As a matter of fact, I thank you that I do have a lot to do--it's nice waking up in the morning with a sense of purpose, and having the chance to fulfill that sense of purpose by doing things that I love to do, and getting paid for doing so. I think that life would be rather unbearable if I didn't have things to do that made me feel good about myself and that helped me to grow as a person. Teaching is what I definitely feel called to do, and I know that I'm good at it, so I don't have to deal with frustration at having work that I struggle to accomplish.
Now that the fall semester has started up, I'm glad to be in the classroom, and I would ask you to be with me over the next few months so that all of the young people that I work with will get what they need from me in order to learn the things that they want and hope to learn. I hope that you'll be with me to help me to keep balanced and focused, and to help me to be understanding and compassionate, as well as to be open to new ideas and new ways of approaching the topics that we study.
A reply:
Will I be there with you? Of course. Will you listen to my guidance? Very possibly. Remember that I'm always there with you, and that I'm always available to help guide you. You always have decisions to make, and I can help you to make them in ways that will be beneficial to the greatest number of people. The best decisions aren't always the easiest ones, as you well know, so sometimes you'll balk at making them. Sometimes they alienate other people and seem to be arbitrary, but sometimes they need to be made.
As a teacher, of course, your decisions have an impact on your students--and you have 120 of them this semester. It's a lot of work, of course, but it's important work, as you well know. You have to decide about class content, about how much time you give to creating assignments, about whether to pass papers or not, and many other things. You'll just have to decide based on your professional judgment, being as objective as you possibly can.
And one of the things that I know you've learned as a teacher is when to be harsh and when to be lenient, when to give exactly the grade that's deserved and when to try to help the student to learn something important by giving him or her a second chance. These are the decisions that are the most difficult, and it's fortunate that they don't come up all that often. Just remember me when you have to make them, and allow me to be a part of the decision-making process, and they'll be much easier to make and much more accurate.
Ask me to be a part of the planning process, ask me to help you understand your readings clearly, ask me to be with you in class so that you can be more effective there, and I will be there. I know that you already have asked me to be there for the whole semester, so guess what? I will be there.
Now it's up to you to stay mindful of my presence so that we can work together, instead of you taking on this huge set of tasks on your own. I think that we can do a very good job together, and I look forward to it!
And one of the things that I know you've learned as a teacher is when to be harsh and when to be lenient, when to give exactly the grade that's deserved and when to try to help the student to learn something important by giving him or her a second chance. These are the decisions that are the most difficult, and it's fortunate that they don't come up all that often. Just remember me when you have to make them, and allow me to be a part of the decision-making process, and they'll be much easier to make and much more accurate.
Ask me to be a part of the planning process, ask me to help you understand your readings clearly, ask me to be with you in class so that you can be more effective there, and I will be there. I know that you already have asked me to be there for the whole semester, so guess what? I will be there.
Now it's up to you to stay mindful of my presence so that we can work together, instead of you taking on this huge set of tasks on your own. I think that we can do a very good job together, and I look forward to it!
