What is a Teacher

This goes out to the many unsung heroes in the line of education.
I found this poem by Gerald Grow, a journalist from www.longleaf.net .It is especially for those who have taken many of the kids under their wings and have moulded them through the years...and especially the younger ones...who need to feel that they are indeed doing the right thing.


What is a Teacher?

To a mind of flint, the teacher must be iron, and strike sparks. To the empty pitcher, the teacher becomes a well. To the fallow mind, a planter of seeds. To the cluttered mind, a gardener to weed, shape, and clear a space for growing.

To the lens, the teacher is light, and to the mind of light, a lens.

To the sleeper, the teacher is the wake-up call of birds at sunrise. To clay, the teacher is potter, sculptor, and trainer in self-shaping. To the wanderer, the teacher is a knowing guide. To the developed mind, the teacher is colleague, listener, friend.

To all, the teacher is a mirror that shows not only the self but the path and its choices, the task and its demands--the difficulties, the joys. To all and from all, the teacher is a learner, a person--and a prism through which the ordinary continuously reveals itself to be miraculous.
- Gerald Grow 1977 -

I want to add a few things of my own.
A teacher...is the one who helps to open doors and continues to open them...even if they get slammed in the face.
...is the one who catches when the child falls, and encourages him to believe he can stand again.
...is the one who must be surrogate parent ...when there is no role models around
...the one who has to be cruel in order to be kind...when the situation calls for it.
...teach about self-awareness when it is sorely lacking
...guides the child towards self-discovery
...works on both intuition, logic and love.
...learns to love the child unconditionally; correct the mistakes the child makes...and not hold it against the character.

A great teacher cares about humanity.

So to my heroes out there, I salute you...for being people I look up too. I still have a long long way to go.

Stay strong...and continue your good work.
I draw my inspiration from you.

Just me
The Effectively Ineffective One