APOLOGY TO NONE
When I am introduced as a teacher, I am usually asked what I teach. When I
say, "first grade", I generally hear a very flat "oh". I have never been
certain whether it is an expression of pity, sympathy, disgust, or perhaps
disinterest. Always, I wish I had the time to explain to them like this:
YES, I teach first grade.
WHERE ELSE would a handsome young man put his arms around me and ask "Do you know that I'll always remember and love you?"
WHERE ELSE could I walk up and down aisles and have little warm hands reach out to me?
WHERE ELSE would I eat a squishy piece of candy from a grimy little hand and not become ill? (I have to eat it because he watches me to see that I do!)
WHERE ELSE would the future look as bright as it does amid an energetic
group to whom nothing is impossible?
WHERE ELSE could I guide the first letter formations of a chubby little hand
that may some day write a book or an important document?
WHERE ELSE could I forget my own aches and pains because of so many cut
fingers, scratched knees, bumped heads and broken hearts that need care?
WHERE ELSE could I forget cares and even "the state of the nation" because Stevie isn't grasping Reading as he should and other methods must be tried?
WHERE ELSE would my mind have to stay as young as with a group whose
attention span is so short that I must always keep a "bag of tricks" up my
sleeve?
WHERE ELSE could I feel so close to my MAKER as I do each year when, because of something I've done, little children learn to read?
YES, I teach first grade, Mr. and Mrs. America, and I LOVE IT!
-Author Unknown
You Never Know
You never know when someone
might catch a dream from you.
You never know when a little word
or something that you might do,
May open up a window
of a mind that seeks the light.
The way you teach may not matter at all,
but you never know, it might.
And just in case it could be
that another's life through you
might change for the better
with a broader, brighter view.
It seems it might be worth a try
to do what you know is right.
The way you teach may not matter at all,
but you never know, it might
The Gift of the Memorable Child
The child that is my challenge is a gift.
Only he can give me
The gifts of patience, tolerance, and acceptance -
If I let him.
He will be the one to make me into a true Teacher
And challenge my very soul.
I can learn more from this child
Than from much of my college coursework -
If I choose to.
A child is not something that is "broken"
For me to "fix".
This child comes to me a unique individual
Worthy of love - just as he is.
Will I choose to rise to the occasion?
Or be yet another to throw my hands up?
Do I have it in me to maybe be the one
that can make a difference?
Is he maybe the one
that will make a difference in me?
Will I choose to let him?
Cathy Abraham
"THE TEACHER"
The teacher looked ahead with misgivings, but with hope.
Would the way be smooth or rough?
Would it end in success or failure?
And she stood and looked and wondered.
And a voice said, answering: "There will be no end."
And the teacher smiled and said:
"I know it will end. I may teach one year, two years,
Or possibly many years,
But this I know: Someday it will end."
And the teacher went forward to teach.
And many gathered around her,
And they all had need to learn.
And the teacher looked into their eyes and desired to fill their needs
And she taught them with mind and heart and voice --
A mind filled with knowledge,
A voice speaking wisdom,
And a heart overflowing with love.
Then life changed, and the teacher taught no more.
No more did eager students gather around her.
"It has ended," said the teacher, continuing on the road of life.
"This is the end of my teaching."
And she believed this until...
A doctor stood and said: "I am here because this teacher taught me."
A lawyer stood and said: "I am here because this teacher taught me."
An astronaut stood and said, "I am here because this teacher taught me."
An engineer stood and said, "I am here because this teacher taught me."
A teacher stood and said, "I am here because this teacher taught me."
And many in good positions stood and said, “I am here because this teacher taught me."
And the teacher looked ahead of those who had been taught and
saw the continued steps of progress, work, and success before each one.
And joy filled the teacher's heart, and she said,
"This is not the end. There is no end to my teachings."
By A. B. Ramsey