I'm Your Teacher, Not Your Friend Part 2

Part 1

So I haven't been volunteering in 2 weeks cuz I was busy with school, but man...first day back and it was no short of excitement, work and some interesting times. Today was only further reassurance that I definitely want to be a teacher in the future. First things first would be the relationship I have with my teacher...how it's been over 10 years since I've been in elementary school, but I still go back to visit him, we're really good friends and we confide in each other. That's the kind of relationship I hope to develop with my future students...to teach them, but to also be there for them if they need to just talk you know. Which brings me to today...there was this kid who was upset the whole day, you could kinda tell cuz he speaking out more than usual and just a few things here and there. So my teacher and I pulled him aside and we talked to him and he was saying how he was just upset at his grades and how his parents put a lot of pressure on him and that he works really hard. He started tearing up...so we talked to him, comforted him and told him to walk it off...that's just crazy to me, it takes lots of courage to one...confide in your teacher, two...as a guy, to shed tears especially in front of your teacher. Second instance of the day was this girl...who was acting weird all day...she had her hoodie up and like tied it all the way up like Kenny from South Park...we kept asking her what's wrong and she's like nothing, I'm just having a bad hair day...she kept acting weird,so we eventually pulled her aside and talked to her...she was saying how she was unhappy with her appearance compared to the other girls and all that stuff...pretty much girl stuff, puberty, boys...but we sat her down and told her it was alright...that it's natural to go through these things and feel that way...but she's still young and growing...and everyone is beautiful in their own way, you just gotta embrace it and be confident and comfortable with yourself. The last instant was this boy...probs his favourite student in class...who was SUPER sad the whole day, you could tell...quiet, moody, distant. After school, we asked him what was up and he said...don't worry, it's something at home, it's not school related. We told him that yeah...we may be your teachers and there is a certain level of a professional relationship that we can't cross...but we care about you...inside and outside of school...we want to teach you both book smarts and street smarts. He told us that things aren't going well at home and he thinks his parents are going to split up...it sucks cuz he said that his parents are putting him in the middle and making him choose sides...we told him it wasn't his fault...that it's not fair for them to put him in the middle...but the biggest thing was that it's not his fault...it's between them. But it genuinely sucks to be that young and to have to experience that. Legit, it was such a mentally exhausting day, spent the whole day marking and talking to the kids. Honestly...now that I'm a teacher....I see things SO differently...as a student...you're so worried about yourself, your studies, your problems, your friends, girls...that it's hard to really notice EVERYTHING and EVERYONE around you. As a teacher now tho...you notice all these things...you notice when a student is more sad than usual, more loud than usual. You notice when a student is in gym class and isn't really enjoying themselves, you notice when a student is eating lunch by themselves visibly upset...all these things...as a teacher, I notice them...and I hurt for them as well. This experience so far has been so eye opening and so wonderful for me cuz it's opened such a door for me to grow as a person and learn about myself and the kids and the environment I may possibly be in one day. Yeah, I'm your teacher and I may not be your friend while you are in my class...but that doesn't mean I don't care about your life, what's going on in it...and it really meant so much to my teacher and I that those students had the courage to confide in us. I was talking to my teacher about how I never knew kids that young had to go through such things...cuz when I was that age, I was too busy focusing on my own stuff. He's like yeah...even when you were in my class...kids would approach me privately and share their problems...but as a student you don't see that kinda stuff. It makes me really wanna make a difference if I become a teacher...to go beyond the textbook, beyond the curriculum....to teach them about life...essentially to model myself after Mr, Feeny from Boy Meets World...my teacher and I collaborated today and he wants to give me an entire project to give to the class and teach it to them and have them present it and I'm super excited about it, I definitely can't wait. It's so cool to do teacher things like marking, remembering the kids names, making jokes with them...I'm so glad I did this.