2008 Call for Papers Honorable Mention
MINZA SNYDER
The Overseas School of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I ask why? Sometimes I feel so alive!
Remember that first day? You think you’re ready, armed with the appropriate degree, equipped with age and the belief that you are in charge. You even have some great activities planned to lure them in…
There they are: the future citizens of my classroom, watching — anxious, eager, pompous, shy, confident, the list goes on. They are all anticipating my first words. Here comes the first wake up call.
As I muster the courage to face them, I can still feel the pounding of my heart, the churning of my insides, “Is this what I really want to do?” Right then on my first day at school, I receive my first lesson in teaching: No matter how prepared you think you are, you never fully can be. Teaching requires one to engage in a continuous adventure; there is rarely a day where I have not questioned my actions, inquired into the unknown or taken a risk.
When you finally infiltrate the ranks and begin to understand the subjects of “your” realm, the classroom, you learn Lesson number 2: It’s all about relationships. My best teaching moments have come from being honest and staying human. Kids know. They know when you’re real; they know when you care. It is this human side of teaching that is filled with precious little lessons about how to build a genuine rapport, what it takes to earn and reap the benefits of trust. If you get lucky enough to reach a few of your students, then you can make that mental magic that stays with you long after they’re gone…
Once you reach that threshold where you feel ready to plunge into knowledge, facts and figures, slowly but surely Lesson 3 takes shape. These ‘students’ that you desire to teach and mold are so completely ahead of you. They are attempting assignments and conversing about things that never even occurred to you at the same age. Lesson 3: You can never take young minds for granted; my classroom is living proof of evolution.
My best teaching moments have come from being honest and staying human. Kids know. They know when you’re real; they know when you care.
Then there are those confident days when I am excited about presenting my essential questions and clever lesson plan; instead I am greeted by an explosion of opinions, views and arguments that leave my mind boggled at the end of the day, when that particular quiet student blows me away with an idea that never even entered my thoughts. Lesson 4: Recognize that you are always surrounded by the unexpected. If as teachers we approach our work with open-mindedness, our days become a collage of valuable lessons that keep us pondering, discussing and exploring (much like our students).
Over the years, many fortunate realizations have submerged into my ‘teacher conscience.’ Now I begin to understand that learning and teaching is endless; ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’ are part of a continual cycle of giving and receiving.
But let me not seem over idealistic. There are those days (some years are more trying than others) when I have asked myself, ‘Why?’ Why do I take on these mental and emotional challenges, why have I chosen a profession that requires me to be even at all times, balanced in my judgment and always available? The answer: I don’t know anything better? Seriously, I have those fleeting visions of exotic jobs filled with handsome clients and lots of travel. No. Nothing can be more stimulating than being a part of an environment that nurtures life-long learning. It is an opportunity I just can’t pass up.
The teaching/learning game is both an art and a science. There is no definition; it just is. At school, when I flow into my daily rhythm and return home only to think more about my day at school, I know deep down that it is my privilege to be a small part of a living, evolving organism, mundanely known as education. So I wipe my tears, suspend all indecision and await the next lesson. . .