Life-Changing Teachers

As the 2016-2017 school year rapidly accelerates to its final good-byes, it is easy to get overwhelmed with the never-ending To-Do list: lessons left to create, students suddenly motivated to pass your class, parents emerging from the dark, mountains of papers to grade, emails needing responses, boxes to pack, a room to sort, committee work a room to sort, committee work to finish, new classes to create…and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes you forget that your overwhelming efforts and late nights and too-little-free time weekends are absolutely worth it in the long run, for you have changed lives. You are the teacher who saved students from depression or shame or loneliness, or a belief that they couldn’t write or read or do math or be succeed. You are the one who first piqued an interest in robotics or nutrition or politics or theorems or literary devices or Raku pottery or rock-climbing or video filmography or French verbs or sight-reading music.

An Edutopia article titled “6 Traits of Life-Changing Teachers” by Betty Ray, shares the results of a 700-person Facebook survey that asked, “What are the standout qualities that make some teachers life changers?”

Their responses showed that life-changing teachers (like you!) share the following traits:

•          They possess a contagious passion.

•          They help their students feel safe.

•          They model patience.

•          They know when to be tough.

•          They believe in their students (and help them to believe in themselves).

•          They love their students.

To all of you who have changed one or more lives—and that’s all of you!—THANK  YOU. Thank you on behalf of the students, the parents, the grandparents, and all who are ever-grateful that their child’s life intersected with yours.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be sharing some anecdotes of how Tahoma secondary teachers have changed lives.

Hang in there, and know that you have one of the most meaningful careers of all!