Engagement

The one thing we are all waiting for in the years to come: a breakthrough moment. Isn't that the reason most of us are working towards becoming teachers? I know it is for me. I want to strive for each one of my students to achieve something they never thought possible, or make them think in new ways, or make them feel like someone cares. One moment. That's all I'm looking for. I suppose that my favorite entry in this chapter was #65. In this entry, a teacher is bombarded by questions from his fourth graders as he is about to leave and witness the birth of his daughter. One boy stands up from the rear of his class and announces "Guys, leave Mr. C alone. He doesn't need to worry about us; his wife needs him right now" (147). The teacher is surprised because this is the student that never speaks and is more often found with his head on his desk than his hand in the air. Upon returning from paternity leave, he realizes that this student sees his teacher as a male role model because he has been living without. While some might find this entry to make them feel nervous about someone taking on that role, or apprehensive that they will one day fill this role for a child, it is one of the reasons that make me so excited to become a teacher. You can't be distant from your students. You need to care about them and show them respect. For some students you might be the first to do so. As long as there are kids hurting in this world, they will need teachers to be there to reach out to them. Not because we have to or are expected to, but because we can. In all that we do we should be there for "every Jason who needs someone to love him, respect him, or just listen to him" (148). You never know, you might be the person that changes their life.