Before having children, I believed (and told parents) that teachers did not affect the life of a child to a great extent. I was under the impression, based upon my own naiveté (and what I had learned from college professors that teachers only have students six to seven hours a day for approximately 180 days of the year) – how could teachers have an extreme impact on the life of a child? Then I had my own children…besides the blessings and wonderments children bring, I learned how to be a teacher. I learned that children go to school and look at their teacher with hope, trust, and awe. This teacher is their world and among the first adults to truly impact their lives. Children continue to build their self-esteem as a result of interactions with their teacher.
I also learned that when parents enter my classroom, their child is the most important person in the world, as are mine when I enter their classrooms. My own children have taught me not only about being a mom, and a better person, but have also opened my eyes to looking at the classroom from the perspective of my parents, and especially looking at the classroom through the eyes of my students.
