Dear colleague,
When I was a new teacher, I had the mentality of a solo race runner. If I failed, my students were doomed. If I succeeded, my students were destined. It was all up to me. I was the protagonist of the teacher movie. I was the savior archetype.
As it turns out, that worked poorly. I quit after three years. And I'm thankful I did because I needed a more accurate perspective to do this work well.
Today I see that it's much simpler than those misconceptions. If at the end of the year I've contributed 1% to the reason a student goes on to lead a flourishing life, then I've been successful with that student. If I've taken the baton from past teachers and moved the student further along toward mastery of my discipline, I've won. If I've designed enjoyable and productive learning experiences that helped them walk toward Everest, I've run my portion of the race well.
You and I are baton carriers, colleague. We carry it for a short while, and we're just one of dozens of teachers our students will have, working in the context of the dozens of other adults (e.g., parents, guardians, coaches, leaders, pastors, etc.) who seek to help our students grow into a life of long-term flourishing.
This perspective is why I'm almost two decades into my career and grateful for calling to teach. It's not easy work — running races never is — but it is so good to be a small part of a student's life.
Running right beside you,
DSJR
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