What I Like About You

"Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students."

-Charles Kuralt

This seems like such a simple statement; one that many of us would read without much thought because it seems so obvious that it hardly warrants further thought. However, I would say that there is a lot to unpack from this simple, obvious statement, and it gets to the heart of what I love about working with all of you. 

What does it mean to say you bring out the best in students? I think back on my time in the classroom, and I have very fond memories of two kinds of students. There were those kids who came in to class with great attitudes, outstanding work ethic, impeccable organization and time management skills, and a willingness to engage in the learning process. I really enjoyed these kids. They were so fun to have in class and to get to know. Spending time with them was easy and fun. I liked to picture my own children growing up to be like them. They made me feel like a good teacher, but if I'm being completely honest with myself, they didn't need me to be a good teacher. They only needed me to be competent. They had so many supports in their life that they didn't need me to bring out the best in them. The best was already out. They were rock star students. All they really needed from me was accurate teaching. I only needed to challenge them in a way that moved them along the line to achieving the great things they were going to achieve regardless of whether I was their teacher or someone else. It doesn't diminish the relationships I built with those students, but it does speak to what they needed from me.

The other kind of kid that I clearly remember is the kid who didn't always show up for school, rarely turned work in on time, and generally didn't see the value in what we were doing. These kids tended to be disruptive, disrespectful, and generally unpleasant to have in class. We all know these kids because we have all had them... multiple times... every year. These are the kids that need good teachers, and I mean really need them. These are the kids where we have the greatest opportunity to make an impact. They need us to support and encourage them. Yes, it sometimes feels like we are playing the role of parent, and that isn't fair to us or the kid, but what else are we going to to do? Passively watch them fail? Of course we aren't. That isn't why we are here. None of us got into education to cherry-pick our success stories out of the rock stars. We all joined this fight to make a difference, and this is where the difference can be made. 

I'm not going to tell you that I saved them all. I most certainly did not, but I did save a few. I pushed them. I nagged them. I made them do the work, and I gave them a lower grade than they would've gotten if they'd done it on-time, but I never let them get away with less than what I expected, and more than a few hated my stinking guts right up to the point that we handed them a diploma. I've had a student tell me that my persistence with him to write a story for creative writing literally saved his life. I had no idea. He told me this two years after he graduated. I thought he hated me for what I made him do to pass my class. Another former student told me that what he learned from failing my class was the greatest lesson he ever learned; not because I let him fail, but because I made him make failing a decision he was making to spite me, and years later he realized he was only hurting himself. He told me this at the rehearsal for his wedding to a girl he met in that class, a wedding I was asked to officiate. 

I'm not telling you these stories to brag about what a great teacher I was. If this was a novel instead of a blog, I would tell you numerous stories of the kids I just flat out couldn't reach, but I never gave up, and I know none of you will give up either. 

I will close this out with a couple of things that really got stuck in my head this week. When I was over at Crestwood on Monday, I saw a sign they have hanging in their main entrance that says "Love first. Teach Second." I think it is a chapter from one of those Chicken Soup for Teachers books, and it is the kind of platitude that looks great on a t-shirt, but I began to think about how living that way makes an impact. Our most challenging kids are the ones whose stories will break your heart, and they need us more than we can imagine. As that has been running through my head this week, we also got flooded with new students, many of which have been here before, and in 100% of those cases, the students reported being very excited to be back here. I have had several students who bounce from place to place and end up back here tell me that this is their favorite school, and that is because all of you do what good teachers do, which is to bring the best out of our students by loving them first and teaching them second. Keep up the great work.