I can still distinctly remember playing goalie on my Cherry Hill Enforcers soccer team when I was a senior in HS. All of my buddies had already selected what college they were going to play at, but I had no idea if I even wanted to or could play in college. Quite frankly, I didn't know if I was quite good enough to play at the next level. At the time, we had an elderly gentlemen that joined our team as a coach a few years earlier. He was Irish, always happy and a positive force for our team. One day Good luck Chuck, as we called him, pulled me aside after a practice and asked me what college I'd be playing at next year. I jokingly shook my head and told him I wasn't sure yet. For the first time I had ever seen, he got very serious. He looked me right in the eyes and told me, "Son, you NEED to play soccer in college because you are way too good to let your talents be wasted!" I told him about my trepidation's and he said, "You won't just be a good college player, you'll be a great college player." By the next week I committed to play at Stockton College, where I won the starting job my freshman year and helped our team won the NJAC championship! I bet everyone can remember a Good Luck Chuck that had a positive influence on their life.
So teachers, always remember you may be the only positive force in your students life that day. If you teach in a lower SES area, your students might be going home to a house with no parent there to ask them how their day was or help them with their HW because most parents work 2+ jobs in lower SES areas. On top of that, they might be taking care of younger siblings, cooking dinner for them and doing other "adult" chores. The hardest thing about becoming an administrator is learning about the tough situations many of our students in. So remember, be that positive force in your student's life that day. Try to be a mentor and help a struggling student, even if it means helping them with another class. Remember, you're not a language arts or music teacher, your a TEACHER, and that comes with an oath to help as many students as you possibly can. Yes, you're going to teach them math or science, but you can also help them to become better human beings then they were when they showed up in your class in September. Be the Good Luck Chuck in your student's life. Push your students to dream big and to be the star of that dream. Make sure they know that failure is a very important part of ultimately becoming successful. Nobody has ever done something great without failing first. And above all, DON'T EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER YOUR HOLD TO BE A POSITIVE FORCE IN EACH AND EVERY STUDENT'S LIFE.
So teachers, always remember you may be the only positive force in your students life that day. If you teach in a lower SES area, your students might be going home to a house with no parent there to ask them how their day was or help them with their HW because most parents work 2+ jobs in lower SES areas. On top of that, they might be taking care of younger siblings, cooking dinner for them and doing other "adult" chores. The hardest thing about becoming an administrator is learning about the tough situations many of our students in. So remember, be that positive force in your student's life that day. Try to be a mentor and help a struggling student, even if it means helping them with another class. Remember, you're not a language arts or music teacher, your a TEACHER, and that comes with an oath to help as many students as you possibly can. Yes, you're going to teach them math or science, but you can also help them to become better human beings then they were when they showed up in your class in September. Be the Good Luck Chuck in your student's life. Push your students to dream big and to be the star of that dream. Make sure they know that failure is a very important part of ultimately becoming successful. Nobody has ever done something great without failing first. And above all, DON'T EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER YOUR HOLD TO BE A POSITIVE FORCE IN EACH AND EVERY STUDENT'S LIFE.