Winner of the 2012 Voyager Sopris Blog Contest

By Michelle George    

By the time spring break hits, many teachers are counting the remaining days until summer vacation. How many times can one person be asked, “Will this be graded?” or “Why do we have to do this?” or “When am I ever going to need to know this?” I begin to question why I’m assigning a minimum of five typed pages when I know that I will need to read every last word. It’s not that I’m ready to quit teaching, but I’m always grateful to have the summer to regroup, take a few classes, and revitalize myself for the next year.

This summer I have received a special gift, and I’d like to share it with those educators out there who are a bit weary as well. I’ve been reminded that teaching is a noble and valuable profession. What we do as educators is important because we have the power to change lives.

I went back to college again this summer as a student, and again I have been privileged to have some inspirational teachers. They have engaged me, challenged me, and helped me to be a better thinker. But this year has been especially rewarding in another way. I’ve been reminded of how important the profession of teaching can be.

Professor P., a teacher of creative writing and literature, retired after our last class this summer. I think everyone who has been a student can name at least one teacher who changed their lives, and Professor P. is one of mine. She had us all reading a couple hundred pages every night as well as grinding out a few pages of our own, and we loved it! We worked hard because we knew that she was working even harder, and she believed we were worth her effort. None of us was willing to let her down.

The last day of our class, Professor P. invited the entire group to her home for a final luncheon and celebration. Even though she is excited to have time for writing, and traveling, and family, I think closing the door on her career was bittersweet. As we ate, Professor P. shared the story of her long teaching career. She decided to get a secondary teaching degree since the other major options open to women of her generation were nursing and secretarial work. She laughed when she confessed to us that she knew nothing about nursing and couldn’t type, so teaching was the obvious choice. Professor P. was more surprised than anyone to discover that not only was she good at this career, but she loved it.

Our teacher then told us of her transition from teaching high school to teaching college. The masculine elite of academia weren’t very welcoming when she first arrived, but she forged her reputation with students and staff alike. She choked up as she came to the end of her story. And then came the gift. She looked in turn into each face and said, “When I was young I had a teacher who pushed me to excellence. To this day I can feel her at my shoulder, prodding me to go back and make every piece my best work. I want you to remember me like that. I want to be sitting on your shoulder, pushing you to be your best.”

Now I am sure that there were days when Professor P. was frustrated by students who didn’t complete the reading, or one more chunk of dialogue with no comma separating the dialogue tag. Teaching is not fiction, and maybe that’s why it’s noble. Our students are real people, and we have the opportunity to impact their lives. For me, that makes the struggle all worth while.

Michelle S. George is a language arts middle school teacher in Orofino, Idaho. She has a B.A. in English and secondary certification in English, reading, and journalism. Michelle has been teaching seventh and eighth grade for 20 years, and still loves going to school, as a teacher and a student. She has published a variety of lesson plans and written several award-winning grants.