Lesson in teaching...

Before I had my own children, I could not wait to get back to school in September. I was so excited to meet my new students, create my new lessons and smell those freshly sharpened pencils. I still look forward to those things, but feel a resentment to the end of summer as well. The end of summer, after all, means having someone else spend that valuable time with my own children. 

This September has been a whole new experience. The Princess will be starting preschool tomorrow. She is over-the-moon excited. I am broken-hearted. Don't get me wrong- I am so glad that she is excited. I can't wait to come home tomorrow and hear all about her day- the new experiences she'll have, new friends she'll make. I am broken-hearted, however, because I won't be there for any of it. I won't get to see her reaction when she walks into her classroom. I won't get to watch her as she puts on her brave face and talks to new people. I won't get to see if she remembers her manners or says her blessing before her snack. I will be at work before she even leaves the house. I won't be able to be a "room-mother"or attend field trips- but you better believe I'll be taking off work the day of the Mother's Day Tea! (I am lucky that a friend will be going to drop off tomorrow to take pictures the first few minutes!)

All of this has taught me a very valuable lesson about my chosen profession. I need to the kind of teacher that I would want for my own child. I need to be patient and kind while holding my students to high expectations. I need to remember that each student is someone's child. I need to remember that these parents just might be sitting at their job wondering what their child is doing, wondering if their child is behaving, wondering if their child is being loved. This lesson, I'm hoping, will make me not only a better teacher but a better parent as well. This lesson will help me to remember to be patient with the teachers of my children, but to hold them to high expectations as well.