Teachers....what do you make?

I found this great story, and wanted to post it as a tribute to all teachers everywhere, many of whom inspired my love to read and to write.

We were all sitting around the dinner table discussing life when the man across from me decided to show his brilliance. He said the problem with teaching is this; “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher? I mean, you’re a teacher,” he continued. “Be honest. What do you make?”

And I wish he hadn’t done that (asked me to be honest) because, you see, I have a policy about honesty—if you ask for it, I let you have it.

I said, “You want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor, and an A- feel like a slap in the face; ‘How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best?’ I make parents tremble in fear when I call home; ‘I hope I haven’t called at a bad time, I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today.’ I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be.

“I’ll tell you what I make. I make kids wonder, I make them question. I make them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them spell a word over and over again until they will never misspell that word again. I make them show all their work in math, and hide it on their final drafts in English. I make them understand that if they have brains, they follow their hearts, and if someone ever tries to judge them by what they make to pay them no attention.

“Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true: I make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children. Now, what about you? What do you make?”