Why I Still Love Teaching

Came back after lunch. This was on my computer. 

This morning I woke up at 7 and reached over the side of my bed for my laptop.  I have done this every Saturday since school started.  I wanted  to prepare for our Monday morning meeting.  I spent twenty minutes trying to upload a file to a shared folder. Despite my efforts, I was unsuccessful.  A few minutes later I was in tears. I actually told my husband I didn't know if I could do this any more. You see, I have been teaching for twenty-seven years, and these  meetings are one of many new things added to our already overflowing plates.  I became a teacher because I love teaching. I became a teacher because I love kids. This file that I was trying to upload would have no immediate effect on my students or my teaching. After wallowing in self-pity for a few minutes, I decided that today's blog would have to be about all of the reasons I still love teaching.  There are many!

What I Love about Teaching

1) Coming up with the best way to teach a lesson to my students. Trying to figure out how to differentiate an activity for my students to address their various needs, strengths, and weaknesses.

2) Staying on top  of the newest research and pedagogy.  I will always be a student and a teacher! 

3) Finding new lessons to teach the same topic. Searching for a designing the perfect lesson that my students will love. Never getting stuck in a rut of doing the same thing over and over. 

4) Laughing every single day of my life.  My students bring me so much joy with their ridiculous questions, quirky behaviors, and outlandish middle-school behavior.

I told my students I better not find ONE almond on my floor after they ate in my room. They left this on my desk!  HAHA!

5) Celebrating all of the wonderful accomplishments my students make throughout the year. From writing plays for our drama students, to going from a basic reader to an advanced reader-my students inspire me!

6) Working with the most amazing, compassionate, talented human beings on the planet.  Not only are my fellow teachers inspiring and awesome, so are our custodians, media tech, attendance clerk,  instructional assistants, and secretaries! 

7) Loving my students and showing them that I genuinely care about them as people.  Nothing could be more rewarding than that. 

8) Searching out the newest and greatest ways to use technology in  meaningful ways in my classroom. 

9) Receiving a handwritten note from a student or parent expressing their gratitude for what I do.

10) Having a student come up to me after class and say, "Mrs. Karney, thanks for being a great teacher. I never liked English before your class."

11)  Driving to work each morning full of anticipation of what the day will bring!  I am always excited to see my students, and even if I am in a bad mood, they lift me up!

12) Eating dinner with one of my former students who is now in her forties!  Joyous!

13) Realizing that some of my current students are the children of some of my former students!

14)  Challenging myself to be the best I can be.  I set personal teaching goals for myself every year and do all I can to accomplish them. 

15) Blasting upbeat music when my students walk in the room and watching their faces and bodies respond to the positive vibe! They love the "Cha Cha Slide" in case you are looking for a song for your classroom.

16) Developing positive relationships with parents and working as a team to help their child be successful.

17) Following amazing educators on Twitter and finding new ideas to implement in my classroom.

18) Decorating my classroom with my students in mind. I try to make my room not look like a prison. :) 

19)  Working to make the time my students spend in my classroom meaningful, comfortable, and enjoyable.

I could go on and on!  I am going to print this list and keep it by my desk for those moments when I am feeling overwhelmed and unappreciated!  I really do love teaching.