Thank God for Teenagers

Today is one of the Lower Mainland's finest. You know, those days that are cold, wet, and completely devoid of any sunshine. On my way to work this morning, I found myself falling into a bit of a funk. As I looked around in the darkness at 8 a.m., it seemed that everything looked like concrete. Everything was just dark and gray.

This is going to be a great day, I thought. Due to circumstances that popped up last night before bed, I didn't get much sleep and I drug my feet as I walked into the school just as the bell for first period was ringing. Normally, I begin my Thursdays with my prep period, meaning I would have some time to drink my coffee, check my e-mail, wake up and get some work done. Today, however, I had insanely agreed to cover a fellow teacher's block while he attended the World Juniors Hockey Tournament in Vancouver. My eyelids were drooping, and as I was going through the motions of starting the class, I felt devoid of all emotion. First block went by in a blur, and I began to dread the day ahead.

Then, something happened. The bell for second block rang, and in trickled one of my grade 11 Spanish classes. Oh, how I wish you could meet these kids. They are really beyond description! They are the kind of students that make you so glad that you decided to become a teacher. Not only have these kids allowed me to teach them the Holas and Adioses of life, they have allowed me to enter their lives. This is a treasure that I do not take for granted. As one of my funniest and sweetest students greeted me with an exuberant, "Hola, Señora! GUESS WHAT! My mom bought me a car!" followed by another student's big smile and exclamation of "I love your hair!" (it was her first day back), I felt the sunshine begin to creep into my day. Even though I could still see darkness when looking past the window, I could feel my body thawing, and my mind awaking. Before I knew it, we were laughing and joking our way through Prepositional Phrases in Spanish and the Affirmative Tú Commands. By the time second period was finished, I was looking forward to the rest of my day.

I am constantly amazed by the students that I have the opportunity to teach. There are times in our lives when we all wonder if we are in the right profession, but days like to day remind me why I am a teacher. These students' smiles, sillyness, and ability to let their guard down with me show me that I am changing lives. There's an extremely corny phrase out there that says "To Teach is to Touch Lives Forever." I agree, it seems a bit cliché, but I have found it to be true. The other night I was out for coffee with some of my fellow teachers and we ran into a student that had been one of mine during my first year teaching here in Canada. The class that he was in was one of my biggest challenges...there were days when I was just so exasperated and thought I wasn't making a difference at all. When we saw this student he came up to us and spent the next half an hour filling us in on his life and all that had happened. He was so thankful to see us and even visited us at school a few days later, our favourite Starbucks drinks in hand! It had been over two years since I had seen him, but he hadn't forgotten me.

I have found that when I truly invest myself in my job and allow myself to really be involved in the lives of my students, it enriches my life in ways that I never knew could happen! There are two girls that I have been mentoring this year, and they have added so much to my life. Working with them and helping them through different problems that come up in their lives has shown me other talents that I have...talents that show me that I want to become a counselour in the future. I don't know if I would ever have thought of that, had I not had the opportunity to be involved in the lives of these young ladies.

I know that there will always be days that I come to school dreading the day ahead, but thanks to these crazy kids that I face every day, I also know that there will never be a day when I go home feeling the same dread. It's simply impossible when they are around. Thank God for teenagers!