To My Students:
Before I was an English teacher, I worked in the fashion industry for a Chinese boutique company. Before that, I worked as a journalist, and before that, I worked in one of the leading semiconductor microprocessor companies in the world. I have made money on social media, I have made money painting, and I have made money translating. I have been offered many opportunities and jobs, and ultimately, I turned them all down… and for one reason.
I know that I am a teacher at heart.
In Texas alone, 77% of Texas teachers have seriously considered leaving their job in the last year. 93% of those teachers said they have taken steps to leave the profession, such as updating their resumes or applying for a job outside of teaching.
Nationwide, there are schools that are severely understaffed. There is no question that there is a real issue in our country’s education system. I am well aware that I am in a career that is generally underpaid and underappreciated.
As a teacher, I have to do a lot of boring stuff. I need to research teaching strategies and methods, I need to put together engaging lessons, I need to consider the structure of my classroom, I need to create assignments that help students learn, I need to grade those assignments I assign, I need to analyze the data, I need to check all the boxes that the District and State education boards hand out to us like candy at a parade, I need to reflect on my teaching practice, and then I need to do it all over again.
The burning question to all of this is: Why? Why do I subject myself to this?
And the answer is as simple as it is true: Because of you.
I keep every note you write, every picture that you draw, every little meticulously folded origami. I have a box on my shelf labeled “Why I Keep Teaching.” Sometimes, like this week, when I need a reminder, I look through that box of thank you cards from the end of the year that I’m sure your parents prompted you to write, and I hold them to my heart and I cry.
Teaching is horribly vulnerable. On my good days and my bad days, I still have to face you. Literally. You will look at my face. Every day. It’s awful. There’s no cubicle I can hide behind, no easy way to take a break. Graciously, you will ignore my unkempt hair, the slight dark circles under my eyes. And I will ignore your chorus of groans when I hand you an assignment I worked for hours on. We forgive each other daily for our messes, our mistakes, and our miscommunications. You will say, “I didn’t mean to” and I will believe you. I will say, “I didn’t mean to” and I hope you believe me, too.
I teach with my heart wide open, and that can be painful. But to be honest, it’s the only way I know how.
As exhausting as it all can be, the little sparks in your eyes are what fuel my fire. I notice when your heads are down with your headphones in — shutting out the world — and I notice when you look up. When something finally ‘clicks’ and I see you smile a small, proud smile, my heart glows all day long.
I want you to know that I think you are impossibly brilliant. I don’t care what others have told you or what boxes you have put yourself in. I see you. And each day - on my good and bad ones - I will face you, and I will do my best.
Here’s to another week,
Ms. Poon
Beautiful. You are changing the world!!