You Really Never Know

Teaching is an act of hope.  Rarely, as educators do we get to fully celebrate our work.  Rarely do we ever get to see the end result for our students.  Rarely, do we see the fruits of our labor.  

Yes, there are commencements and moving up ceremonies, but those don't always capture how (or if) we have made a difference in the lives of the children who have spent their year with us.  Fortunately, educators are hopeful people.  Teachers work tirelessly, planting hope in every student who they teach.  

Recently, I was honored and humbled to have one of those moments when it became crystal clear that I had indeed connected with a student.  One of my former students from Chicago reached out to me.  He found my profile on LinkedIn and sent me a message.  Within his e-mail I was awed when I read the following sentences about the course I taught: 

Urban Studies was one of the most memorable experiences of my high school career.  I learned a lot in your class; the discussions that we had in class, as well as the course materials, challenged and developed my understanding of social justice and the education system. 

He had reached out to me because he was thinking of making a change in his career from advertising to education and he wanted my opinion about that.  I was floored - I spent one year teaching this young man and almost ten years later, he sought me out so that I could share some feedback as he navigated a change in his professional world.  I was completely taken aback by how much this simple e-mail meant to me.  

As I reflected on that e-mail this week, I realized that one of the reasons this moment touched me is because teaching is such a personal endeavor.  All teachers pour all of themselves into their work, and the work of teaching is the students who we encounter.  And the work of teaching the students we encounter is building relationships with them, so they feel safe and are able to full attend to the content of the course.  Without solid relationships, the content is meaningless.  Yes, content matters, but relationships trump content every time.  Every time.  

As we embark on the last several weeks of the school year, there will be concerts and playoff games, final exams and end of the year celebrations, good byes and new beginnings.  Through this race to the finish line, might I suggest that we all maintain our hope and know that we do make a substantial difference in the lives of the children in Montpelier Public Schools.  It may not get said this year, or next, in five years or in ten.  Yet the work that we do matters - it simply may not be clear until a crossroads moment for our students, some day in the distant future.  Teachers do matter a great deal in the lives of their students.  

You just may never know how much.