Pressing On

Dear Teacher,

Sorry for the shortened and less regularly timed messages this week.  We have been working on a big project at my house.  We are putting in our own hardwood floors with a little help from some friends.  This is where most of my time has gone this week.  🙂

I have learned something from this home project, and it reminds me of teaching.  I have learned/remembered that jobs are not always easy.  It takes work.  You get tired.  You get stressed.  You have obstacles.  You get frustrated.  You want to stop.  You have to keep going (or not have a kitchen for longer than that is a good idea).  You push through.  It seems impossible…until you push through that wall and it slowly starts to seem possible…and after a while it almost seems easy…until you are glad that you started the process in the first place.

The kitchen looks good now, but it didn’t for a while.  This has been a long week, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel this morning.  I feel good, and I could almost see myself taking on a project like this.  It is amazing how this transformation happens…from impossible to possible to easy…and sometimes in a very short time.

Think about your toughest year at school, your toughest classes, your toughest students.  It was hard.  It was stressful.  It seemed impossible.  You wanted to quit.  But you didn’t.  You pressed on.  You kept going.  You made it through.  In the end, you probably found that you learned something, you found out more about yourself, and you became a better teacher.  It did not feel good going through it, but you felt better in the end once you survived.  In the end you were stronger for having gone through the year that you did.

Remember this as you look forward to another year (or right now if you are not on summer break).  Nothing lasts for ever, and you CAN persevere.  You have made it through before, and you can do it again.  What ever you are going through will be worthwhile in the end!  You can do it, and it WILL make you a better teacher.  Keep going and never give up!

You are an awesome and amazing teacher.  You don’t give up and you make something beautiful in the end.  You are making such a difference because you do press on through everything!  Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…Today is the last day for the giveaway at the Facebook page.  You need to comment with your story by the midnight tonight (July 5th, 2013).  Go check it out and share if you haven’t!