Be Inspired…

One day a quote appeared on my white board.  I’m not sure which one of my students did it, but it has stuck with me.

Be inspired to do your very best.

How profound for a high schooler.

It has made me think.  As a teacher am I doing my very best?  Do I care about my students, not just as a number on a graph for student growth, but as a person?  If you are a teacher and are looking at your students as numbers, then maybe you should reevaluate your profession. Teaching is one of the most important jobs.  I would like to think that I have impacted my students in a positive way. Of course I am sure there are those that I have failed.

I care.  I care too much.  The subject I teach allows me to get to know my students on a more personal level than other subjects.  I form relationships with the kids that many other teachers don’t get to experience.  For those that miss out on forming solid relationships with your students, I am sorry.  In turn my students also know me.  They know my art.  They know funny stories about my kids.  They know my successes and my failures.  So when teachers throw their hands in the air and say I don’t care, I don’t care about these kids any more, I get upset.

*Gets up on her soapbox, voice screaming and fist shaking*

Seriously! If you don’t care about your students then WHY are you teaching?  This is not a 9-5 job and we don’t get paid well!  If you’re not in it for the kids then why are you in it?  You might not actually mean that you don’t care the first time you say it.  You might not mean it the second, but if you begin to say it too often eventually you will begin to believe it. 

*Slowly gets down from her soapbox*

I know why I teach.  I teach because I care about my students.  I teach because I love art and want to share it with others.  If I didn’t love the kids, if I didn’t love art, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t waste my energy trying to do my very best.  Breaking my back everyday to create a meaningful curriculum, to create new evaluation tools, to unwrap standards, to keep up with grades, to serve on committees, to do extra work that will enrich my school is not worth it if I don’t care about my students, my school, and my subject.

I hope that as I go throughout my day I inspire my students to do their very best because they inspire me to do my very best.