Pride: It's why I Teach

Sunday night whilst watching television at home I received another inspiring reminder of why I teach and what I love about teaching.

I vowed never to watch the program The Voice. I’m not into reality television and singing competitions are not my kind of scene. However, I was drawn to last night’s episode due to a performance from an ex-student of mine. Through Facebook Alex Gibson notified his followers that he would appear in the audition episode of The Voice. I had to tune in. I had followed Alex’s music career on Facebook (unfortunately having never been able to attend a gig) so was looking forward to seeing him perform for the first time.

I quickly grasped the concept of the show and nervously waited for Alex to perform. His performance of The Beatles song Blackbird was outstanding. I was on the edge of my chair waiting to see if one of the judges turned around. It was a relief when both Seal and Joel Madden both turned to indicate they wanted Alex on their team. 

I beamed with pride throughout the entire time Alex was on screen and was still glowing late into the night when I read comments and reviews on social media.

I taught Alex in 1999 in Year 6 at Canberra Grammar. Whilst I did not teach him music (which is to his great fortune with my musical ability) I still take pride in knowing that I had some input to his development as a student and a human being.

Pride in my students, both current and past, for me is one of the greatest satisfactions that I gain from being a teacher. I am always proud of the achievements of students of whom I have taught. No matter what the particular student achieves in their life I am proud. I have had students achieve in a variety of fields: studying law and medicine, in the world of professional sports, small business owners and some who are still achieving at school just to name a few. Last year a student I worked with a number of years ago lost his life whilst serving in the Australian Army in Afghanistan. There was an overwhelming sense of pride in this instance. Importantly I am also proud of the person they have developed into. The feeling of pride is not just based on materialistic achievements.  I like to think that I have had some input into the lives of these young people no matter how small of insignificant. For mine this is the greatest satisfaction that can come from teaching.

For me to be proud of the achievements of a student I need to take great pride in the job that I am doing in the classroom. I am not one to be complacent in my role as an educator. I do not just turn up and go through the motions. This would be doing an incredible disservice to my students. I take pride in the way I present myself at school to fellow staff, students and the wider school community. I take pride in the preparation I do in order to meet the needs of the students. I take tremendous pride in the manner in which I communicate with the parents of the students I teach. I am upfront and honest with them from the outset of the school year.

Pride, therefore, is a two way concept. For me to be proud of the achievements of my students, both present and past, I need to take pride in the job that I am doing as educator.

Pride, it’s why I teach.