There’s a common quote in the academic world that most of us have probably heard:
“The influence of a good teacher can never be erased.”
It’s true; I do things today that I can directly link to my teachers’ influences in my life.
(If my sixth grade teacher hadn’t encouraged me to write in my spare time; this blog might never have been born.)
But today, I’m the teacher.
And while I’m very aware that I’m influencing these adolescents every day, I’m also noticing their influence on me.
Maybe coming back to teaching after a year off makes me notice it more, but as the teacher in me has come out of hibernation, I am rediscovering things that only students can make me do.
The influence of a student in a teacher’s life will make her heart love more deeply than she ever has before.
Students just have a way of making you love them. Maybe it’s the investment we make in them, the hard-won relationships, or seeing them through difficult moments – but ultimately, students are a precious gift and we teachers just can’t help loving them.
It’s their influence that makes me get excited about deer hunting stories. Even though the real Jackie thinks blood is gross, teacher Jackie can’t help feeling proud of a student who gets a deer on the ground.
My students influence my prayer life.
Their presence in my life shapes my requests – I pray for wisdom, grace, humility, and courage. This happens multiple times a day, by turns, or occasionally, I breathe a prayer for all of them at once.
They also influence what I pray about. I spent the last year of my life praying about conditions related to old age and mental health – now I’m lifting adolescent mood swings and maturing characters to the throne of God.
(Sometimes, I’m driven to begging God for patience, too.)
Another place that proves I have students in my life is my google search history.
They have really influenced that.
I probably wouldn’t think of these questions on my own, but I will google things to settle class debates or satisfy a student’s curiousity.
Did you know that the average adult’s blood vessels, if stretched out, could reach around the equator approximately 2.5 times?
I now have riddles in my Pinterest feed instead of recipes.
I go to Walmart to buy popsicle sticks and acrylics.
I willingly play softball multiple times a week, though I will avoid it at all costs on weekends.
I am a teacher.
I love the way my students influence my life… and my prayer is that God will use my influence in their lives for good as well.
