Only this morning, I found myself filling the role of nurse, Internet researcher, rape counselor, policeman, banker, short order cook, secretary,computer technician, political commentator and custodian all before 8:30 a.m. Obviously, I teach for a living. My simple classroom operates as command center for every possible issue that comes with children, be it related to Language Arts or not.
An 8th grader arrived in my room this morning in floods of tears and riddled with guilt at having been sexually assaulted on a church bus. I had to sort through her feelings, offer advice, and try to remove the stain of shame from her heart. Then I had to call her pastor and related her story.
I had a former student, now a senior, who had major paper due today and was unable to retrieve his paper from his laptop. Luckily, in the 8th grade I had taught them all to e-mail all their papers to someone at school, or to a friend, so that there was always a copy floating in the great ether of electronic media. Of course, he no e-mails his compositions to me. He also needed ten bucks to pay his FBLA dues.
My principal stopped by to collect my grade distribution sheets, shortly before an 11th grader who was recently diagnosed with a gastric disorder came in to have me look up what his disorder was, what the side effects of his medication might be, and what alternative treatments might be available. Then I worked at him coming to terms with the lifestyle changes he would need to make to stay healthy.
When strangers ask me how many children I have, I say “hundreds”. Teachers are often the glue that holds the adults-in-training world together when parents aren’t available physically or emotionally. I make a difference, but often a make THE difference. I have taken suicidal phone calls, found sheets and pillows in the middle of the night after answering my front door and distributing tissues and hugs. Ive held hands in bathrooms waiting to see if the pregnancy test would turn blue.
Students are not the only people who lean on teachers either. I’ve had parents who came to borrow my phone because theirs was disconnected. I’ve purchased Christmas presents and written name tags with parents’ names on them. I”ve made trips to the grocery story on my confernce period so that a parent could feed their children without the kids knowing the shame of their parents’ poverty. I’ve paid for books, basketball shoes, homecoming dresses, class dues and rent for familes in need. I’ve had parents cry on my shoulder, swear at the world and crumble helplessly as their lives spun out of control. Somehow, I found a way to offer support, pool resources and keep families together.
So when people ask,”Do teachers make a difference”, I can only answer, “I hope so”.
