I am a teacher. But that doesn’t mean I do not learn.

I am a teacher. But that doesn’t mean I do not grow.

I am a teacher. I am a guide, a mentor, a sculptor of minds.

I am a teacher. But my students teach me.

There are pros and cons to teaching high school. Any teacher of teens will tell you that things can go from wonderful to terrible at the drop of a hat. But regardless of the ease or difficulties, not a day goes by that I don’t learn something new from these students I teach.

First and foremost, I’ve learned resilience. Teenagers can be mean and hateful and just downright vicious at times. However, as teachers, we can’t take it personally when it happens to be directed at us. We are educators and mentors, not pals. And we cannot get our feelings hurt every time a student reacts negatively to our guidance. Teaching has definitely toughened me up and made dealing with the negativity in the world so much easier.

Hand in hand with resilience is temperance and the power of the quiet “mom voice.” Yelling doesn’t work in a classroom setting. It’s unprofessional, and the students do not respond well. But count to three quietly and they calm down and get to work immediately nine times out of ten.

The next thing on the list is flexibility and the ability to adapt. Lessons don’t always go as planned, students don’t always react as anticipated, and scheduling in a high school setting is very nearly impossible. Without the capacity to adapt and change, the high school teacher is left stressed and miserable. However, with a little creativity and flexibility, a teacher moves from adequate to exceptional, and the students benefit so much more.

My high school students have also helped me find more liveliness and creativity. They are brilliant, energetic, creative beings; and daily contact with that level of intellect and inspiration is truly mind-boggling.

I’ve heard before that, for the right teachers, teaching high school can keep you young. I firmly believe that this statement rings true for the teachers who see what the students have to offer. Teenagers have such a vibrant sense of fun – they are so full of life and energy just waiting to be molded and channeled. Interacting with that daily can either be exhausting or exhilarating, depending on the teacher. If the teacher can find it exhilarating, and find the elements of fun these students bring, they will move from average to remarkable. They will impact the students so much more, and that interaction just opens more doors.

As broken as the world is, these students remain a light in the darkness. They are brilliant beacons of hope in a society sorely in need of just that. Behind the walls and scars are hearts that are full of compassion and kindness. They are the future, cliché as that sounds, and we, the educators, are privileged and blessed to be a part of it.