|
Editor's Note:
This
little fable was submitted to TeachersFirst by a former superintendent
of one of the nation's largest school districts. While we've not been
able to trace its origin, we felt it only appropriate to pass it along
to you, with our best wishes for a joyous holiday and peace and prosperity
in the year ahead.
God
Creates the First Teacher
On the 6th day, God
created men and women.
On the 7th day, he rested.
Not so much to recuperate,
but rather to prepare himself for the work he was going to do on the next
day.
For it was on that day - the 8th day - that God created the FIRST TEACHER.
This TEACHER, though
taken from among men and women, had several significant modifications.
In general, God made the TEACHER more durable than other men and women.
The TEACHER was made
to arise at a very early hour and to go to bed no earlier than 11:30 p.m.-with
no rest in between. The TEACHER had to be able to withstand being locked
up in an air-tight classroom for six hours with a room full of antsy students
on a rainy Monday. And the TEACHER had to be fit to correct 103 term papers
over Spring break.
Yes, God made the
TEACHER tough...but gentle too.
The TEACHER was equipped with soft hands to wipe away the tears of the
neglected and lonely student...of those of the sixteen year old girl who
was not asked to the prom.
And into the TEACHER
God poured a generous amount of patience.
Patience when a student asks to repeat the directions the TEACHER has
just repeated for someone else.
Patience when the kids forget their lunch money for the fourth day in
a row.
Patience when one-third of the class fails the test.
Patience when the text books haven't arrived yet, and the semester starts
tomorrow.
And God gave the
TEACHER a heart slightly bigger than the average human heart.
For the TEACHER's heart had to be big enough to love the kid who screams,
"I hate this class; it's boring!" and
to love the kid who runs out of the classroom at the end of the period
without so much as a "goodbye", let alone a "thank you".
And lastly, God gave
the TEACHER an abundant supply of HOPE.
For God knew that the TEACHER would always be hoping.
Hoping that the kids would someday learn how to spell...
hoping not to have lunchroom duty...
hoping that Friday would come...
hoping for a free day....
hoping for deliverance.
When God finished
creating the TEACHER, he stepped back and admired the work of his hands.
And God saw that the TEACHER was good.
Very Good!
And God smiled, for when he looked at the TEACHER, he saw into the future.
He knew that the future is in the hands of the TEACHERS.
And because God loves
Teachers so much, on the 9th day
God created "Snow Days."
|
