WHY I LOVE MY JOB

No it`s just because of the weeks off in the summer. Actually, my husband and I call those two months off : CONVALESCENCE. But that`s a different blog subject altogether.

No, in truth, it`s certainly when the students are there that it is worthwhile.
Let me explain :

Every year, around August 9-10th, I get the blues and fidgety. It`s not because of lack of housework, activities or social life but something`s missing.
I finally put my finger on it this week. I was thinking about it while brushing my teeth one morning when it dawned on me.
I like helping people.
Don`t get me wrong, I don`t go hunting for other people`s problem to solve. I`m more talking about assistance, the extra push in the right way, guidance , advice or downright problem solving. It`s not always exclusive to teaching English either.

I often find that teaching and mothering are somehow closely related. It`s even hard to draw the line sometimes. I KNOW I am not a mother at school but at times when students come to me for : a facial tissue, a stain on the seat of a pair of pants....( " Annie help, I can`t spend the rest of the day like this , the others are gonna tease me...." ), a bunch of Bristol boards and markers for a project, an opinion on whatever subject, a bad break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend I Do feel I need to mother a little bit.
And I also feel privileged . You always ask someone for help because you trust him or her. You know they won`t make fun of you no matter what . I try to give them as much help as they have trust in me. It`s not an easy task to ask for help . I`m thirty-something and I still have trouble asking for help. But seeking help is the key to a happy ending or at least a resolution.
We don`t always need assistance. Afterall,we learn from past experiences .

Proverb on the subject :
“The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right."
-Hannah Whitall Smith
AMEN.

Another reason I love my job is : gratification .
I had a very humbling experience this week.
I`ve been imposing certain novels to my sec.4 students for the last 9 years now.
I usually allow them one and a half week to read two chapters before testing them on the chapters in question. Let me inform you that these novels are for anglophone readers and NOT for students learning English second language. So it usually takes more time to read because of the slang , vocabulary and sentence structures in general.
Well, one morning this week I asked the students after their first test on chapters 1 and 2 if they were enjoying the novel and where they were at in their reading chapter-wise.
Thank God I was seated. A lot of them were halfway through the novel already and some even were about to finsh the novel.
Now I was really looking forward to correcting an exam for once to see if they were both quick and good readers or just quick to get rid of it and not understanding a thing. They nailed it. They ARE quick and excellent readers. And this is not an easy feat. This is Cégep level and they are just in Sec. 4 !! Wow, no- double Wow.
Some went to get the second novel from S.E Hinton at the library. They are reading , understanding and loving it. How gratifying ! Is my job fantastic or what ?
You really have to love reading to enjoy seeing others read and loving it.

The way I see it, students and teachers teach each other. It`s an unofficial cooperation : I help you progress and evolve and you help ME improve my ways of helping other students in the future( experience ).
I met an ex-student of mine two weeks ago. He was a student o in my FIRST year of teaching. He recognized me and so did I , even his name ! Well I just had to apologize and inform him I was a much better teacher now ! Fourteen years of experience can make a difference !
He laughed .
I don`t have the pretention of changing lives or saving lives like nurses and doctors do. I do though have an opportunity to both touch other people`s minds and hearts. And I let them touch mine.
Giving is really receiving. It energizes. It gratifies. It nourishes and I truly feed on it.
To boost an ego ? Certaianly not. To give meaning to life.

Speaking of helping : this is for Kathleen .




"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..."by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday'sMost quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to useIn my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to loseWith my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,I shall but love thee better after death.

I had a total blank this morning when it came to the name of this wonderful poet. I fell in love with Ms. Barrett Browning when I was in Sec.3. She writes beautifully.
Enjoy.
If you need help with it come and see me.

Now, on with the weekend !
Family time, relatives visiting are on the agenda and I can`t wait !!

PS : Félix-Antoine`s question and discussion of the week :
I ( HIS MOTHER ) am so mean and nasty to kidnap eggs from hens so I can buy tham at the supermarket !
How can I live with that he asked me at the supermarket Friday night? I tried very hard to explain that once you TAKE not KIDNAP an egg from a hen, it is no longer a potential baby chicken ( a chick ) . Didn`t work . He still views me as baby chicken KILLER every time I buy a dozen at Métro or IGA.
Now this discussion has been going on for one year . He still doesn`t believe it is not cruel to buy eggs. From now on I`m hiding the eggs somewhere in the refrigerator. Case closed !

TAtA,
Annie c;