With recent negativity associated with
education, I have read numerous articles about professionals who have left
teaching. Now that I am in my 32nd
year of teaching and 55 years young, aside from the fact I still have to pay
son’s last year of college, I have been reflecting on when would be a good time
to leave teaching and whether or not the
inspiration of trying to make a difference and a have positive impact on my students
is still fulfilling and satisfying. After much reflection
about why I teach, I realized there are many reasons to leave teaching but I
just as many to stay. But most recently,
I had an experience that validated every reason to stay and demonstrates how teaching
can be a very fulfilling and satisfying profession.
Since I started using Google Classroom 3 years ago in my 8th
grade math class, I give my students the opportunity to complete a “Teacher
Report Card” on me every June. The google form allows students to rate me on a
scale of 1 to 5 for specific skills, answer questions and add their own
comments. As painful and scary as it may be to allow my students to grade
me, I value their input. I get very honest information on their perceptions of
my instruction. I review the results every June and September to help improve
instruction and classroom culture.
This year, as in previous years, before
I pushed the report card out to students through Google Classroom, I explained
that completing the report card is confidential and I want them to be honest.
I also shared previous statements students have made in the past, both positive
and negative, just to let them know that it is okay to express their feelings
and that I don’t take it personally. I just use the results to reflect on and
improve my teaching. I assigned the teacher report card via Google forms this
past week and collected their comments to a Google spreadsheet.
Students are very
honest and not afraid to say how they feel. The form asked questions such as “What
would you like Mrs. Peck to know?” and “How can the teacher improve the class?”,
“Sometimes the teacher_____.” Students responded
very candidly with many comments and
answers to the questions: “you bring donuts”, “I like the spidey head candy container”,“is
strict”, “class is fun,” “is not my favorite teacher, but is ok”, “is my
favorite class”, and “should slow down”.
All my students’ input is important to
me and I consider all comments from the report card to help me improve as a teacher.
But, after several years of administering the teacher report card, this year was
the first time that a student’s statement made me extremely emotional and hit
me at the core. When answering the questions ”Is there anything else you want
to say to Mrs. Peck” a young man wrote: “even though I got a lot of MIR's
throughout the class somehow your still my favorite teacher, respect goes a
long way, you positively impacted my behavior through the end of the year, not
only in your class but in everybody's because when I got in trouble in your
class you looked disappointed and it didn’t feel right so I really worked on my
behavior, you positively changed my life through not only middle school but
through my entire career”.
As
a teacher I consider it my responsibility to make learning engaging, fun and
meaningful so that my students grow academically. But I believe it should be the ultimate goal of
every teacher to help their students grow as individuals. So when I read his statement, it brought me to
tears. His statement encompasses all I could hope to accomplish as a teacher, making
a difference and helping a child grow as an individual. Teaching provides the
opportunity to make a difference in many young lives. What a wonderful reason to stay.
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