by Josianne FLEMING-ARTSEN.
Philipsburg:---Many people wonder why teachers do what they do with so much PASSION and LOVE. I always maintain that the TEACHING PROFESSION is an enriched one and is the one profession that sustains a WEALTH that is beyond any paycheck.
Imagine touching and influencing other people’s lives, nourishing their minds so that they can become the person they want to be in life. Imagine guiding students into the right directions so that they can turn their lives around. Imagine being there for students when they cannot approach someone else and helping them to develop new perspectives. Imagine the feeling when students achieve and you know that you had something to do with it. Imagine calling a parent to give the good news that a student is making progress because someone cares.
Just imagine what it is like when students tell their friend, “She or He was my teacher”…That simple sentence says a million words. Those are words of appreciation. That person is saying that “I am proud that she /he was my teacher because I learned from her or him. Isn’t it a great satisfaction when students return to you year after year to say hello and to let you know of their achievements. That tells a story as well. Isn’t it true that the student that gives you the most trouble ends up being the student that loved you the most?
It is for this REASON that the TEACHING PROFESSION must not lose its dynamism and its WEALTH. Dynamism in making each day a day to look forward to, not only by the teacher but the student as well through the inspiration the student gets from the teacher; however, teachers are responsible for making the days, months, and years dynamic and inspirational for students. In terms of wealth, when teachers are engaged in their profession and committed to a higher purpose, the richness in enriching is endless.
Empowering others for a lifetime is powerful and that is what the teaching profession is about. When we recall teachers in our lives the characteristics are similar why we remember those teachers and why we forget others. Be the TEACHER no student FORGETS because of your higher purpose; touching, nourishing, and inspiring others to be the best they can be and becoming a useful citizen of the world. On every occasion, the characteristics that are evident in the Master Teachers are those of CARING for students; being KNOWLEDGEABLE, DISCIPLINED, CONSISTENT, and FAIR…BECOME A TEACHER, COUNTRY ST. MAARTEN NEEDS YOU!!! APPRECIATION is extended to Teachers for all PATIENCE and COMMITMENT in challenging Times with our YOUTH.
CONGRATULATIONS TEACHERS on WORLD TEACHERS DAY!
