Esther Wright - Why I Teach: Inspirational True Stories from Teachers Who Make a Difference

Teachers will laugh, cry, and gain inspiration all at once as they read these moving stories and remember why they joined the profession in the first place. The stories will also give teachers the courage to continue in their powerful mission of reaching and teaching children.

A LAN M. B LANKSTEIN , founder of National Educational Service and president of the HOPE* Foundation
(*Harnessing Optimism and Potential through Education)

A must read for every teacher! After a good day at school, read one of these feel-good stories as a special treat. And on a bad day, these accounts of love and hope will re-inspire you to face tomorrow with a renewed belief in your ability to make a difference. As an added bonus, many of the stories contain great ideas for activities to do with your students to help them have confidence in themselves and in their ability to succeed.

F RANK S ICCONE , E D .D., author of Educating the Heart and 101 Ways to Develop Student Self-Esteem and Responsibility

Stories of heart, stories of care, stories that make me proud that I belong to the teaching profession.

M ERRILL H ARMIN , P H .D., author of Strategies That Inspire Active Learning

Why I Teach is uplifting, inspiring, and genuine. It demonstrates the truth about what real teaching is and what it must be: connecting with the whole human being.

S ANDI R EDENBACH , M.E D .,president of Esteem Seminar Programs

Ms. Wright makes a major contribution to all educators by reminding us that our feelings are as important to the children we teach as our technical skills. These stories illustrate perfectly the humanity that all great teachers share.

D R . R ICHARD L. C URWIN , co-author of Discipline with Dignity

Copyright 1999 by Esther Wright

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from Random House, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Published by Prima Publishing, Roseville, California. Member of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.

PRIMA PUBLISHING and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc., registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

All products mentioned in this book are trademarks of their respective companies. Cover copy courtesy of Jane Bluestein, Ph.D., author of Mentors, Masters, and Mrs. MacGregor

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wright, Esther
Why I teach: inspirational true stories from teachers who make a difference/[edited by] Esther Wright.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56115-2
1. TeachersUnited States Anecdotes. 2. TeachingUnited States Anecdotes. I. Wright, Esther.
LB1775.2.W49 1999
371.1dc21 99-30814

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v3.1

This book is dedicated to my father, Hy Weiser, who inspires me with his heart and wisdom and to Stephen Rosenblueth, my son, whom I love and appreciate beyond words.

IF YOU HAD asked me back in the beginning, to tell you why I teach, I dont know how I might have answered. It wasnt the moneyback in my days as a teaching intern, I was bringing home a mere $318 a month, which wasnt much even then. It wasnt the hoursbetween graduate school and losing the battle to stay one step ahead of my thirty-nine fifth graders, I was putting in ridiculously long days. And it certainly wasnt the chance to exercise my genius as an instructorI was lucky if I could get through one day without a fist fight breaking out.

No, there wasnt much glory in working with kids who greeted me with, I dont do reading, before Id had a chance to learn their names. Nor was it heartwarming to teach kids who saw me more as an annoyance than an inspiration, kids who couldnt care less that all Id ever wanted my entire life was to be a teacher.

I cried a lot my first year. I cried the day my whole class failed what I thought was a simple pre-test. I cried the day my kids wouldnt sit down and be quiet while my supervisor was in the room. I cried the day a parent said that maybe her son would do better with an older teacher. And I cried the day I visited the home of one of my most difficult students and found her mother falling-down drunk before lunchtime.

So what kept me in the game, especially that first year? Looking back, it took remarkably little to renew my sense of hope, or at least suggest that maybe all was not lost. I would come this close to throwing in the towel when a child would uncharacteristically come to class prepared, make a positive behavioral change, or help a classmate. Id be sure I couldnt make it through the day when someone would suddenly get subtraction or appear excited about a subject we were about to discuss. And just as I was about to give up, theyd finally sit still for a story or laugh at one of my jokes.

For other teachers, perhaps its the progress, imperceptible as it may seem at times, the little connections, a hug here and there, or the realization that we might well be the only source of encouragement some child is getting right now. Perhaps deep down theres the possibility that our excitement, or even our good intentions, somehow makes a dent, that our caring and commitment allow us, inevitably, to touch the future. But we give what we give because we cant not give, and we give in the best of faith, because the evidence of our devotion is sometimes long in coming. We are tested again and again, and sometimes we just keep coming back for no good reason besides the fact that, for better or worse, we are called to teach. Maybe this is something only another teacher can understand: Its not just what we do. Its who we are.

JANE BLUESTEIN, PH.D .
Albuquerque, New Mexico

THIS BOOK WAS a labor of love that could not have been completed without the participation and support of many people. First, I wish to thank Prima Publishing for offering me the privilege and opportunity to put this book together. Special thanks to Jamie Miller and Karen Naungayan for their editing input and assistance.

I am very grateful to the hundreds of dedicated teachers who opened their hearts and shared their inspirational stories with me. I wish I could have used more of the wonderful vignettes I received. Perhaps there will be an opportunity in a future volume.

Special friends unselfishly offered their time and energy to the project. I am most grateful to Ron Dumas, the wonderful man in my life, who spent countless hours patiently sharing his technical skills and knowledge. I never would have completed the manuscript in a timely manner without Rons support. He read, scanned, and formatted many of the stories. He coached and supervised the process, often in the wee hours of the morning, making sure the manuscript was just right.