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Teachers Make a Lasting Impression

It’s all because I mocked my 4th grade teacher. It was the last day of school and he was saying goodbye to our class. As the bell rang and we started to leave I noticed that he had shed a tear. I couldn’t help myself. I laughed, sentencing myself to a lifetime of emotional goodbyes to my students. Although I don’t cry when every student exits my classroom for the last time as my pupil, there are a handful each year that I truly miss when they leave. I trust that their lives have been improved by the time we spent together.

It was the end of my first year at a new school. It was the first time I was taught by a male teacher. Some of the friends I made in that classroom I still have to this day. We were a close-knit group due at least in part to the outstanding effort of our instructor. There is no doubt that I am the teacher I am today because this teacher took the time to work with and inspire me. And my younger self made fun of him as I was saying goodbye.

Of course, he could have been shedding a tear of joy. I can’t be sure.

I suspect that every teacher has some sort of emotional issue connected to the end of school and the departure of students. Most deny their attachments to students and focus on the end of the school year as a hard-won liberation. Some teachers are so “exhausted” that they act as if they are almost unable to make it across the June finishing line. I think it’s a diversion. That state of exhaustion may indeed be a result of a challenging school year, but I think those feelings are exacerbated by the impending loss of their students.

An appropriate view of students is one that recognizes the importance of investing in individuals and our future. It is our responsibility to education, inform, and instruct the students in our given grade level or subject area. Teachers should never feel attached in any way to their pupils. Students should never be considered as “friends.” Perhaps sometime later on in life, like if a former student becomes a colleague, but certainly not while they are under our tutelage. One of the reasons teachers teach is that they recognize the importance of preparing the young not only to live their lives, but also to pass along the responsibility for our shared future. Teachers who treat their students like friends may not be willing to make the difficult decisions needed to fully prepare their pupils for life during summer vacation and beyond.

As a high school teacher I am required to attend the graduation ceremony every year. It is at the same time both wonderful and sometimes painful to watch and listen as the students names are called and they are promoted at the graduation ceremony. High school graduation is an important part of the educational process. It signifies that the basic instruction is complete, and that it is now time for the alumnus to apply what he or she has learned. The significance of the event, and the meaning of the commencement is important to not just the students, parents, and teachers, but to the world.

As teachers we are proud of our kids. It is important to us that we assist our students on their path to a successful life. Like the mother bird who must push her chicks out of the nest so that they will learn to fly on their own, even if they fall to the ground first, we teachers launch our students into the world. Once the student exits the classroom for the very last time we hope and pray for their ultimate success. We reflect on our efforts over the course of the year with each and every student that we have taught. Hopefully we stand there on the last day of school or at the graduation ceremony with complete confidence that we “left it all in the classroom,” and that if nothing else we gave our students everything we could and that we taught them something they will use in their lives.

So the departure of your students might bring a tear to your eye, and that’s perfectly acceptable. Your efforts have not been in vain. Your influence on their lives is permanent, positive and long-lasting. We teachers, in our own small way, change the world for the better.

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