Why I'm a Teacher

I love the Christmas season. The presents don't mean that much to me, but the gratitude does. In any job, you get cards from your co-workers, with no message and just a signature, which I usually just toss in the trash can and curse the person who never even says hello to me for wasting the resources. But the cards from the students are a different story. Today, a girl who has been kicked out of her home and is working to support herself gave me a box of chocolates and a card that said she thanks God for people like me in the world.

There are times when I am talking to people who sit in cushy chairs inside of big Manhattan skyscrapers and make three times my salary, and I get a little envious. But then there are those moments in my job where I am struck with what an impact I am really making on kids. For every student that is able to verbalize how I have impacted them, there are probably five or ten kids who I have helped, but can't verbalize it or won't realize it for a few years. I love teaching. That card is worth so much more than a larger paycheck.