Why I Love To Teach

I started working at Shriver Job Corps in April of 2021. I teach office administration in the trade part of the school. Because of Covid-19 we are waiting on students to arrive at the center. I am so excited to get new students and begin the challenge of working with them.

First of all the students that come are in need of care of all sorts. They may need dentistry services or healthcare services. They need a place to sleep, some of them are homeless, but all our students come to better their future.

I am happy that I am a part of that. I am looking to help them become whom they want to be. What does my day look like. Well every day is different. Today I am helping Junie stay out of trouble while I have other students in another class in my room because they don't have a teacher.

I am here at Shriver because I believe that when you make a difference especially in a young persons life, you spread your impact on the world, one person at a time. I am helping create the workforce of the future. I am taking young people, who might wind up in prison or dead, into the workforce and creating polished successful business people who are civic minded and are concerned with becoming better no matter what.

The other day I did a mock interview with a student. She had her real interview, and came in and said that they wanted her references right away. She had questions on what that meant. I said that they might email her a job offer. She is very excited. She might actually work in the spinal chord unit at a hospital in Boston. At some point in the future she wants to be a surgeon. I am so excited for her. She will do well. I hope her dreams come true.

That is why I teach. So that I can provide for my students a better tomorrow. One where they can not only dream of becoming a surgeon; but, actually accomplish it. Each student is unique and genuine in their own way, and I am helping them find themselves in ways that they never new existed.

Now don't get me wrong, I know not everything is peaches and cream. I taught inner city and those students come from tough backgrounds, live in harsh environments, and still come to school to learn. Many don't have money for breakfast, many don't have money for lunch, and the school is the only safe place that they know. I love being a part of that community for a place to learn is a community. One that fosters understanding, compassion, forgiveness, and belief in one's self.

Sometimes life gets in the way of learning. Students past can get in the way of learning. You have to show them the way. Bring theminto the light so to speak. Teaching, no matter the subject that you are teaching, is desinged to help somone else out. Bring them into a new and bette place. Show them the possibilities of what the future may look like. The future is not written in stone, and may be happier than you think Like the slogan at Shriver says. Careers begin here. It is possible for them to start a career here at Shriver.

As a teacher you invest yourself in their well being. Making it clear that you care abouth them and what happens. At Shriver we make sure that they understand that they have to budget their money and that just because you have a job, learning doesn’t stop. To get a better job one has to learn more and do more because that is how you get ahead. At Shriver we make sure that students are well prepared for what comes after Shriver. It’s still up to them to create the furture that they want. We can only take them so far, the rest of the time they have to make it on their own.

This is what I am a part of. Creating a world for the students who didn’t see a bright future ahead of them. Creating a tapestry of help designed to help them navigate the world on their own. People have often asked me why I do it, it’s a lot of work, it takes up too much time, they are ungreatful. Here is what I say to those people. Teaching, if you are a good teacher, is a lot of work; however, the rewards and I am not tallking money, it’s more about wathcing someone blossom into the person to whom they should become, making the world a better place. It’s about seeing your work come to fruition. Watching them become healthy, happy, productive adults is what Job Corps is all about.

What do I do for work? I am a teacher and I wouldn't give it up for the world. No amount of money is worth the feeling that I get from helping another person become something better than when I first met them. Bringing them from a point in the darkness closer to the lightness that they seek. It may not be exactly what they are looking for it’s the little stepping stones.

Sometimes I don’t feel like this is a job, it’s fun and I am enjoying what I do. That is what work should be for you. FUN. Plain and simple if you are not having fun at your job. Quit and get something that feels more like fun to you. You will love everyday that you go to work.