Some of the BEST People I Ever Meet Were Children

I woke up this morning, after an evening of feeling a bit out of sorts, and felt that I needed to share this with my readers...

Sometimes, people have difficulty connecting to the passions of others because I believe that we have a hard time looking at things from someone else's point of view. Perspective is a VERY important skill to have as a human being because it promotes tolerance and good will. It also separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom in that we, as human beings, can assess a situation and make decisions based on what we predict the outcome may be...

Children, by virtue of their lack of experience and limited amount of time on this Earth, have the amazing ability to feel genuine joy for others and exude REAL emotions without worrying too much whether or not anyone will object to it.

A smile, a laugh, a hug from a child is meaningful and lacks the manipulative nature that we learn as adults... Now, some may disagree with me here but as a teacher, I will tell you that the BEST days of my career are the days that my students feel free to let out an enthusiastic cheer, laugh, clap, and give away hugs.

When a child says "I love you", that means something. They want to know that you CARE about them too... And, if they believe that you have their BEST interest at heart, and that you do what you do out of love and concern, the rest is simply a matter of maintaining trust and respect.

As teachers, we sometimes become overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork involved with our jobs and forget that the assignment is first and foremost to teach...To facilitate the academic growth and development of our students... And, at the end of the day, all our students REALLY care about is how much time you spent with them.

Are you listening? Did you hear me? Did you notice that I raised my hand several times today? Did you read my essay? Did you grade my paper yet? Did you know that I didn't eat breakfast today? Did you know that I was sick? Did you miss me when I was absent? Did you pay attention when that other kid over there just did or said X, Y or Z? When will you stop focusing all of your attention on those kids who could care less about what you are peddling and work with me? I am quiet, why don't you ever recognize that? Do you even know how I feel right now? I am trying to do the right thing but all you seem to notice is what I am doing wrong...And so on, and so on...

Yes. Yes. And YES. I understand, I see, I hear, and I listen and believe it or not, I do the very best that I can to process all of this information and sift through it so that I can do what needs to be done.

Teach.

The way I see it, my job is to facilitate my student's dreams. Not deflate them. My duty is to teach them to ask "How", not to bombard them with all the reasons "why not".

And, that's why I still think children are the BEST people I ever meet... Children still believe that they can. They dream big, think big, plan big, and do not see the obstacles that are before them as potential stoppers. They still see me as someone that holds the GPS that will help navigate them towards their final destination... And, if you ask me, that's pretty cool.