Why I love my job: my students

I love my job.  I tell my students every day that I love it and they know I mean it.  I’m not just talking about being a teacher here – I’m talking about my particular teaching position at my particular school.  I’m not just grateful to have a job that pays the bills – although if I did I would be.  I don’t have to drag myself to work every day knowing that I’m sacrificing for my family.  Last week I had Spring Break and I was out sick the last three days of the previous week; today is my first day back and I was happy to get up early this morning and head to work.

Why? 

I love my students.

I teach English and History at a continuation high school.  This is the school where students get sent when they fall behind in credits.  That happens for all kinds of reasons, from the death of a parent to spending their time engaging in gang activity to just cutting school because they’d rather smoke weed all day.  Usually the “presenting” problem (whatever the apparent issue that led to them falling behind in credits) isn’t the real problem either.

These kids arrive at our school in very real danger of not graduating.  They often have very little academic resilience – that is, they have become accustomed to failing in school so when they hit bumps or face challenges their first response is often to give up.  They have very little confidence in their abilities, and they’re used to being told how much they suck at school and at life.  This makes it a challenge to get many of them to produce work in the first place (especially writing!) or to listen to constructive criticism of their work (a teacher’s job).  But I love it.

I love seeing a student realize they are more capable than they realize.  I love seeing a student overcome the internal hurdles and give themselves a chance to succeed.  So much of my job comes down to helping my students reshape their identity; to stop seeing themselves as failures or “bad students” or people who just won’t graduate into students that can be free to choose to do what they want, people who can succeed.  It’s a difficult process – but I do it with such an amazing team.  But that’s another post.

I wish I could tell you some of the specifics of these kids.  The obstacles so many of these kids face – from families that get them into gangs to the unexpected death of a parent to neglectful parents to having to work to pay the family’s bills and more – would blow your mind.  Continuation schools have a reputation as the schools where the “bad kids” go.  Honestly, though, after spending time here and at a traditional school site, I hope I get to work at this school for the rest of my teaching career. 

I want a room full of kids who are in danger of not graduating.  I want a room full of kids who have never had a positive interaction with a male authority figure.  I want a room full of kids who have been beaten down by their education so they no longer believe in themselves or that education matters.  I want a room full of kids who don’t know how to write a paragraph even though they’re about to graduate high school.  I want these kids because all the things I believe about education and teaching – that it can reshape your self-concept in amazing ways, that it can make you free, that it’s about awakening you and allowing you to express who you are – I see these things every day with my students.

Yes I deal with kids texting and being high and I’ve learned more about gang culture than I ever thought I would – but I love my job and I love my kids.  I get the opportunity every day to make a real difference, both relationally and educationally, in the lives of the students who walk into my classroom.  Some of them I only get to know for a couple of weeks before they’re moved out, others I’ve known the entire (almost) two years I’ve been there.  There are many reasons I love where I work but the kids are the biggest.   

I feel absolutely blessed to be in the position I’m in.  I get to serve students that really need it, I get to be a part of reshaping their identities and giving them a real shot at an education.  Every day when I go to work I don’t have to wonder if I’m doing something meaningful with my life.  I get to work in a public school, get paid enough to pay the bills, and spend my time and energy helping students see more in themselves and the world than they did before.