Lessons learned by a lifelong learner

The question intermittently pops up in conversations. "What have you learned as a teacher?"

I shall be brutally honest. Teaching has been the most challenging charge I have taken on (I heard mommahood is a close contender. Which is precisely why the Lord hasn't made me a momma yet). But it is also the most rewarding, and rife with daily epiphanies. Ever since I embarked on my teaching stint in inner city Los Angeles, I have learned exponentially more from my students than they have learned from me. I have learned about the need for consistent familial love and support in a developing human being's life. I have learned that my students need not only someone to teach them imperative reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills, but also someone who cares for them and invests time to know them as individuals. Someone who believes in their potential, no matter how poorly they may be behaving one day. Someone who perceives that they can achieve greatness, even when they don't believe it themselves and see no way out of their broken communities. Someone who perseveres in cultivating their growth, even if they may give up readily because it has been formidable for them their entire lives. I have learned that even if every young human creature bears unique life circumstances, at the bottom of it all, my students simply thirst for affirmation and love.

One of the most jolting lessons I've acquired thus far is that I cannot accomplish this daunting task on my own. I've been blessed by so many who have imparted a bounty of insight, positivity, and support because of their experience in the classroom themselves. One such source of encouragement is an all too amazing mentor who has invested her past two years into supporting teachers, but has missed the classroom so much that she's decided to go back this fall. I am exceedingly thrilled for how she shall continue to impact her students. Celebratory tokens of appreciation were in order. Numerical order, that is. 1. A card to say what a gift your guidance, support, encouragement, and positivity has been this year...(Contents: gift card for future classroom outfitting)


2. ...but I must chalk up the confession: (Contents: chalk in a vintage mason jar crowned with a feedsack fabric lid)
3. You are mint to be a teacher! (Contents: dark chocolate mints)

I had a ball concocting these puns and perky packaging for the teacher-inspired trifles. Can you tell?