What do I Make?

So I was introduced to Taylor Mali by my nephew.  For those of you that don't know who Taylor Mali is, he is a writer, teacher, spoken word poet.  He is most well known by the masses for his poem "What Does A Teacher Make."  Check out the video here:  What Teachers make Video

Every time I hear this or read it, it makes me think hard about my job.....what do I make?  I certainly don't make much money, barely enough to get by.

I try to make my students laugh everyday....sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.  I am my mother's daughter and my jokes aren't funny most the time.  I am a silly person and like to have fun. But, I am someone who wants her students to succeed in school, in relationships, and in life.

On occasion I make kids cry...not because I don't like them, but because I do. I expect a lot from my students.  They are not allowed to slide by.  I do not allow them to behave unkindly to peers or disrespectfully to adults. I do not allow them to give up when something is hard.  There are not many things in life that come without a little work....heck, most you have to work really hard at.

I make my kids try hard...or at least I try to make them try hard.  I do not give in to excuses about how their hand hurts so they can't point to words as they read or why they refused to listen to a para and most of all I do not let them make excuses for poor behavior.

I hope I make kids learn to be happy. I have a very sweet boy who isn't told very often that he is a good kid.  I have recently decided to make it my mission to tell him more often that he is kind and smart. Yes, he makes bad choices on occasion but he is not an inherently bad kid.  And yes he struggles with learning to read but (I think) he has the smarts....his brain just plays tricks on him.  He tries SO hard when he thinks no one is watching.  He is sweet to his sister, when he doesn't think anyone is around to see.  When I see him do these things or act a certain way I applaud him for it, tell him how wonderful it is.  Kids need to be told they are worthy, they are smart, and that they are kind so they will think of themselves that way.

A quote was posted in our building recently that I absolutely loved.
"Treat people as if they were, what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming." ~Goethe