The Perks of Being A Teacher

It is Teacher Appreciation week, and I just wanted to take a moment to say how proud I am to not only be a teacher but to be a high school teacher.

There are days and moments like this morning between 9:30 and 11:20 that I thought I was going to go insane and wanted to just pull my hair out, but for every moment like that there are the moments when the same kids get so involved in a group project that they create things far above and beyond anything you could ever imagine.

I can't imagine any profession more rewarding that spending your days with teenagers, being a part of their melodramas and tears, their triumphs and their joys. I love going to their games and concerts and proms and ceremonies. I love listening to their outlook on life.

Teenagers are so much wiser than many people give them credit for. True, they say dumb things and don't know things I think should be obvious, their fresh outlook on the world teaches me just as much as I teach them.

I could just go on and on about all my students, past and present. Because of them I am the woman I am today. Each of them has left a foot print on my life and memory, and for that I am forever grateful.

And I am also grateful to my teachers and colleagues who instilled and continue to instill in me a love of education. So many teachers and professors touched my life as a student. I remember Mrs Poston's kindness in kindergarten and Mrs. Molly Robertson in 2nd grade. Mrs. Julie Varn installing my love of vocabulary and all things crazy in gifted and talented, and Mrs. Harwell teaching us intro German in 4th grade. In 7th and 8th grade Mrs. Vicky Bishop was the first teacher I remember treating us as "grown people" and making us responsible, and yes Denny Eaddy taught me more about the Civil War than any other teacher, even in college and I have a degree in history. Then in high school Mrs. Brock taught me to be unique and myself no matter how crazy others thought you were. Ms. Finn taught me that class could be fun, entertaining, AND educational. Chief taught me about opportunity cost and that "there is no such thing as a free lunch," and Ms Silvernail taught me how to harness my writing and showed me how to be really good at something that I love.

More than that, she showed me the type of teacher I want to strive to be. I try not to compare myself to her, one because I know there is no success in comparing ourselves to others and two I know how different our teaching styles and personalities are. However, if my daddy is the voice in my head guiding me every day in my life, Ms. Silvernail is the voice in my head in my classroom. I always find myself asking, "How would Ms. Silvernail handle this?"  I know my over emotional, hyper self will never fully grasp her cool, confident, calm demeanor, but when I find my blood pressure rising and my crazy boiling out, remembering how she treated her students and herself with respect I calm back down. She will always me the epitome of the perfect balance between respected professional and lifelong friend, and those are her qualities I aspire to the most.

So thank you for inspiring me long after my student days are over and for still be my friend and role model who I know I can call with any question or turmoil professional and personal 20 years after being in your class for the last time

So to all my students, teachers, and co workers who taught me, teach me, and inspire me everyday,"thank you" you are appreciated more than you can know.