A couple of weeks ago, I had an unpleasant interaction with someone who works at a hedge fund. He was a friend of a friend and we were sharing a cab and our conversation started off as most conversations with people you meet for the first time. How long have you lived in the city? What do you do? Well I told him I was a middle school math teacher and he told me he worked for a hedge fund. He made an implication that the pay must not be good, and I answered awkwardly, “I guess”. When we got to the destination I offered to pay using my card, since I didn’t have cash and that he could pay me back with cash he had. He responded along the lines of “No I got it, you’re a teacher.” Implying I didn’t have the money to pay a $15 cab ride. This infuriated me but I held my tongue and let it go.
This interaction with this unpleasant person reminded of the poem “What Teachers Make” by Taylor Mali. I had the pleasure of seeing him perform it live at our network end of the year conference. (If you are not familiar click on the following link: http://youtu.be/RGKm201n-U4) The main point of his poem is; our profession has nothing to do with what we make in dollars, but the passion we have to push our students to do their absolute best.
It is our passion for the subject we teach and the passion we have to make a change. It is about the student who struggles to pass every test, and to make them not give up. It is about having a student realize that every step they take is an improvement and they are doing their best. It is about pushing the A+ student to continue to work hard, to continue to be their best in every situation. It is about having our student’s believe and be confident that they can succeed and reach their goals if they put their mind to it.
Our profession is driven by passion. It is what is in our minds and our hearts driving us forward. It is the change we are making in each student’s life that gets us to do our very best. It has gotten harder, with the pressure of state tests and curriculum changes. But every now and again we need to be reminded why we have accepted the challenging role as an educator. We have become educators to help, to challenge, to inspire, to create, to make kids love to learn, to make kids believe they can achieve anything they put their minds and their hearts to. We are living proof that we chose a profession based of what we love, not because of the money earned.
Take a moment before you begin the school year and think about why you have chosen to be a teacher. Get pumped up, be excited, be passionate about the lessons you are about to give and the challenges you will overcome.
Take a look at the two links below, including the one from Taylor Mali above. They are my favorites and always get me ready to take on the school year, school week, even just a school day. Some are about teaching in general and others are just great nerdy math links that have inspired some lessons.
Rita Pearson: Every Kid Needs a Champion
Arthur Benjamin: The Magic of Fibonacci Numbers
Vi Hart: Origami Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem
There is one more piece of advice I would like to pass on from one of my colleagues. It was my first year and I showed my colleague a note I received from a student that said in short “thank you”. My fellow teacher told me to keep it and any other notes in a box for a reminder of why I am a teacher. I have put every note, card in a shoebox and when I am having a tough week, I look through some of those notes. They are the best pick me up and a great reminder of why I stay up late, get up early, work my absolute hardest, and why I love my job.
For the Love of Math Education 