About Teaching

On Thursday, I took a tray of hard-boiled (cooled) eggs to my youngest daughter's classroom to give the children an opportunity to dye eggs. The children were so well-behaved - even helping one another choose colors and dip the eggs in and out of the dyes. It was a lot of fun.

Working with children is such a delight. Yes, they can be loud and boisterous, but that's just a part of who they are. They have so much energy and such a desire to explore that it's a challenge to keep their minds and bodies reigned in. What a treat to get to share in their lives, though. Every moment is filled with growth of one kind or another.

Curiosity is everywhere in that classroom. The questions the students ask and the way they interact with one another is so amazing. Their little minds just don't slow down for anything.

I've discovered that teaching is really an almost incomprehensible responsibility. I am humbled and awed by my ability to impart knowledge and I ask myself if I am going to be able to do the children in my care (hopefully someday) justice. Will I be able to satisfy their thirst for knowledge? Will I teach them without prejudice? Will I instill in them a love of learning? Will I give them hope? Will I ever say anything to rob a child of his/her esteem? Will I offer them my very best every day?

I scare myself, sometimes, when I wonder about such things. I want to give each child the best of myself. I can only hope that through my studies, my time in the classroom and my devotion to God will provide me with everything I need to do the job well.

So many little lives depend upon good teachers. I want to be one of them.