We're Not Miracle Workers, At Least Not Right Away

I remember my first year of teaching. As I walked into "my" classroom I was full of excitement and ready to make a huge impact on all of my students' lives. After all, I went into teaching because there were so many teachers in my life who were knowledgeable, caring, and inspiring. Many of the reasons I went into education relied heavily on the impact teachers had made in my life. I believed that if my teachers could be such great examples in my life, I could do the same with my very own students.

At the end of my first quarter of teaching I did an audit of my student grades and approximately 10% of my students were receiving a D or F in my class. As I reviewed the grades, I was angry. How was this possible? I spent so much time before and after school preparing lessons, meeting with colleagues, and meeting with students. I just couldn't understand why my students weren't all achieving As and Bs.

I went further down the bunny trail as I reviewed student grades and I remember asking myself, "How can I make an impact on my students if I can't even get them to succeed in my own classroom?" My classroom became a quiet place as I evaluated my worth as a teacher. I was mad at myself and struggled to understand how I was going to teach the next day.

Four years later, I watched my first group of 9th graders walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. Many of those students embraced me after the ceremony, thanked me for all I had done, and some even handed me invitations to their graduation parties. At that moment I looked around, saw my students smiling, and I realized I had done what I had set out to do, I made an impact on student lives.

This Saturday I was running on the treadmill and I pulled up a podcast from Talk with Teachers (http://talkswithteachers.com). I selected an early episode with guest speaker Curtis Chandler (@curtischandler6) titled the "Un-Classroom." During the interview Curtis makes a great statement that as teachers we cannot do everything for every child in just one year. In order to influence our students' lives, we need time and persistence.

While on the treadmill I was reflected on that statement and thought of how it applied to my own experience. I was short-sighted to think of myself as a failure in the first quarter of teaching. I was short-sighted to think of myself as a failure in the first year of teaching for that matter. At that graduation ceremony I felt successful as a teacher, and at the time I didn't care why, but as I reflect on that moment, I now know why.

It took four years to make an impact on my students. For some students, I may have started to impact their lives in a year. For other students it may have taken all four years. There are even some students I had more impact on them through interactions outside classroom. The greatest factor on the impact I had on my students was time!

We often want to make immediate impact on our students' lives. We become frustrated when our tires spin with a new group of 6th graders. Disappointment settles in when a 10th grader doesn't seem to care. What I have learned, and what I want to share, is all teachers are making an impact on their students' lives! It may not feel that way every day, but as Curtis would remind us, we need more time to make a large scale impact on student lives.

Be patient and know that you are making a difference.

Inspiration via Talk with Teachers podcast, epidose 18, The Un-Classroom with Chris Chandler. http://talkswithteachers.com/curtischandler/