect. A sign at my elementary school states (and I paraphrase) children will not remember the lessons we taught and the content we give them but they will always remember the way we make them feel. That works both ways. If we belittle and hurt or if we encourage and build the children will remember.
Keep up with the great work you do in your school. Know that the feeling you give to students can last a lifetime. This is a special advantage we have in arts education, the ability to tap into student emotions. And on those days when you just don’t know why you put up with everything that teaching throws at you take a close look into the faces of your students. You never know for sure who is being affected the deepest.
Best Regards,
Jared Plasterer