Proud Moment

Wow, it's great to reflect on the things that inspires us to continue with this wonderful profession when so many days I come home wandering "what in the world was I thinking becoming a teacher"!
It sounds kind of strange, but I think that my proudest moment was a comment that came from another teacher. She has been going through a tough time because her father is terminally ill so I check on her every day to see how she's doing and if there is anything I can do to help her. While chatting with her she was telling me that the senior superlatives were being voted on. During this voting time, teachers are voted for different categories. This teacher told me that most of her students had voted for me for the category "Being the teacher most like a mother". At first I was a little dumbfounded wandering why they would say that, but then I realized this was a compliment. I took it to mean that the students know that I really care about them and their future. Teaching is not only about the academic knowledge that is passed on to our students, I believe it's also about the knowledge that they are important to someone and that they have value.