If I were to ask you to describe a teacher that changed your life, what qualities would you include? For me, it is having high expectations, humor and unconditional love. Those qualities describe one of my ultimate teachers, my Grandma. I have been blessed with many teachers in my family, literally; my Father taught college courses long ago and my Mom currently works as a school librarian. My Grandma though, taught me about life by living her own in a way that continually inspires me.
My Grandma has a million stories about her children and her late husband, in which her adventurous mindset made every problem an opportunity to laugh and every mistake a chance to learn. When a student says something so unexpectedly hilarious, I feel the spirit of my Grandma in my classroom as I throw my head back and laugh. Sometimes laughing with my students is the best relationship builder possible and sometimes, I have to be a professional and laugh later on. It is humor that makes the hardships easier, the confusion less intense, the sadness less daunting.
No student is perfect, no school is perfect and I’m learning, slowly but surely, that this might just be the point after all. No matter what, it is my own perspective that defines my day, at the end of each day. As a teacher, I have a choice, to believe in myself the way my Grandma does, or to doubt my own abilities. I can choose to hold my students to high expectations they way my Grandma has unfailing done, or I can accept mediocre behavior and academic work. There is something deeply ingrained in me now, a work ethic and an unshakeable mindset that says, “If you do anything, do it to the best of your ability” and I live by that in both my personal and professional life.
One night before I left for Morocco, as victims of inertia sitting together on the end of my Grandma’s bed, I told her that I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. The thing is, sometimes I am bold enough to believe that I already am. That my family has inspired elements of teaching because of the way I was raised and the people that have defined my life. When I am tough on my students, I am because I believe in their abilities to grow and become the best versions of themselves. The same way that my Grandma can sometimes be tough, it’s good for you and in the end it is done as an act of love.
I still miss my family everyday; my Grandma, my parents, my sister, my brothers, my aunts and uncles along with all my cousins. It is the love from my family that motivates me to keep going, to keep trying and to always work hard. One of my favorite Grandma sayings is “rough it” and I know that even if it feels rough right now, it will get better. I know that they expect the best from me and I work hard to make them and myself proud. So that when I visit for Christmas I have my own hilarious stories to share about my own adventures. Maybe even one day be lucky enough to share them with my own grandchildren.
Woods Wanders the World 