And when the children came, God looked down at their
beautiful faces and said “I need someone to help shape them”. So, God made a
teacher.
God said “I need somebody to put in countless hours of
planning and preparation outside of their workday, in the early mornings and late into the evenings, and then spend the day teaching these beautiful faces to
read, write, and believe in themselves.” So God made a teacher.
“I need somebody with a large heart. Someone to bring a
child into the classroom and show them love they may or may not be receiving at
home, while educating them and teaching them that they are worth the world.
Someone who takes the most precious person to a parent and treats them as if
they are their own child. Someone who works with every child, no matter the
learning ability, and shapes their education to fit them. Someone who helps
every part of that child grow day in and day out, and then carefully pass them
to the next grade.” So God made a teacher.
God said “I need someone who can fight for what they believe
in. Someone who can turn a hardened shoulder towards people and governments who
don’t believe their work is good enough, someone who can fight for education of
children instead of education of standardized tests. Someone who can listen to
the complaints that too much money is spent on education, and then smile even
while spending their own hard earned money on supplies for each and every child
in their classroom so that every child can learn.” So God made a teacher.
God had to have someone willing to give up their family time
to planning and grading. Someone who would give up their lunch to a child who
had none or give up their lunch break to a child who needed extra attention. So
God made a teacher!
God said “I need someone who is willing to be paid less. I
need someone who is willing to continue their education and who would give up
evenings, weekends, and summers to further their education to show that they are life long learners, not
only to set a good example for these beautiful faces, but to be able to serve
these beautiful faces so that these children can choose who and what they want
to be in life.” So God made a teacher.
It had to be somebody who was kind and patient… not easily
deterred. Someone to cultivate, and teach. Plan, grade, learn, and then teach.
Someone who is firm and consistent, loving and steadfast. Someone willing to
put in the time and attention in school, in meetings, in analyzing past and
present practices, while rarely taking time for themselves. Someone who understands
the value of family, but who takes their cares home each night because of the
25 students whose lives they affect daily, and then smiles with pride, but also
with fear, when their own son or daughter says they are going to spend their
life “doing what mom does”. So God made a teacher!
