The Real Benefits Of Teaching

By Beth Hedrick

I have been very fortunate throughout my 22 years of teaching to have taught on both ends of the grade-level spectrum. For the past few years I have been blessed to teach seventh graders. Many other educators (and my non-teacher friends) cannot even fathom the thought of taking on such a tremendous feat.

I, however, like a challenge.

Yes, middle school students can be challenging, depending on the day. But they also make me laugh every day and completely warm my heart on a regular basis. Here are some things I get to look forward to each day that confirms my love for teaching.

The Latest Trends
What I love watching, sort of like a domino effect, is the “catching on” of the latest trends. Each school year it is something different, depending on what grabs the attention and likes of the pre-teens. One year it was “Silly Bands”- those thin, silicone bracelets that are shaped like different objects. One day only a few would be wearing about fifty on their wrist, and the next week every child would have them. Wearing these trendy items spreads like wildfire. Ive seen everything from the whitest and brightest Converse tennis shoes you will ever see, worn with skirts and leggings, to fidget spinners, the Fitbit, and the most annoying trend ever: bottle flipping. No, wait, the most annoying trend: dabbing!

Popular songs, of course, have been sung by many, and I just knew if I heard the song of the month in the hallway one more time I would scream. Trends like these just crack me up, because no matter how ridiculous they look (remember the banana clip of the 80’s?) all the kids love them, even if they don’t really love them.

The Impulsivity
This characteristic of middle school students is probably the most challenging and difficult to manage. These kids can be so impulsive. The day could be going very smoothly, with the little worker bees reading and writing. Then a real bee can enter the room if my window is open, and it's all over. The impulsivity and their excitement quickly turns into mayhem and a contest on who can get the bee out, and I have to immediately put forth a great amount of energy to squelch it.

Anytime something like this occurs, the unthinkable happens. The principal decides to make her grand entrance in my classroom to do an observation. I can have an hour of pure quiet and a blissful learning environment, but the second the kids decide, pretty much on cue, to do something crazy, in walks the principal. Luckily, she has also seen my classroom on calmer days, or in calmer moments, so rather than becoming frustrated about it, I just laugh. Kids are kids; they are human, and there are times in the day where they are just going to be plain goofy.

The Empathy
I cannot get over how much empathy the students have for one another, and me as well. They may not always act like they care, but they (deep, deep down) do. There are several times a week that my heart becomes bigger from their actions. Case in point: one time, last year, I had a headache that lasted for a few days. After the second day, I must have at some point mentioned that I had a headache and it just didn’t want to go away. The next day, one of my students walked up to my desk, opened his lunch cooler and pulled out an ice pack. He told me that he knew he couldn’t bring me actual medicine, and his mom said that sometimes an ice pack on the head or neck can help headaches. Wow.

Before holiday break, the students bring little gifts for each of their circle of friends. They usually exchange them during break time or in the hall before school. Last year, there was a bag of wrapped presents behind my desk, and I wasn’t sure why it was there. Later that day, one of my students told me that she left it there to give out to the students who she knew wouldn’t get any gifts. There were maybe ten wrapped gifts in there that she gave out at the end of the day. Another “wow” moment for me to witness!

Kind Deeds
I can’t count how many times I have seen my students do kind deeds for each other, or for people they don’t even know. They make cards for soldiers overseas, bring in soft and fluffy slipper-socks to donate to the local nursing home, raise money for cancer patients, and so much more. They really do want to do right, and there, of course, are moments where I may doubt them for a second, but when I do, they most definitely redeem themselves. And even those who are not as kind as others, well, they are surrounded by kindness from their peers. Hey, we all learn from example, right?

In addition to the heartwarming and laughter I receive from my students, as all teachers do, I also love their reactions to learning something new. This is a given in education; many teachers do this job because of the reward of seeing their students’ faces as they acquire new concepts. This is very important, of course, but what I believe is the most important thing of all is the well-rounded learning experiences they receive. Yes, academics are important, but life is made up of many facets of development. The social and emotional areas of development, to me, are just as important. As they go through their school years, character development is such an amazing thing for them to continue to acquire, and is such a wonderful thing for me to be a part of!

Beth Hedrick has been educating students for 22 years. She teaches in a rural southwest Virginia community that values the education of every student. She is the mother of two boys, Aaron and Landon, and is married to Todd.

She is an advocate for Autism Awareness, as her son Landon has Asperger’s Syndrome. She has served on her community and school system’s autism support team. Beth enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her Basset Hound, Lenny. She also likes to read, write, blog, and travel in the summer months.