Happy Sunday!!!
Sharing a message from Tony Garcia that he posted on Facebook. I retired from teaching after 30 years teaching jr/sr high science, and have spent the past 5 years as a substitute teacher. This message hit home. I just had to share this one!!!
Thank You Mr. Garcia!!!
This. A whisper from my heart.
To all the teachers, thank you for making a difference in the life of our children. Enjoy your much deserved and well-earned break.
To all the teachers, thank you for making a difference in the life of our children. Enjoy your much deserved and well-earned break.
As I bring my 26th year of teaching to a close, I pause to reflect upon a few truths I have learned during my time in the classroom.
Times change. Children don't. They still want to feel safe, to be valued, to be loved.
Children do not always want what they need. Consistent and high expectations. Firm guidance when they do not meet the expectations. Insistence upon respect and manners.
Children need to be children. They need to explore things. Create things. They need to see the world not through a screen, but through a lens of awe and wonder. They need to play games not of violence, but of imagination and cooperation.
Children do not need more distractions and fidgets. They need focus and discipline, attention and work ethic, effort and grit, mental activity and stimulation, the out-of-doors and physical activity.
Inside a child are universal wisdoms. Listen to them. Do not merely hear them. Talk with them. Do not simply talk at them.
There is not a single standardized test you can administer to a child that will measure the true effectiveness of a quality educator. And, there will never be one.
Teaching is not easy. Not everyone can do it. And just because everyone was once a student, it does not mean they know what it is to be a teacher.
Caring. Hoping. Encouraging. Guiding. Counseling. Coaching. Mentoring. Parenting. Leading. Listening. Acting. Sharing. Giving. Growing. Preparing. Believing. Trusting. Praying. Worrying. Saving. Loving. This is teaching.
The best lessons have little to do with learning targets, expected outcomes, state standards.
The best lessons have everything to do with helping children not be targets of violence and hatred. Showing children the effort they put in determines their outcomes in this life. And they must hold themselves to even higher standards than anyone else expects of them.
The best gifts come from the heart. The best teachers, teach from the heart. Do the math. Teachers are a gift. ~G
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