Compassion from a Teacher

Teaching is not only about passing along content information to students, but a large part of being a teacher is getting to know and truly care about the well being of every person in the classroom. Students are human beings who need adults to look up to. Kindergarten through 12th graders are learning so much more than just academic content through the course of their school years. They are developing socially and emotionally as well as academically in need of role models who are compassionate and care about them as people. Teachers play an integral role in this development because of the number of hours spent with the same kids day after day for an entire year. It is extremely important that students feel that teachers care about them as people. From my experience, the teachers who make the most impact are not the ones who are the smartest in their subject area, or write the best tests, but the ones who take the time to get to know each and every one of their students, and are willing to put in the extra time to help a student whether its concerning school work or not. Early on in my senior year of high school I got very ill and was out of school for several weeks. From this situation I learned first hand which teachers cared about me as a human being who needs extra attention, and which teachers just saw me as their job. My economics teacher, Mr. Stanke, once stayed after school with me on a Friday afternoon until 5pm to help me get caught up. He could always tell when I wasn't feeling well when I came to make up a test and always gave me the option to wait until I felt better before taking the test. He didn't help me because it was his job and he got paid to do it, I felt he genuinely cared about my overall well being. I hope that I can one day thank Mr. Stanke by showing the same compassion to one of my students. I was so blessed to have a teacher that cared about me as a person, and when I become a teacher I want to give the same to my students.