Love the Uniqueness

This month our ERG theme is love!  Webster defines it as an intense feeling of deep affection.  As I sit and ponder over what it is that I love about teaching, my first thought is its uniqueness.  Each day I have the gift of a fresh start and the privilege of working with very unique little people.  I read somewhere that life is the most difficult exam.  Many people fail because they try to copy each other, not realizing that everyone has a different test.  I love to celebrate the uniqueness of each of my students and I want them to develop a love for learning through their gifts and through their challenges – through their uniqueness.

Years ago Howard Gardner’s research challenged the traditional view of intelligence.  He believed the ability to learn was far more complex than a simple I.Q. test could demonstrate.  He presented us with the Multiple Intelligences Theory – evidence that human beings have a number of intellectual capacities and learn in many different ways.  A simple test cannot measure the abilities of our children nor can it dictate the incredible possibilities that a love for learning can create.  I want to walk into my classroom each day and help my children see that they are readers, writers, mathematicians, problem solvers, and lifelong learners.  I have the privilege of helping them see the magic that is inside and the responsibility of reminding and nurturing them when they forget.

I know it is easy to wax rhapsodic as I sit at my computer, but I live in the classroom too.  I quickly forget when I am refereeing a great debate over who has the most blocks during discovery time and when I have a kindergartner in tears over the task of writing a sentence.  But . . . when the children are able to come to a consensus over dividing the blocks evenly and the crying child realizes she can sound out the word that had paralyzed her – then I remember what a gift teaching is.  Each of our students come to school with different gifts and different areas where they need to grow.  We are each a little broken, but in our brokenness, we have great opportunities for growth.  That is another reason that I love teaching.

I am also a Dr. Seuss lover.  I think this brilliant man had a knack for sharing some insightful ideas through his rhyming words for children.  “Today you are you that is truer than true.  There is no one alive that is you-er than you.”  As a teacher, I have the chance to help my students see “You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”