A Teacher's Prayer

A TEACHER'S PRAYER

OH GOD, I'M ONLY A TEACHER,

And it's lonely work because I'm the only member of my species in the room.

I like kids. and l love my subject matter.

And I have higher hopes for these kids of mine than they have for themselves:

I want them to create. They want to consume.

I want them to love the world. They want the world to love them.

I want every day to be different. They want every day to be the same.

I want them to burn with zeal, about something. They want to be cool, about everything.

I want them to think. They want me to tell them.

I want the bell to ring. They want the bell to ring.

OH GOD. I'M A TEACHER,

I'm not their buddy. I don't want to be. I've seen what they do to their buddies.

I'm not their parent, and yet they're looking high and low for parents and can't seem to find them.

I'm their teacher. I don't want them to take me at my word. I want them to find the words.

OH GOD. l'M A TEACHER,

So I'm perfectly willing to move mountains, if you'll send me some hands for the end of my lever:

Send me a couple of administrators who care more about standards than they do about their jobs.

Send me the occasional parent who sees in me a colleague, not a scapegoat.

Send me a few kids every year, willing to brave their peers in order to learn.

OH GOD, I'M ONLY A TEACHER

I want to make bricks. Could you send me some straw?

Amen

by Richard Peck

ETeach: A Teacher Resource. A Teacher Resource For Learning The Strategies Of Master Teachers.

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